A few industries are well known for their marketing efforts. Anyone who has received an annual checkup reminder from a dentist or a coupon from their local pizza place will tell you that. However, there are other ways to integrate direct mail into your marketing strategy, and we thought it would be fun to list some creative ideas by industry:
- Own a beauty salon? Why not send out cards with pre-punched eyebrow plucking stencils? Even if the recipient doesn’t do their own plucking, it’s memorable and they’ll get to test a variety of styles before they visit!
- Have a dog training business? What if you could print your message and phone number directly on a dog biscuit, using edible ink?
- Own a hardware store? Send out handy cards with quantities of common size nails and screws per pound. Guaranteed, they’ll be a work bench staple for those with a DIY habit!
- Offer landscaping services? Send out seed packets in the springtime with growing instructions and contact information.
- Run a fence company? Print an isolated version of your fence on clear plastic so homeowners can hold them up, look through them and visualize your new fence on their fence line!
- Operate a personal training business or gym? Send out calendars with daily health and fitness tips.
- Run a daycare or out-of-school care service? Turn your direct mail piece into a pop-up piece on the inside. Put the boring stuff on the outside for the parents and the magic on the inside for kids.
- Market your medical practice and do some good by sending out branded first aid tips. This works well for doctors and veterinarians (because pets are people too!).
- Need to market an optometry practice? Send out a branded eye chart and instructions on how to do a DIY test at home.
- Print your event planning message on a balloon. When people inflate them, they make your branding bigger!
- Print details of your butcher business on the back of a diagram showing various cuts of meat and the best way to prepare them.
- Own a bakery? Make your direct mail piece a pack of cupcake wrappers with your branding on them.
- Mini pizza boxes or Chinese takeout boxes with your menu inside will certainly get your new takeout restaurant noticed!
- A mailer infused with the scent of catnip will definitely get your pet store or veterinarian practice noticed by the felines in a home.
- Send out branded “money” to advertise your financial or consulting services or to entice customers to switch to your bank.
- Mail preprinted packing tape out to prospects to market your moving company or storage service.
Direct mail is about so much more than flyers and form letters, and these days, unique and interesting methods almost always win the game. Take some time to really think about what your customers want, and incorporate that into your marketing, whether it’s a monthly recipe card from your supermarket or a map of a ski area from your tour company. If it’s useful and different, you’ll get a much better response.
