As a Sir Speedy Centennial customer, you are likely or have been a print customer, but listening to all the chatter, you are probably wondering if print is still effective at telling your customers about your company and your product. Think back though: direct mail has always been a great way to speak directly to your customers. It has the added benefit of being a tangible product that they can hold in their hand. Okay, so sure, they may hold it only long enough to toss it, but for those few seconds, it’s in their hand, it’s colorful, it’s physical, and it’s your brand. Sir Speedy Centennial is a big fan of social-media and electronic marketing, but we are also still your Denver source for print — and with good reason.
Based on the buzz these days, it’s easy to think that many marketers think multi-channel and multi-touch marketing means including social media with your paid-search campaign, but for those of us working in marketing before friend became a verb, direct-mail postcards were usually the centerpiece of most direct-marketing campaigns. However, the astronomical growth of the web — and a concurrent shift in marketing budgets — has left the once-venerable workhorse of direct mail languishing in the barn.
Paid search and search optimization are powerful, cost-effective marketing tools as long as your prospects are actively searching online, but what if you’re launching something new? Who’s going to search online for a solution to a problem they’ve never considered? In cases such as this, you simply cannot match the power of direct-mail postcards for introducing a new product or service — especially if your marketplace is limited and the value of each customer is significant. The real benefit lays in knowing the right combination of print and electronic marketing.
Email will work to introduce a new product if you can get email addresses for the key decision makers in your market. However, on the level of pure impact, it’s a lot harder to ignore the visual impact of a postcard on your desk than an email from a stranger. In addition many of today’s customer databases are mostly populated with physical addresses rather than emails.
I’m not suggesting you forego online marketing channels in your multi-channel and multi-touch marketing campaigns. I am suggesting that direct mail postcards combined with an electronic campaign can optimize your budget. Throw in a custom landing page for each vehicle and you have a full quiver for creating brand preference and generating response.
It’s important to remember the old workhorse of direct marketing can still pull a lot of weight.
Sir Speedy Centennial has been providing print in Denver for over thirty years, You’ve come to trust us for your printing communications, now trust us with your electronic marketing as well.