Growing your business starts with a strong and effective marketing plan. You need a strategy that generates the highest responses and is proven to bring better results than any other marketing strategy your competitors use.

Luckily, direct mail, the powerful and cost-effective marketing strategy, can help, and we have 10 tactics you can take advantage of that are guaranteed to help you grow your business this year.

1. Personalize Your Message

Adding something as simple as a name to your direct mail pieces can increase response rates by 135%.

Just like when you have an email list and include each recipient's first name in the email they receive, you can do the same thing with direct mail by taking advantage of Variable Data Printing. You can include other custom elements as well, including images, addresses, QR codes, and more, to add a personal touch to your direct mail strategy.

The best part about adding a personalized element to your direct mail campaign is that you can combine this direct mail marketing tactic with other tactics as well.

2. Send Mailers at Each Stage of The Buyer's Journey

There are three things to consider with this direct mail marketing tactic:

• Direct mail has a response rate of 9% while email only has a 0.2%.
• Direct mail has a 90% open rate while email only has 23%.
• Reaching out at every stage of the marketing funnel is essential for business growth.

Direct mail marketing results in higher responses; people engage with direct mail more than other marketing efforts. It's critical to connect with prospects at every stage of their journey to increase the chance of conversion.

One of the best marketing strategies is to use direct mail to connect with a consumer at stage 1 to build brand awareness, stage 2 to create interest, stage 3 to convert, and stage 4 to encourage repeat business.

3. Target Those Who Are Just Like Your Ideal Audience

Use your existing customers to find new customers who are just like them, including similar demographics, buying activity, interests, and more.

Thanks to advanced data technology, print and direct mail marketing companies can process your customer data, determine which customer datasets are most important to your business's growth, and then create a mailing list of prospects who match or "look like" your most successful customers.

This is all thanks to Look-Alike Analysis. When you create a Look-Alike Audience for your direct mail marketing strategy, you can expect massive growth.

4. Reach Smaller Audiences

In the past, it was cheaper to reach a large audience in your direct mail campaign so that you could take advantage of bulk mail discounts. This isn't the case anymore.

With no minimum postcard mailing—also called "Postcard Commingling" —you can send as few postcards as you want and still take advantage of bulk mail discounts.

This direct mail marketing strategy can help you generate exponential growth by affordably reaching a much smaller and targeted audience. Better yet, because it's so cost-effective, it makes it affordable to reach out to that same smaller audience more than once, which is important because when you reach out multiple times to the same prospect, you build better brand awareness and increase the chances that they will convert.

5. Take Advantage of Informed Delivery

Informed delivery offers a unique marketing opportunity by integrating physical mail with digital content. You can create interactive campaigns that accompany an email from the USPS, offering additional information, promotions, and direct links to your website. This dual-channel approach can increase engagement, generate multiple impressions from a single mail piece, and boost ROI.

From your audience's perspective, Informed Delivery is a free service that provides them with digital previews of their incoming mail each day. They receive an email from the USPS containing an image of your mailer and a link to click-through to your website.

6.Send A Postcard to Those Who Are Interested

54% of consumers say they want direct mail from brands that interest them, so send direct mail to people who aren't aware they are interested in your brand yet.

Utilizing Propensity Mailing is a direct mail marketing tactic guaranteed to create business growth.

This direct mail marketing strategy works by using data to predict a consumer's behavior and creating a mailing list of prospects who are highly interested in what your business has to offer. For example, if you own a winery, you could create a mailing list of consumers who are likely to engage in touring a winery, adults who spend $1,000 or more on wine annually, and adults who are likely to shop for wine.

7. Target Those Surrounding Your Best Customer

Suppose your business operates by visiting customers to provide a service or deliver products. In that case, Proximity Mailing is the perfect direct mail marketing tactic for you to try this year.

This direct mail strategy sends mail to individuals who surround your ideal customer or customers. All you need to do is provide your customer's address, choose a radius in miles surrounding their address, and then, if you'd like, filter your list based on certain demographics. Your direct mail campaign will then be delivered to households near your customer.

For example, if you own a roofing company and just installed a new roof for a customer, send a postcard to that customer's neighbors. Chances are your customers' neighbors have similar aged homes and needs, and you could market to them, letting them know you can help.

8. Send Customers a Birthday Mailer

To grow your business, you must also grow and nurture your relationships with your existing customers. After all, more than 50% of a business's revenue comes from repeat customers.

Getting an existing customer to buy again is much easier than getting a new prospect because your customers already trust your brand. They've converted once and know the benefits of your product or service firsthand, giving them more reason to convert again.

One of the best direct mail marketing tactics to connect with customers on a personal level that will help grow your relationship with them is sending them a birthday card. You can include a special offer or promo code to celebrate their special day and to keep your brand top of mind.

Of course, you could send an email wishing them a happy birthday, but your customers are bombarded by emails every day, and sending a birthday mailer shows that you care on a higher level.

9. Include QR Codes in Your Design

The goal of any marketing tactic is to get your audience to respond and convert quickly, and QR codes incorporated in direct mail designs allow recipients to access your website and take action in seconds without having to type out a URL.

Adding QR codes to your direct mail design enhances engagement, streamlines responses, offers quicker and easier access to digital content, and improves tracking.

10. Integrate Direct Mail with Other Marketing Channels

When you integrate direct mail with other marketing channels like social media, digital ads, and email, you strengthen both channels, creating a more effective and impactful strategy that increases response rates, brand recognition, and engagement.

To achieve this, try combining tangible, personal direct mail with emails, retargeting ads, and social media that reinforce your offer. You'll then easily reach your audience on multiple channels and platforms, increasing the likelihood that they will convert.

Conclusion:

The best direct mail marketing tactics are the ones that make the most sense for your company's goals and budget. Brainstorm your company's goals for this year, figure out your marketing budget for the year, and choose a direct mail strategy that can help.

If you’re not sure the above tactics are right for you or have questions on getting started, feel free to reach out at 785-690-7222 or by chatting in through our live chat pop up. Our direct mail experts are here to help you choose the best direct mail strategy that fits your budget and that will exceed your goals. You can also click the button below to explore more and to get started on growing your business this year!