Print And Mobile Marketing – What’s The Connection?

Marketing is a difficult thing to understand for even those that are well versed. That being said, with new developments like mobile marketing it is now more important than ever to understand how these new marketing strategies sync up with older marketing practices. Print has long been the standard when it comes to advertising, but it is now more important than ever that marketers understand that mobile marketing can improve traditional print campaign response rates when they are utilized together.

There are a few different ways that print and mobile marketing can come together to make for a very useful and effective marketing campaign. With new inventions like QR codes, we can now add mobile marketing and print marketing into one another. With QR codes that can be scanned by your smart phone, you can now make your print ad part of your mobile marketing. That is not the only progress that has been made, it is now possible to add elements to the print ad that can again link back up to the mobile ads.

With mobile marketing on the rise, there are other ways that mobile and print marketing can be one in the same. More and more people are using print ads to help lead customers to the online and mobile marketing. Print ads are most likely not going to be the only means of marketing in any campaign and they are often used in sync with mobile marketing to reach as many customers as possible. A print ad can be somewhat complete to serve the needs of the older crowd but it can also have additional content with mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is growing and is far more popular than ever before and it is certain to rise and continue to grow in popularity.

Tips For Success With Direct Mail Marketing

Segment your mailing list where it will earn you revenue:

Satisfied, regular customers are the best persons to contact for additional customers. If you presently have a list of all of your clients you are half way there. The people you send mail to is what makes the process so successful. Remember, 60% of the success comes from your contacts, 30% from the benefits offered and 10% depends on the ingenuity of the design.

Keep your list up to date:

Statistics show that one of every five Americans move to another area every year. If you have a list consisting of only 40 of the original 100 people you conducted business with, then it is quite obvious you won’t get the sales you expected. For a small fee you can request your post office to make address corrections for at least one mailing per year.

Make your headline design a priority:

You headline must be strong enough to give you instant results. It must capture – and hold – the attention of prospective clients deeply enough for them to pursue what they have read and be excited enough to make a purchase. If your headline lacks then, eventually, so will your income.

Push benefits, not features:

The sales pitch here is to show readers why they need your product and also why it’s best to purchase from you. Being realistic, anyone can offer the same product you do, the benefits come in when you make your clients an offer they can’t refuse.

Compel clients to act:

If you advertise to the hilt, then leave your customers hanging without the ‘call now’ punch line all your efforts will filter right out of the window. Impel them to contact you; tell them to telephone or visit your website.

Targeting Millennials With Your Marketing Efforts

Say what you want about the Millennial Generation, there is no denying they are emerging as a dominant demographic. They are also the most diverse and smart generation the world has ever seen. Exciting data, yes, but that also means they are the most critical-thinking. Marketers must step up their game if they hope to woo today’s youthful majority. So, what do the Millennials look for in a company? Three things: Customization, Intimacy, and Responsibility.

 

Indulge creativity.

Call it self-confidence or narcissism, this generation is big on making everything custom-fit to their individual tastes. Smart marketing goes beyond implying a product is special, they prove it. Young consumers look for variety in color, design, and features tailored to their sensibilities. The more choice you give them, the more likely they are to buy, and better yet, recommend your product to others.

 

Get personal.

Decades ago it was accepted, and even expected, that a company would set itself apart from the pack as a sign of superiority. This generation is a different, more socialized breed. As such, they look to companies with genuine approachableness that they can relate to. These days the most successful marketing campaigns are ones that showcase real, honest people and situations. That doesn’t mean everything has to be serious, though. Humor is also a big seller, so long as it isn’t overly cheesy or patronizing.

 

Be responsible.

Do more than you say and Millennials will see you as a worthy brand. For many young consumers, social responsibility is the most important factor when they shop. It’s more than promising you support some charity or that you are eco-friendly: You must show it through action. Remember: It’s okay to acknowledge your own efforts to give back to the community, just don’t brag too much about it. Today’s critical-thinkers will know when a company uses responsible actions just to make themselves look good. Do it out of a genuine sense of heart, however, and they’ll respect your company for years to come.

The Print Industry’s Powerful Presence

Print by the Numbers
In the age of ever-increasing digital content, the print industry can seem an outdated and dying industry. However, this perception could not be more wrong.
Print industry statistics illustrate that the print industry greatly surpasses the auto-industry in terms of profits and scale; it is a $640 billion business with the auto industry only $432 billion. With 45 trillion pages printed annually, the print industry affects nearly every world market.

