Sometimes businesses are so focused on keeping up with the latest marketing trends that they ignore things they’ve been doing that are working well. While there’s no question that web-based marketing efforts are faster, cheaper, and in some cases more effective than traditional direct mail, there are a lot of major companies that still rely on direct mail to pull potential clients to their web-based efforts.
Let’s look at a few of them briefly.
- Chipotle: The fast food giant faced some serious challenges in the last year when outbreaks of illness were traced back to some of their restaurants. They turned to direct mail to entice customers to come back. Click here for a look at what they did.
- Century Link/Xfinity: The two cable television providers are (to some degree) the last two giants standing in the cable wars. Most of us would be hard-pressed to remember a week when we didn’t get a card mailing from one or the other, or both. While they also use television and online methods, both companies are tenacious about mailing regularly.
- IKEA: The Swedish furniture manufacturer stands at the top of the heap when it comes to affordable, modern, fresh and fun funiture for the home and office. And while they have an extensive and well-designed web site, they mail catalogs frequently—and even built a huge spoof campaign touting their “new” technology (catalogs) that used mail and online video to get prospects to sign up for . . . their catalog. Here’s a look at IKEA’s integrated strategy.
Has there been a major shift in the way direct mail is used? Absolutely! But before you shelve your direct mail efforts, you’ll want to think about how you can adjust them and adapt them so that they support and enhance your overall marketing strategy.
Direct mail still works—and works powerfully—if you execute it well and use it wisely as an integral part of your marketing plans. The successful companies we just looked at are an indication of direct mail’s potential. We’d love to help you successfully integrate your mailings with the rest of your marketing endeavors.
