It would be great if online marketing—websites, pay-per-click, email, etc.—were all you needed to get the most out of your business’s marketing plan, but that just isn’t the case. Could you make it work? Sure. But since the response rate for email marketing has been decreasing due to its pervasiveness, it has become imperative for any marketing effort to cut through the clutter and come up with something more compelling.
The truth is that to have the most effective marketing strategy possible, you will need direct mail and online marketing working together. A successful direct mail marketing campaign drives traffic to your website or landing page, where you prompt prospects to fill out a form, thus capturing a lead. But if you are using only online marketing like pay-per-click advertising, you may have a prospect’s attention only for a split second before they click on your competitor’s ad.
The key is integration – integration between online marketing and direct mail marketing.
Here are three best practice pointers for integrated marketing to help you build your business.
1. Use postcards to point prospects to a landing page
There is just no better way to ensure your prospects see exactly what you want them to see than a well-designed landing page specifically for the direct mail campaign. It makes your sale (offer, special, etc.) the only information available. On your homepage, there are many distractions that can interrupt the sales process. Use landing pages to guide a prospect through the sales cycle and focuses the core message. Never leave your prospect to wander aimlessly.
2. Follow up with online leads using Google’s Remarketing
Once you drive prospects to a landing page or your website, you want to follow up with them, because not every lead will close right away. If you are using Google Adwords, there is another avenue that you can use with a new service from Google: remarketing. Activating it with your AdWords account allows you to have your ads follow prospects around the Internet once they visit your site. After they navigate away from your site, your ad will appear to them anywhere they go on the Google marketing network. The advantage is that if the direct mail approach doesn’t work, the user continue to be exposed to your Google PPC, providing more brand impressions and keeping your products or service on top of his mind.
3. Collect email addresses with a postcard campaign
This is a “duh!” comment but it needs to be said. You want email addresses for your leads because email provides an extremely affordable way to stay in front of customers and prospects alike. Also, it is an excellent way to follow up with leads who opt in to your mailing list. The combination of email and Google remarketing follow-up provides excellent brand exposure for your company and increases your close percentage.
Summary
The Internet will never be able to compete with direct mail marketing in terms of targeting a specific audience and gaining superior brand exposure, and direct mail marketing sometimes does not offer the cost-efficiency that online platforms provide for staying in touch with prospective clients. When both are used hand-in-hand, they can increase the efficiency of your marketing plan and help you get the most out of your marketing budget.