Advantages of Print 
Although reaching out through social media and emails can be effective, print stands out to customers as a result of its personal, tangible qualities. Just as a hand-written letter or personal thank you note from a friend means so much more than an email, so does a print flyer or brochure to the customer. For example, direct mail brings in 78% of total non-profit donations.
Print is used in conjunction with online industries; many companies sell print online or reach their audience with both an online and print presence.

The New Printing Industry
Although thriving, the print industry has not escaped the effects of the digital revolution. The days of meticulously preparing for the printing stage are gone. With the ability to print content formatted and designed online, printing has become more colorful, personalized, and faster than ever before.

Ken Custer of Advertising and Marketing Review examines the new printing industry by interviewing various print shops in his home-state of Colorado. Jeannette McMurty, Vice President of G.A. Wright Marketing, is excited about the changes in the print industry: “Printing has always been a part of marketing and it’s an exciting transition as we move away from traditional to personalized marketing…you have to build a relationship and printing is a big part of that.”
Printing, an ever-evolving media, is here to stay.

3 Tips For Succeeding With Direct Mail

When using direct mailers to entice consumers to purchase your wares or services, you will want to make sure they are done in a way that is pleasing to the eye. Make sure to use large, bold fonts that are easy to read. Adding a splash of color and some photos on the mailer will help attract attention, as well. Do not clutter the mailer with information that is not needed. Making it easy to read is key and having excess on a mailer will only make someone throw it in the trash.

Using personalized mailers will make a difference when a customer takes a look at the information. If they see their name in bold print, they will feel as if the company is speaking directly to them instead of anyone that may have opened the mail. Using the name of the intended recipient will make them feel important. They are more inclined to call your company if they feel like they are already known.

Using contests on direct mailers can help boost your customer base. You can have a scratch off game on the mailer which needs to be scratched in the presence of an employee of your company. This will bring customers to your establishment to see if they have won a prize. You can give out gifts or have money off of your products or services as the reward for bringing in the mailer. If you have the mailer personalized, you would be able to see which potential customers were interested in the mailers to help you get a better idea of the demographics of the customer base you would want to send to during the next mailing.

Cross-Selling Your Marketing Campaigns

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When it comes to increasing the bottom line of your business, cross-selling is one of the first places to look. It’s commonly accepted that it’s far more expensive to win new customers than to retain existing ones – up to 7x more expensive, according to Kiss Metrics – and so getting your current customers to spend more becomes an attractive alternative.

To persuade people who already do business with you to buy more of what you sell, certain marketing considerations need to be taken into account to make the most of the opportunity.

Learn Where Cross-Selling Works: Not all of your products or services will be suitable to suggest associated items that the customer might also want. Take care to market only those that make sense as a combination, and be sure to test those assumptions against actual sales figures.

Pick Your Channels Carefully: Some marketing channels lend themselves more to cross-selling than others, depending on your brand and the industry you serve. Try them all, but only keep those that you can prove drive a bigger spend.

Target to the Correct Customers: There are some customers who simply aren’t a good fit for broader sales. Certain types of returning customer can actually cause you to lose money, so it’s important to target only the right ones, as this Harvard Business Review article explains.

Don’t Ignore the Data: If your sales figures say that certain campaigns aren’t working, don’t be afraid to pull the plug. Your efforts are better spent on those that spike your sales, and ineffective cross-selling runs the risk of alienating customers.

 

Done well, cross-selling can be the perfect antidote to a slow sales period. Just make sure you’ve targeted correctly and keep testing to prove your tactics are truly working.

Best practices for incorporating direct mail into a multi-channel marketing strategy

Businesses that employ a multi-channel marketing strategy should make consistent use of direct mail. The multi-channel approach is quite effective at reaching potential customers and engaging them in content. Out of the multitude of typical marketing channels, the best is direct mail. Let’s take a look how it can be an integral part of a multi-channel marketing strategy.

Direct mail has many distinct advantages over other marketing channels. A direct mail campaign should initially be incorporated with a test message. Don’t commit to a single message right off the bat. Direct mail affords you the flexibility to test a variety of messages to see which approach works the best. While other marketing channels can be quite costly to produce, direct mail is very affordable in comparison. If your initial test message doesn’t produce the desired results, you can still afford to tweak it until you’ve found something that works.

Another clear advantage of a direct mail campaign is that it enables a business to strive for several different goals. With direct mail, your customers are more likely to keep your advertisement around and they might consult it more than once. This means that it is the ideal platform to tout your company’s other marketing efforts on different channels. Use direct mail campaigns to inform potential customers about these efforts. Tell them all about your company’s website and social media presence on Twitter, Facebook etc.

