10 Reasons Direct Mail Works

Why go through the trouble of designing, printing, and mailing?

"We market with email. It's practically free. I can email my customers as often as I wish and my message will be right there in front of them on their monitor."

"We have a website. It never takes a break, works all day and all night. My customers can google for my services, one click and my website pops up there in front of them on their monitor."

What if your customers aren't finding your website? What if your email click through rate is low? People either don't know you, can't find you, or don't remember you. There is nothing wrong with email marketing (when done respectively) - it can often be an integral part of a campaign, or provide useful information when targeted at the right market. There is nothing wrong with investing in a great website and search engine optimization (SEO), in fact it's necessary these days. Many consumers find it difficult to trust a company that doesn't publicly present itself well online. Email and online media can play a very important roll in a company's image and success; but, it is often not enough. With the averageemail click through rate at less than 3% and billions of business web pages, online stores, and price comparisons it is extremely easy for the consumer to shop around, disregard and delete. Shopping and deleting, all without remorse.

Marketing is a broad and competitive art. For a customer to commit to a buying decision there are three things that must be in place: the customer must have a need, the customer must find a resource to fill that need, and the customer must trust that resource.

Here, hold this.

Tangible, memorable, delicious.

A recent USPS study found that Americans spend an average of 30 minutes per day reading their mail. That's a 30-minute window that every mailpiece has with the target consumer. And the piece is not in competition with a million other businesses, but rather a handful. Let's look at how direct mail can excel over email, web, and even radio and TV marketing.

Direct mail is tangible. You can hold it in your hand, touch it, feel it, smell it. There can be texture, depth, product, interesting folds creating controlled messages. This creates an adventure and mystery. A personal experience. You can keep it and revisit it. Store it in your wallet, car, or office. Direct mail has the potential to physically stand out amongst it's immediate competition. It is not a picture of a flower. It is not a video of a flower. It is a flower.

Have you ever been confronted with a multi-media campaign that you thought was particularly exceptional? Perhaps it started with an email blast. Cute, quick, with decent graphics. If you gave it any amount of time at all it was likely aimed at the correct audience and incidentally must have been relevant to your needs or interests. Within the email should have been a call to action. This was either a phone number, address, or more commonly a link to a website. You clicked on the link, visited the website and learned what you wanted to know. But, closing the deal (the follow through or purchase) was probably not done at that time. So, if the deal is not closed what happens to the email or the website? The email is usually deleted or at least moved out of your inbox. The website may not be important enough to disrupt your favorites list. So, the first touch by the marketer is partially forgotten.

Then you receive a direct mail piece. The graphics match the email and website you visited. Perhaps you give the campaign a second look. More prepared now to make a decision, the direct mail piece means more to you. The website has more validity. The possibility of closing the deal is much more likely. It's as if the email and website were merely pictures of the real thing, which is now in your hand. Still, maybe you were not ready to commit at that time, so you put the mailpiece on your desk. Where it sat. Waiting in plain site. Conveying it's message over and over again. "Hey, I'm still here whenever you're ready" it says. Perhaps it became a conversation piece. "Bob, did you see this... kind of cool, eh?"

More to come...

Visit www.philprint.com for more information on printing and direct mail.

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Phillips Printing is your single source for Print Design, Commercial Printing, and Direct Mail. Visit philprint.com for more info.

Design | Print | Store | Mail

adaptable.

Print and be happy (squidoo post)

It's hard to find a reliable printer or design group in Tennessee that offers a true value. Wouldn't it be nice to find a partner that not only has the experience in printing, but provides high-end design and service with a smile? Traditionally, if you are looking to get a direct mail piece designed and printed you would need to hire two vendors. First, an agency or design firm, and second, a printer. Of course this means more time out of your day to manage the process; a vine of business to business to business communication. You have to create, proof and finish with the design firm. Then you must transfer the files to the printer, which yields another proof - hopefully it looks like what was designed. Of course if any problems arise this can lead to a long and expensive stream of back-tracking. And if the piece has to mail, perhaps with variable data, well that's a whole other bag of beetles.

Keep it simple

There is a solution. Nashville, TN is home to one of the premier values in printing, design, & mailing. Phillips Printing, has been in the printing business for 50 years. During that time they have adapted to be a strong force in the printing and design environment. Not only do they house a variety of offset and digital presses, they also have a fiercely adaptable design team. Phillips provides design and printing services for all types of products including stationary, brochures, direct mail, business collateral, posters, business cards, and full corporate branding. And if you're looking for someone to mail your newly designed marketing piece, Phillips is a full service mail shop with all the list processing software, addressing & tabbing equipment in-house. If your business is looking for long-term partner for its' marketing and printing needs, then Phillips is a valuable choice. They are truly adaptable. You can see some of Phillips work by visiting their portfolio.

What's important

Phillips understands the importance of staying in touch with their clients. To get a feel of just how valuable Phillips services are, you have to experience something that they deliver with pride, something that is in short supply these days - appreciative customer service. Combine that with expertise and you have a winning combo.

The skinny

Phillips Printing is the adaptable solution for high-end design, experienced printing, expert mailing, and convenient online ordering services. They primarily serve companies headquartered in and around the Nashville, TN area, though, Phillips does service businesses with regional offices all across the southeast US and worldwide. Phillips Printing is located at 949 Woodland Street, Nashville, TN 37206. Phone: 1-888-ask-phil Fax: 615-227-2536. For more information visit philprint.com.

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