One the best kept marketing secrets to boost profits for your printing business is direct mail. The irony is that, as a printer, you’ve probably already touted the many benefits of direct mail to your clients – or if you’re a trade printer, to your print buyers. And yet, so many printing companies still struggle to use the very products and services they’re selling to market themselves! If this is you, here are five+ reasons to make direct mail a priority for your business in 2020.
- Built-in advantage
You likely spend most of your time printing exceptional marketing materials for other peoples’ businesses, guiding them on format, colours, substrates and strategies. In other words, you already have the expertise (and advantage) of understanding, mastering and deploying direct-mail marketing. So why aren’t you using it to boost your own bottom line?
- Direct mail brings your business to light
Direct mail brings ‘top-of-mind’ awareness to your prospects and customers, keeping you uppermost in the minds of hundreds, if not thousands, of potential clients who previously may not have known that you even exist!
- Direct mail creates a compelling invitation
Selling print (or anything) requires two things: an invitation and an easy way to place an order. Content is your invitation. It’s your way of saying, “I’m here. You can trust me. I know what I’m talking about, and I want to help you.” Without a content invitation, possible clients might have a way to order from you, but they don’t really have a reason to. They don’t know you, and probably don’t like you or trust you – yet! Content is the first step to improve these perceptions, establish trust, and build the relationships and connections necessary for them to eventually place orders from you.
- Direct mail is the easiest way to showcase your quality
How many other businesses are as blessed as printers when it comes to sending out attractive and engaging samples of their products? Think how expensive it would be for a clothing company to send free samples to their prospects simply to highlight their quality. You have a distinct advantage in this area. Direct mail can convey that you have a thorough knowledge of, and can professionally produce, high quality printed products. It proved that you pay attention to detail, and you understand the ‘ins and outs’ of successful direct mail marketing. It’s a win-win for you, and a huge trust builder for recipients.
- Direct mail builds trust and creates loyalty
By continuing to offer the content invitation through direct mail marketing, you not only keep in touch with your customers and potential clients on a regular basis, but you also begin to build trust. That added trust translates into additional sales. And when you make it your mission to cherish that trust at all costs, you’ll also begin to see an added loyalty that many companies can only dream about.
There are other compelling benefits of including direct mail in your marketing mix. These include an excellent return on your investment, multiple format options, easy personalization, ability to measure results easily, stunning and affordable finishing options, a proven track record, and much, much more. We’ll be exploring these factors and others in future editions of Graphic Arts Magazine.