Simply put, a direct mail campaign has the potential to do more than inform customers about your products and services. It has the potential to reinforce other aspects of the business, including its diverse marketing efforts.

Direct mail also allows a business to alter its message based on the time of the year. Other more expensive marketing channels don’t permit such flexibility. Direct mail campaigns can be timed with precision to capitalize on seasonal changes, economic changes and just about any other current event in order to maximize response rates.

Why Advertising in Newspapers is Still Effective

Should You Consider Newspaper Advertising?

Each year, articles appear online bemoaning the death of newspapers and saying that websites will soon put old fashioned broadsheets out of business for good. Yet, each year, some newspapers continue to thrive as others shut down, suggesting there is still a viable market for newspaper publishers who know what they are doing. One of the most lucrative areas for any newspaper is advertising, which includes the ads that appear throughout the publication as well as the classified listings. Advertising in newspapers is still effective for many business owners, including larger chains and small, locally owned businesses. There are a few reasons that advertising in a newspaper can be effective.

Lack of Distractions and Competition Make Newspaper Ads Effective

Unlike the internet, where distractions abound, most readers of a printed newspaper are focused on what they are reading. Online, the same story that appears in print may be surrounded by ads, links to stories on related topics and weather and traffic information. On the average printed page, there are only a handful of ads, generally from different industries. This singular focus gives advertisers in a printed newspaper a much better chance of keeping the customer’s attention and closing a sale.

Reach Different Segments of the Market with Newspaper Advertising

Another factor in successful newspaper advertising is the desired target market. Certain segments of the reading public simply prefer the feeling of holding a publication in hand and turning the pages. Others are not as internet savvy as they could be. As a result, newspaper advertisers are actually reaching a coveted segment of certain audiences. If your product is aimed at seniors, grandparents or those who are not extremely technologically proficient, a newspaper ad can be much more effective than one that appears online.

Three Effective Tips for Making Print Interactive

Have you been looking for ways to improve your print marketing efforts? If so, there’s great news. By following three simple tips, you’ll be well on your way to making your print ads, labels, and content come to life.

Start Using QR Codes

QR codes might look like funny barcodes, but they are an excellent way to bring valuable information to your customers. In fact, when a customer scans a QR code using a mobile device that’s connected to the Internet, he or she will then be taken to your online site or application. It’s here that customers can watch videos relating to your services and products, leave feedback and lots more.

Always Incorporate Social Media Profiles

When it comes to bringing life to your print, social media is the way to go. On all printed materials that you supply to customers, make sure to let them know that you are active on an assortment of social media platforms and that you would love to connect with them. Once the two of you connect with one another, you’ll then be able to interact like never before.

Include the URL to Your Website

If your customers don’t know the link to your website, how are they supposed to visit your online store? Because of this, make sure that all of your printed materials include the URL to your website. Also, if your company hosts a blog, make sure to include the URL to it as well.

Email Marketing-The Importance of Tracking

Tracking email marketing campaigns is essential to measure your success or lack of-if that happens then you will know what to do next time around. Email marketing performance and the importance of tracking are crucial for success.

They allow you to see exactly how well a campaign performed or did not and why. Giving you an advantage to change tactics or improve them for better email marketing performance. Following the news in the email marketing sector which provides insight on the best practices.

Three Important Marketing Metrics Tracked Today

  • Deliverability rate
  • Click-through rate
  • Open rate

Deliverability rate is the most important step in defining a formula for calculating the rate of delivery throughout the program. Dividing the total of delivered emails by the number of emails sent, thus giving you the deliverability rate. Removing non-active accounts will improve the rates. Determine what form of messaging works the best and with what customers, continue to improve on the delivery methods ensuring a strong customer base.

Click-through rates are the most tracked in email marketing due to the ability to further track additional information such as email ROI and revenue generated by each email. Using different calls to action, links and content will have a direct impact on the rate. Targeted email marketing messaging, in smaller segments is more relevant and highly increases results.

Open rate is a principal metric of email marketing, the largest impact is on the subject lines rating to see which works best with the headlines. Body styles are also tested using click-through and open rate to establish which style combination brings results. The results will prove if redesign is necessary. Keeping a close eye on the time of and what days your messages are sent out, different times of the day affect rates.

A successful email marketing campaign depends on your tracking methods and practices, even the slightest changes make a difference. If you continue to track and measure the results, only the best possible solutions will arise, furthering your campaign success. The importance of email marketing tracking is what forms the bond between you and your customers.