What do you get when you mix direct mail, personalized URLs, email and variable data printing?
Answer: our newest video below.
Late last year we fully executed a lead gen campaign for a client and it was both fun and successful. We went ahead and dissected the program in this 5 minute video:
Note: if you would like to speak to us about creating a similar program for your marketing efforts, please email Ryan or call him at (973) 305-1500 ext. 206.
I just finished reading the latest issue of DMNews (July 13th, 2009 issue) and it struck me that there was very little mention, if any, of direct mail programs that companies were running.
All the stories were about:
Mobile marketing
Social media
Email marketing
Web loyalty, etc.
Now I completely understand that online marketing is very hot right now, but direct mail for many companies is, and should be, a vital part of their marketing mix.
Now you can say I’m biased because Ballantine provides direct mail services (we offer some digital solutions as well), but it’s a fact that direct mail is VERY targeted and VERY measurable.
If rising costs are an issue, then you become smarter with your direct mail. You lean heavily on your vendors to help you cut costs and/or introduce new ideas. It’s what we do for our clients and it’s what you should EXPECT from your vendors.
Yes, direct mail is changing but if you adapt to those changes, you’ll be OK. Most of our clients (not all) are still mailing at their normal volumes, but have tweaked certain aspects of their direct mail programs. i.e. more finely-tuned lists, more cost-efficient formats, commingling, etc.
You should also look at different printed products. We have a meeting today with a major automobile company to discuss a new printed product that would get them in the mail boxes they NEED to be in at a fraction of the cost.
Or read our previous post on personal URLs. We’re helping one of our clients with a PURL campaign and direct mail is still a big part of the project. An inexpensive self-mailer to get the PURL out there…and then an inexpensive digitally-printed follow up postcard.
Reach out to your customers, and potential customers, from different angles. Online marketing now plays a big role in this approach…and so does direct mail.
Hi Everyone — We had a meeting recently with a solar power client of ours and I think the general scope of the project we were discussing will make for an idea-generating blog post.
As you can probably guess from the blog post title, the project we were discussing was for a personal URL, or PURL as it’s commonly referred to.
They want to use it for their lead generation efforts which, from OUR experience, is the best application for a PURL. Use it to generate leads and gather data…and then use the campaign data to follow up with a 2nd, more focused effort.
So what is a personal URL’s best friend? Digital printing.
By the end of the meeting we concluded we would send out a PURL and then mail out an oversized, personalized digital postcard to those that visited the PURL but didn’t respond. With the reporting a PURL gives you, and the ease and flexibility of digital printing, it’s a very strong combination.
This one-two punch can be achieved using email too and it would give your PURL campaign a very inexpensive boost in response. But with a digitally printed postcard you’re dealing with a lot less competition for your prospect’s attention versus their email inbox.
So if you’re going to do a PURL campaign, consider incorporating digital printing. Because lower print quantities are ideal for digital presses, there’s no pressure to meet high minimums.
Can We Help?
If you want to bounce ideas around with us, or if you want us to send you PURL pricing, please send an email to Ryan Cote.
