Get Past the Online Clutter with Print Marketing

It seems like online marketing is the new darling of the advertising world. There’s endless discussion of how to optimize your website for search engines, keep top-of-mind with email marketing campaigns, and harness the power of social media to grow your business.

But does email live up to the hype?

Email Marketing Costs

Though email seems like a cheap alternative to print marketing, there are hidden costs associated with using email for marketing purposes. Email is not a free service, especially not once companies invest in applications like Constant Contact and other tools. It also has hidden costs, such as the threat of data breaches and the time and money it takes to resolve them. Such breaches can also be detrimental to a company’s reputation.

Many companies believe that since email uses no paper, it is an environmentally-friendly way to market their businesses. However, it takes a lot of power to run the data centers that house email servers, and even more electricity to cool the rooms that rows and rows of servers heat up. After considering these factors, digital printing can be a greener product.

Aside from operational costs, the return-on-investment on email marketing campaigns is not always profitable. Email users have been bombarded with online offers in recent years. The saturated market makes it difficult for any individual company’s email offer to stand out.

One marketing expert decided to test the effectiveness of email marketing. She created an offer and sent it to half her recipients by mail and to the other half by email (the text and graphic on the print and email offers were identical). The response rate for the print offer was twice that of the email one.

Tap the Power of Print Marketing

Print marketing can increase the number of responses companies get from a marketing campaign. Many recipients who are tired of the barrage of email offers appreciate a well-designed printed offer or promotion. Companies can also take advantage of other print media, such as posters, catalogues, and brochures, to connect with recipients.

Additionally, printing, especially digital printing, is environmentally friendly. Companies only need to print as many copies of their advertising piece as they need. The ink and other materials used in digital printing are often byproducts of other industries, reducing waste. 

If you are ready to learn more about how digital printing can help you increase advertising response rates and maximize your marketing dollar, contact Matreks Printing today at 952-746-4010.

Implementing a Successful Direct Mail Project Is as Easy as 1-2-3

Are you ready to roll out your next direct mail campaign, but not sure where to start? Fortunately, planning and executing a direct mail project is easier than you may think.

Step One: Plan

An effective direct mail campaign targets an audience, delivers a clear message, and gives recipients a reason to act. Businesses can use their contact lists and the success of past advertising campaigns to guide the message and medium of their next mail project.

For example, an orthodontist may have found it more effective to send a letter describing their services and expertise to dentists than to send promotional postcards to parents with school-aged children. Thus, the orthodontist may choose to target dentists in future direct mail campaigns.

Developing clear messages and calls-to-action is also an important part of the planning process. Messaging should be direct, powerful, and engaging, while call-to-actions should be clear and easy to act upon. Businesses may ask recipients to “schedule a service today at 612-555-1234” or “scan the QR code to sign up for our newsletter”.

Step Two: Implement

Once businesses have an idea of what they would like to include in a direct mail campaign, there are a few powerful words they should incorporate into their messages to capture recipients’ attention. Words like “save,” “results,” “money,” “guarantee,” “new,” “easy,” “proven,” and “free” all resonate well with readers.

When a direct mail piece is ready to print, businesses can use variable data digital printing to customize mail pieces to each recipient. With variable data printing, businesses provide their printers with the electronic files of direct mail projects and a spreadsheet that lists recipients and pertinent demographic information. The printer uses these documents to produce the direct mail campaign quickly and cost-effectively.

Step Three: Track Performance

Business owners should not think their work is done once they send out their mail pieces. Savvy business owners track the performance of their direct mail campaigns to improve the effectiveness of future projects. Direct mail pieces have many different objectives. Some are designed to increase sales, while others aim to improve foot traffic or name recognition.

There are several ways to track a campaign’s performance. Following up with new customers with a simple “How did you hear about us?” can help companies evaluate their advertising campaigns. Including a coupon only redeemable in-store can also help businesses track the performance of a direct mail piece.

Analyzing the performance data of advertising campaigns helps business owners make changes to improve the effectiveness of their direct mail projects. Even minor modifications can make a big difference to the ROI of a print mail campaign.

To get started on your next direct mail campaign, contact Matreks Printing today at 952-746-4010.

Optimize Your CRM System for Variable Data Digital Printing

Every Twin Cities business has a customer list, and many companies use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to organize and track communication with clients. Companies can use their CRM systems to help customize their marketing materials to recipients. Integrating data from CRM systems can be effortless with variable data digital printing.

What Is Variable Data Digital Printing?

Variable data digital printing allows businesses to tailor print marketing materials to each individual recipient. Companies can change both the message and graphics used on a piece of marketing with variable data digital printing.

To do so, business owners simply provide their digital printer with the digital files of the marketing piece, including the variable text and graphics, and a spreadsheet with customer data from their CRM systems. The data should include customer names, addresses, and pertinent demographic information. The digital printer uploads these files to his or her equipment. Since every copy of a digitally printed marketing piece is an original copy of a digital file, the printer is able to customize the project nearly effortlessly.

A Real-World Example

Suppose an office supply company would like to send out a postcard advertising a fall sale. The company would like to use the same postcard template to target market to parents of grade school students, college students, and business owners.

Using variable data digital printing, the company can create back-to-school themed messages and graphics to use for the grade school and college recipients and a seasonal message and graphics for business owners. Then, the office supply company sends out these customized postcards to their targeted customers.

Making the Most of Variable Data Digital Printing

While even the most simplistic customization, such as using a recipient’s first name on a marketing piece, helps increase response rates, companies can boost the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns with more nuanced variable data techniques.

For example, businesses can use the location, gender, age, and even work duties of their recipients to personalize their marketing messages. In the above real-world example, the office supply company could customize its grade school postcard even further using ages of a recipient’s children, or perhaps even their genders. A parent of elementary school-aged children may receive a postcard with cartoon apples, rulers, and pencils, while a parent of high school-aged children receive a postcard with textbooks, binders, and calculators. Matreks can help your company produce an effective marketing campaign tailored to your customer list. Contact Matreks today at 952-746-4010 to learn more about variable data digital printing and how to customize your next marketing campaign