This article was originally published on Brand United.
Somehow the holidays are almost here, are you ready? As you start to plan out your holiday direct mail campaigns you should be considering how to be different this year. Both customers and prospects are on the lookout for great deals during the holidays, so now is the time to get started planning yours. Staying ahead of your competition is important this time of the year. Are you ready to get started creating great holiday direct mail?
4 Ideas for a Direct Marketer's Holiday Direct Mail:
- Fun – Everyone needs a laugh, how can you make them laugh with your holiday direct mail? This time of year is full of fun so join in and create a mail piece that is not just an offer but a really fun experience. Think outside of the box about what you can do differently to have more fun with your prospects and customers. It does not have to be super expensive. Get creative!
- Discounts – Make sure you are offering discounts on items that matter to your prospects and customers. This time of year, they expect it. Remember it’s all in the wording of the offer. Interpretation is the key, so a higher percentage off a lower cost item is seen as a better deal than a lower percentage off a high price item. Target the discounts based on things they are interested in. You can use variable data to make a highly targeted coupon.
- People – Make sure that the people you are targeting with your holiday messages are the right people. Yes, your offers need to be targeted, but if you send a Christmas greeting to a Jewish family you are missing out on a great opportunity to connect with them on a more personal level. The better you target and personalize the better response you will get. So really look at your data to make sure you have enough information to target people correctly.
- Sharing – Offer a fun way for people to share the savings with friends and family for the holidays. Consider how you can tie in social media to expand your reach. Perhaps a photo contest or treasure hunt? This time of the year people love to have fun and share it! You can have your message expand well beyond your list when they do. This can really help to increase your ROI and make customers and prospects happy they can share.
It’s a special time of year, so make sure that your holiday direct mail reflects the special types of offers they want. Don’t just send a postcard, be extra creative for the holidays to not only stand out in the mailbox but get people to respond. Also, don’t wait for December, be sure to send mailings for Halloween and Thanksgiving too. Really get into the holiday spirit and have fun. Customers will appreciate it.
You should test different offers. Holiday direct mail offers can be more fun and outrageous than at other times of the year. Don’t miss the opportunity to have fun with your offers and get a deeper understanding of your customers and prospects. The offer that works the best may surprise you!
If you have a little extra funds for the holiday campaigns consider using Augmented Reality, video or fun cut outs. Anything you can do to make your mail more interactive and staying on message will help increase your ROI. Make sure that as you are brainstorming ideas you continue to look at it from the customer’s perspective. You need to focus on what they will respond to and enjoy. Are you ready to get started on a great holiday direct mail campaign?
Summer Gould is Account Executive at Neyenesch Printers. Summer has spent her 31 year career helping clients achieve better marketing results. She has served as a panel speaker for the Association of Marketing Service Providers conferences. She is active in several industry organizations and she is a board member for Printing Industries Association San Diego, as well as the industry chair for San Diego Postal Customer Council. You can find her at Neyenesch’s website: neyenesch.com, email: summer@neyenesch.com, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter @sumgould.