Business NH Magazine – Ranked #42

Spectrum Marketing Companies ranked #42 out of 100 in new hampshire private companies

Business NH Top 100 Private Companies List

The Fastest Growing Companies on the Private 100

Business NH compiled the fastest growing top 100 companies in New Hampshire and in 2021 Spectrum Marketing Companies was ranked #42 among the top 100.

(Information taken from page 44 of the November 2021 issue of Business NH Magazine)

10 Strategies for Successful Holiday Direct Mail Marketing

Holiday direct mail marketing strategies

10 Strategies for Successful Holiday Direct Mail Marketing

It’s Crunch Time

Capitalize on the busiest time of year for shopping by increasing your marketing efforts this holiday season. The earlier you get your message out to consumers the better your chances are of attracting new customers for the following year.

You’ll give your business a boost during the holiday season as well. Capture their attention with a carefully planned and executed holiday direct mail marketing campaign.

Let’s take a look at ten easy things you can do to improve your marketing campaigns this holiday season.

1. Use Oversized Direct Mail

Help divert consumers attention to your offer

Capture consumers’ attention and show them just the important information. Such as, who you are, why they should shop at your store, and what specials you have. The oversized mailer helps divert consumers’ attention away from other mail pieces like standard postcards and letter-sized mailers. Once you have their attention, hit them with stunning graphics while giving them just what they need.

77 percent of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as they get it.

2. Use House Lists To Improve Response

Increase your ROI by sending mail to your current customers

Sending your holiday direct mail marketing mail pieces to new prospects is a great way to build a customer list. However, sending to your house list (a list of customers you’ve built using current customers that have purchased from you) is a fantastic way to increase your response rate. If a customer has already purchased from you and had a positive experience then they are probably willing to purchase from you again. People typically go with what they know and what they’re comfortable with. Remind them that you’re still around and that you want their business again. Retaining current customers improves your bottom line because you spend less money doing so rather than converting new prospects.

You spend less money getting a customer to return than trying to convert a consumer into a new customer.

3. Incentivize With Offers & Gift Cards

Give them an incentive to shop with your business

Part of what makes direct mail so fantastically appealing to marketers is that it gives them the potential for multiple impressions compared to email. If your message is compelling, and your gift card and/or offers are highly enticing, then it’s possible that your customers will put a gift card in their wallet, leave it on their kitchen counter or put it on their fridge.

Your customers might not go running out to use them right away. However, if they’re interested they will keep your mail piece in their home instead of throwing it away. Essentially, you have given them a constant reminder of your business. There are plenty of different types of direct mail you can improve with offers.

4. Don’t Neglect The After Season Shopping

Consumers will still be purchasing after the season is over

The Holidays are a perfect time to push products and incentivize offers. But, don’t forget that shopping doesn’t stop after the Holidays are over. Plan for the late-gift-getters and the vacation-takers to give your business a small boost while others are ramping down. Planning to do so with your holiday direct mail marketing campaign will help you capitalize on the holiday rush long after it has passed.

New customers given gift cards by relatives can be turned into loyal, returning customers with the right in-store experience. Focus on customer service during the week between Christmas and New Years.

5. Lift Response With Spectrum’s Easy Omni-Channel Solution

Spectrum Mail Plus integrates your mail with online channels

Instead of just sending out a traditional solo direct mailing, Spectrum Mail Plus combines your direct mailer with seven digital technologies to create omni-channel direct marketing to digital advertising that increases your ROI by reaching your target audience on multiple channels simultaneously.

It’s easy! All you need is a website or landing page and a Facebook/Instagram account. Spectrum does all the setup and serves ads on your behalf.

Increase your average marketing campaign RESULTS by 23-46%

Direct mail pieces are mailed to your target market. This tried and true marketing medium yields marketing RESULTS by delivering your well-designed message right to your prospect’s mailbox.

Then, your Spectrum Mail Plus omni-channel marketing campaign touches your audience simultaneously across the web while tracking engagement – including visits to your website.

Most sales are made between the 8th and 12th impression! Perfect to hype holiday sale events and promotions!

6. Combine Direct Mail And Email

Give your holiday campaign a lift

Consumers are more likely to make a purchase when they’ve been introduced to your brand multiple times. The more a consumer sees your holiday direct mail marketing message, the more confidence they have in purchasing from you. Make a memorable introduction with your direct mail piece and follow up with an email to the same list or geographic area. Creating a campaign that tells the same story multiple times in multiple mediums allows you to use repetition to your advantage. Remember that a message will stick with a consumer the more its repeated.

