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The direct marketing channel war revisited

These days the debate over direct mail versus email seems to be over.  The conventional wisdom is that direct mail is too expensive and takes too long.  If a retailer has had bad sales over the weekend, they want to take action now and not wait a month or two to get a direct mail piece delivered to their customers’ mailboxes.

However, this approach could ignore some valuable customers.  What about your customers who are not emailable either because you don’t have their email address or they have opted out of email communications?  Also, sending an email doesn’t mean it will actually be seen by the consumer.  Google’s use of the promotion inbox makes it easier for consumers to ignore marketing communications.  In addition, plenty of people have secondary email addresses that they use just for these types of communications and which they check only rarely.

In addition, there is the question of whether email is always the best channel for the message.  A recent study found that physical ads were better than digital ads in some respects.  See here: http://www.dmnews.com/postal/direct-mail-has-a-greater-effect-on-purchase-than-digital-ads/article/423292/

In the end, it may be a multichannel strategy that works best for you.  Through a test and learn approach you can determine what generates the best return on your marketing investment.

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Welcome!

How important is it welcome customers to your brand?  If you are a brand manager with a welcome program for new customers, you may be asking yourself this very question.

Welcome programs run the gamut from a simple email that confirms someone has signed up for an e-newsletter or thanks a customer for making a purchase to  a coordinated series of communications across a range of channels (for example, telephone, direct mail and email).  The best welcome programs are integrated across channels and feature tailored messages based on the customer and the product or service purchased. These communications begin shortly after a customer has made a purchase, registered on a website, etc.  They can span as little time as a week to several months depending on the product.

Welcome programs are important for many reasons.  They enable you to:

  • Thank customers.  Let the customer know that you appreciate their business and it reinforces the good feeling they have about purchasing from you
  • Promote new products.  These communications can be used to make customers aware of additional products and services they may want based on what they have already purchased
  • Educate customers.  It is a way for you to communicate with your customers about product features that some may find confusing.  Proactively sharing with them how to access or use a feature could reduce future calls for technical support, saving your brand money and reducing customer frustration down the road
  • Understand your customers better.  It is an opportunity for you to gather information about the purchase process at a time when customers are most likely to talk to you

I have found that customers are most responsive to communications just after they have purchased a product and just before they are about to purchase again.  Take advantage of this opportunity to begin a dialogue with your customers.