We’ve all received them: horrifying and downright scary bad B2B direct mail pieces. Maybe the spelling of your name was butchered on the front of the envelope or the piece blended in with the rest of your office mail and ended up in the trash before you even gave it a second look. Avoid chilling mistakes like these, and discover what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to B2B direct marketing. Here are some of the latest trends, tips and tricks.
1. Multichannel Integration
With the explosion of digital, social media and content marketing, B2B direct mail is increasingly timed alongside digital and other tactics. The key, of course, is consistent messaging and branding, reinforced across multiple touchpoints. In this way, online and offline tactics work in tandem to develop relationships with customers, generate leads and maximize ROI.
2. The First Impression
B2B marketers are turning to innovative strategies for formatting and packaging to grab prospects’ attention. Creating engaging oversized or dimensional mailings, for example, has proven to generate higher response rates, especially when compared to the miniscule response rates of the hundreds of emails flowing into your prospects’ inboxes every day.
3. Personalization and Segmentation are Key
One-size mailing does not fit all, and personalization is key. Current or lapsed customers will not respond to the same message as prospects, so segmenting is often worth the investment. Sometimes using segmentation to determine which audiences to target with direct mail and which ones to target with digital tactics is beneficial. See how we used segmentation to help one insurance provider beat its enrollment goals.
4. Appealing to the Senses
Appealing to the senses is a simple yet worthwhile strategy to catch the recipient’s eye. For example, a velvety varnish can entice your target audience to touch and open your direct mail because it appears “soft” and naturally generates the image of prestige or high-profile content inside. Creative approaches that incorporate interactivity, such as surveys or contests tied into offers, are another way to generate interest and response.
5. The Content and Call to Action are Crucial
While the appearance of a B2B direct mail piece is important, the content of the mailing is also vital to the campaign’s response rate success. Be sure you are offering valuable, relevant information. In addition, make it easy for prospects to contact you by including a variety of ways to get in touch – whether it be by phone, email, landing page or social media account. Let customers contact you on their own terms.
6. The Power of Data
The most successful B2B marketers today rely on the power of data to ensure their messages are reaching the right audience, at the right time, and with the right message. Direct mail is more effective than ever before because a physical rooftop address is more readily available (and reliable) than email addresses. Audience profiling, modeling and analytics can help you narrow your prospects too. And, it is worth the spend to reach a prospect who would otherwise overlook or “junk” a targeted email in their daily overflowed inbox.
In today’s rapid-paced marketing environment, direct mail may seem old fashioned and out of place, but don’t let the digital hype frighten you into an online-only campaign. Smarter strategy and multiple touchpoints will help you cut through the clutter to achieve hair-raising, goosebump-inducing success.