Remind them with social media ads

If you want to go the extra mile you can always implement a social media ad campaign. Social media campaigns are great especially when consumers are spending 35 to 50 minutes a day on Facebook alone. Make sure you’re making the best use of your marketing budget by spending it where people are already looking.

Social media users spend around 50 minutes per day looking at content.

7. Reward Loyal Customers

Making a customer feel appreciated is a fantastic way to keep them coming back

Reward a loyal customer to keep them coming back. It’s easier and cheaper than sourcing new prospects. If a current customer has already had a positive experience with you they are less likely to seek out a new store or retailer. Even a small gesture like offering 5% off the total order is welcomed by your customers. Consider using personalized direct mail to make it more impactful.

8. Start Early

The more time your marketing message spends with consumers the better

If we’re being honest, we all notice when a retail location starts putting out Christmas decor way too early. It’s not even Halloween yet, but, the Christmas decorations and gifts are already taking up half of the seasonal aisle. What if we said that’s not a bad thing? Hear us out! Consumers don’t want to wait until the last minute to make all of their holiday purchases. Typically, they want to get everything done as early as possible to avoid the mid-season rush and the large crowds.

Just because you’re prepared doesn’t always mean your customer is

Unfortunately, no matter how well prepared they are, there’s always a few (hundred) people who are rushing to buy gifts and cards the day before Christmas. Shops give their customers a chance to avoid major headaches down the road by putting out holiday material early. Get your marketing message out early as well to make the customer aware of their ability to start shopping.

Starting early gives your marketing message more time to sit with your customers. Sending them one piece of direct mail is rarely enough to get them to buy, especially long-term.

Another reason to get things done early is that a consumer will need that time to make a decision. Slowly and subconsciously they need to start to decide that they’re going to make some holiday purchases. If you’re an auto shop offering a winter tune-up you’ll need to do something similar with your marketing. Make people aware that they can get a tune-up and winterize their vehicle before they get caught in that first blizzard of the season.

9. Convey Emotion

Consumers respond well to emotion so show a little in your collateral

Using power words like “FREE” and “ON SALE!” use to be enough to catch the eye of a consumer. While that may still be true to a degree, it’s just as important to appeal to the sentimental side of your customers. Consumers don’t want selly words and flashy text. It will catch their attention, but, after you do so, you should talk to them as a friend. Create an emotional connection with your customers to build your business and establish trust in your brand. A touch of heart or human emotion will get a lot further than “BUY NOW!”

10. Send A Thank You Card

With no agenda and no pressure show gratitude towards your customer so you’re the first place they shop

Thanksgiving isn’t a major buying holiday. We all know Black Friday is right around the corner though and is one of the biggest buying days of the year. You can utilize Thanksgiving as a way to send your loyal customers some gratitude. Send them a personalized holiday card with a small no-strings gesture of kindness. Use this as the first opportunity to set up the marketing messages you’ll be sending in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Thank your customers and show your gratitude for them. It will go a long way when you’re ready to hit them with the offers and sales.

So What Is The Best Holiday Direct Mail Marketing Strategy?

There is no one tip on this list that’s going to significantly boost your marketing campaign beyond all others. However, the combination of all of these strategies is sure to help you succeed. Using all of these tips will help create a campaign that really speaks to your customers on a personal level. It will also make you more memorable during this highly competitive time of year.

Send early, send often, and stand out!

The takeaway here with holiday direct mail marketing is to be the first on customers mind. So send early and send often! Make sure when your customer sees your message throughout multiple channels that it’s consistent, includes special offers, conveys emotion, and also stands out. Making sure you touch on these main points is key to a successful holiday marketing campaign. We’re here to help. Whether you are current client or new to direct marketing, our marketing experts will help you utilize these tips to create the perfect holiday direct mail marketing campaign.

direct mail direct marketing holiday marketing

Direct Mail Marketing Strategies & Statistics for Black Friday Promotions

Direct Mail Marketing Strategies for Black Friday Promotions

One of the Biggest Shopping Days of the Year

The day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, kicks off one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season.

Between the coronavirus, increased adoption in online shopping, supply chain woes and several retail giants choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving, retailers didn’t know what to expect during the five major online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. While the Cyber 5 period looked much different than previous years, thankfully, that didn’t put a damper on spending. According to Adobe Analytics, online sales totaled a record $34.36 billion, up from $28.49 billion for the same period in 2019. ***

November and December make up 20% to 40% of annual sales for small to medium-sized businesses so make sure you are optimizing your ad spend. If you choose not to run a cohesive Black Friday direct mail marketing campaign, you could miss a large percentage of annual sales.

Put Your Best Offers in Customers Hands!

Create Even More Impact with One of Spectrum’s Eye-Catching Black Friday Direct Mail Solutions!

Deliver your Black Friday direct mail campaign before the competition so it stands out from the crowd. Leverage one of Spectrum’s unique direct mail formats that include multiple sizes, folds, die-cuts and more to capture your audience’s attention. Of people who received a direct mail campaign, 87% were influenced to make a purchase.**

Leverage Spectrum’s Cross-Media Direct Marketing Solutions to Lift Your Campaign’s Response!

While consumers are opening their direct mail this November, make sure you’re integrating your Black Friday direct mail campaign with digital strategies. Extending your campaign to email, social media and/or IP targeted web banner ads has potential for increased response, engagement, and ultimately more sales. Some companies think they can rely on only digital or email advertising.

Consumers start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails they receive on Black Friday. As a result, a little over half of the emails (51%) were deleted within two seconds. The other half are viewed and certainly can be effective – and Spectrum offers the following solutions for extending your direct mail campaigns to digital. It’s important to try and make multiple impressions across all channels for your campaign. After all, multiple touches yield greater RESULTS.

Spectrum MailPlus Direct to Digital Solutions: Increase marketing response 23-46% with direct mail to digital omni-channel advertising
Email Marketing: Our designers will convert your Black Friday direct mail piece to a responsive email that will capture the attention it deserves.
IP Targeting/Banner Ads: Target Black Friday customers and prospects before, during, and even after your Black Friday direct mail campaign drops. Direct them to your website or landing page and present your offer(s).
Social Media Advertising: Gain even more traction by engaging with your target audience on Facebook and Twitter.

Start Planning Your Black Friday Promotion Today

Don’t hesitate! Let’s plan your direct mail campaign now to ensure your campaign hits at just the right time this November. Contact Spectrum to learn more about our award-winning creative services and proven direct mail products so your campaign stands out from the crowd.

* National Retail Federation
** ROMAX
*** Radial

black friday direct mail Black Friday marketing black friday statistics Digital Services direct mail Direct Mail Statistics direct marketing holiday marketing

2021 Emerging Tech USPS Direct Mail Promotion and Incentive

2021 Emerging Tech USPS Promotion And Incentive

2% USPS Postage Discount Promotion

FOR DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGNS USING EMERGING AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY

The US Postal Service continues to encourage the adoption of new technologies and implement systems that help the consumer connect from the physical world of direct mail to the digital environment. The objective is to continue to build on the powerful impact of direct mail but promote enhancements that increase its effectiveness and ROI as a marketing channel.

To further this effort, the USPS is running a unique promotion to encourage marketers to integrate “Emerging and Advanced Technologies” into their direct mail campaigns. Spectrum’s Spectrum Mail Plus service, when added to direct mail (details below), has been pre-qualified for this promotion. From March 1st to August 31, 2021, the USPS is offering a 2% discount on postage for any direct mail campaign using a qualifying technology like Spectrum Mail Plus. In addition, Spectrum Marketing Companies is adding a 2% discount on the rest of the campaign as an additional incentive.

Call your Spectrum representative to learn more and take advantage of this unique offer and enhance the results of your direct mail marketing campaign at the same time.

INCENTIVE PERIOD

March 1, 2021 – August 31, 2021 (Must mail during this time period)

USPS

2% OFF POSTAGE

PLUS

SPECTRUM

2% OFF THE REST!

DETAILS

USPS 2% DISCOUNT OFF POSTAGE

when mailing with a qualified “Advanced Postal Technology” which includes Spectrum Mail Plus during the incentive period.

SPECTRUM WILL EXTEND THE 2% DISCOUNT

to the rest of the campaign’s cost when you add Spectrum Mail Plus!

QUALIFIED FOR DISCOUNT

7 integrated digital technologies designed to target, attract, engage, and convert your best prospects.

Seamlessly integrated Direct Mail, Social Media, Mail Tracking, Online Follow-Up Ads and Call Tracking that maximize the impact of your marketing campaigns.

All monitored through a single client-side reporting dashboard!

DON’T MISS THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY!

Add Spectrum Mail Plus And Save!

LOOKING FOR HIGH-RESPONSE DIGITALLY ENHANCED DIRECT MAIL? SPECTRUM CAN HELP.

The economy continues to open up. Now is a great time to take advantage of this great offer and reach out to your target audience with Spectrum Mail Plus, our digital enhancement to direct mail. It’s a cost-effective direct mail centric marketing program that integrates your mailing list with online ads for increased response. If you are looking to boost sales, promote products or services, or a sales event, then Spectrum Mail Plus can be particularly powerful. Contact us today to get started!

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Direct Mail Marketing Trends 2021

2021 Direct Mail Marketing Trends For Success

Huge Opportunity To Beat The Competition

As the market continues to reopen and stimulus money is poured into a rebounding economy, increased competition and demand for creative and aggressive marketing practices cannot be ignored. Marketers who wait to engage will certainly miss opportunities for growth. At Spectrum, we’re helping clients navigate the current marketplace and working to develop 2021 marketing plans that will resonate with their audience for higher response, lead generation, and continued success.

Our clients have been asking our marketing experts: “How can Spectrum improve our direct mail results during these uncertain times?”

In this blog post, we’re going to highlight some key direct mail marketing trends and response-driven ideas and solutions on how to keep your marketing campaigns fresh. Keep your business on track for a successful year as the economy rebounds and we move closer to normalcy. Waiting isn’t going to cut the mustard!

Improved Targeting

Direct mail is the original king of marketing data. Response codes, lists, data cards, demographic selects, A/B testing and multiple variation testing have been around for decades, but the tools we leverage now are much more sophisticated. This is amazing because you can segment your audience and market to them more effectively than ever.

Data sources have more information than ever before. There’s a continued rise in real-time marketing analytics reporting where marketers are able to see how their campaigns are performing and the adjust targeting, messaging to optimize performance.

Your message must be specific to the person receiving your marketing collateral. The more specific you are with identifying demographics the more efficient your marketing will be. Also, your bottom line will thank you.

Direct mail can be very granular with data targeting the right audience at the right time, making it a very powerful marketing and response channel.

Integrate With Technology

Personalization

Creating personalized messaging in your direct mail strategy has always been a goal. But, it’s more necessary than ever since consumers respond at much higher levels when the messaging closely meets their needs. Personalization is more than just adding a first and last name to your paragraph copy. Serve returning customers different offers and a different message entirely than new customers is a great example.

Utilize Spectrum’s VDP (Variable Data Printing) tech to enhance direct mailings with truly customized, highly relevant offers.

USE AS MUCH DATA AS YOU CAN

Tailor the experience to different groups specifically. For example, auto service repair shops can send staggered campaigns based on customer behavior throughout the year and internal data on their purchasing habits and vehicle specifications. Relevance is important in personalization and using as much data on your customers will be critical in creating that 1-to-1 engagement that drives sales.

EMPATHY MARKETING

Empathy is another element that is critical when communicating your message in 2021. Understanding how your clients and customers are feeling and building connections with them is more important than ever. Spectrum’s creative team can assist you with developing copywriting that will help you express your goals.

Omnichannel Marketing

INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY WITH DIRECT MAIL ADVERTISING

What does omnichannel marketing mean many ask? It’s not just marketing on multiple channels. You’re probably doing that already with your social media campaigns, search ads, and more. True omnichannel marketing is when multiple channels work together with the same coordinated message targeting a singular data-driven audience. This can be particularly effective when running sales promotions or events.

Touching your audience with a consistent message across direct mail, Informed Delivery, social media, your website or landing page, and online display ads with Google Ads provide the repetitiveness necessary for success.

Key Stat: A combined physical and digital presence can help brands increase their impact by 32%, according to ROI Genome data.

Informed Delivery

CONSUMERS SEE WHAT’S COMING IN THE MAIL

Informed Delivery^® is a free subscriber (30+ million as of today) based email notification service offered by the United States Postal Service. Residential consumers receive a digital preview of their household’s incoming mail scheduled to arrive soon directly in their email inbox! Informed Delivery^® allows subscribers to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mail pieces and track packages in one convenient location.*

Engage simultaneously through print media and digital advertising
Use informed delivery to enhance your product offering or drive traffic to your store and website.

Direct Mail Retargeting

CAPTURE MAILING ADDRESSES FROM YOUR WEBSITE – AND MAIL TO HIGH INTEREST PROSPECTS

With Spectrum’s LeadMatch service you can now match physical mailing addresses of unique visitors who came to your website or landing page from your direct mail piece. You’re able to sort leads by geographic area and then mail those highly interested prospects a follow up marketing piece.

Increase your campaign success by reaching out to highly engaged prospects who visited your website or landing page.

Take Advantage Of Postal Promotional Rates

DIRECT MAIL HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CHANNEL THAT PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS IN WAYS THAT MAKE SENSE AND INCREASE CAMPAIGN IMPRESSIONS, ENGAGEMENT, AND RESPONSE.

The USPS has a program giving mailers a 2% discount for incorporating new and emerging marketing and print technologies with mail that’s delivered in 2021.

By working with Spectrum, you’ll already have the advantage of these discounts as well as those we provide through our advanced mail processing and postal logistic services.

Reach out to your dedicated Spectrum marketing expert or contact us today to learn more.

USPS PROMOTIONS

Captivate With Unique Mail Formats

GET CREATIVE! DELIVER BETTER OFFERS!

Keeping the format of your mailer and the creative unique and memorable is critical in capturing the mail moment. Entice your customers with powerful offers they can’t resist. Try testing new formats. Capture customers attention by sending something to your customers they have never seen from you before. Show your passion with high impact graphic design.

Sources

direct mail direct mail trends 2021 direct marketing

Direct Mail Plus Digital Advertising Fuels Sales

Spectrum Mail Plus seamlessly combines your direct mail marketing promotions with digital advertising to maximize your campaigns impact!

direct mail direct mail vs email direct marketing informed delivery

USPS Informed Delivery from Spectrum

Informed Delivery from Spectrum Mail Plus

Direct Mail With Informed Delivery® By USPS®

What Is Informed Delivery® Email Service?

SEE WHAT’S COMING IN THE MAIL

Informed Delivery® is a free subscriber based email notification service offered by the United States Postal Service. Residential consumers receive a digital preview of their household’s incoming mail scheduled to arrive soon directly in their email inbox! Informed Delivery® allows subscribers to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mailpieces and track packages in one convenient location.*

Users can also view their incoming mail by using the free USPS Informed Delivery App anytime, anywhere on your phone or tablet.

SEE WHAT’S COMING IN THE MAIL

Informed Delivery® offers businesses the opportunity to engage users through a digital advertisement along with their scanned mail piece that generates additional consumer impressions, interactions, and insights.

*Images are only provided for letter-sized mail pieces that are processed through USPS’ automated equipment.

How Does Informed Delivery® Work For Consumers?

Users have the ability to view grayscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-size mailpieces arriving soon. And in some cases with oversized mail, a full-color representative image. Mailpiece images are available via email notification, online dashboard, or mobile app.

Consumer signs up for Informed Delivery® on USPS.com.
Mail is scanned at the USPS sectional facility producing an image during processing.
Images are matched to delivery points and mailer interactive campaigns are applied.
User receives mail piece images via Informed Delivery® daily email.
User receives physical mail pieces in their mailbox.

What Value Do Informed Delivery® Campaigns Add?

INFORMED DELIVERY® CAN HELP BUSINESSES INCREASE THE REACH OF THEIR MARKETING CAMPAIGN THROUGH A SYNCHRONIZED PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT.

Great Open Rates – 68% of subscribers open their daily Informed Delivery® email
Know exactly how many people are checking their mail digitally
Increase Interaction – And impressions by adding a digital ride along advertising image to your grey scale mail piece scan
Increase Website Traffic – The ride along advertisement provides a link to your campaign page before the mailer hits homes.
More Bang for Your Buck! – Potentially increase ROI with additional impressions and clicks lead to sales!
Increase Brand Recognition – Each view adds to your overall brand recollection.
Encourage Faster Consumer Responses – Ads with offers, interactive content, and a clear call-to-action related to mail piece.
Additional Campaign Performance & Data Insights – Further optimize your marketing spend.

Informed Delivery® Subscriber Statistics

Over 29 Million Subscribers And Counting

Signups Increasing By 300,000 To 500,000 Each Month

86% Of People Open Their Alerts/Emails Daily

Informed Delivery Has An Average Click Through Rate Of 7-8%

Updated August 5, 2020

Got A New Mover Direct Mail Campaign?

Adding Informed Delivery® for new movers is a no-brainer!
One of the main USPS marketing techniques for promoting ID to consumers is through change of address processing. When a consumer files a change of address they just need to check a box to add Informed Delivery®. This is a main reason for how the subscriber numbers are growing so quickly.

And this means that new movers have exceptionally high subscription rates. We have been seeing new mover match rates over 25%. New movers are already exceptional prospects for direct mail – add the power of Informed Delivery® to get an additional impression.

Add Informed Delivery^® To Any Direct Mail Campaign For Only $99!

SPECTRUM IS HERE TO HELP

Need marketing help during the coronavirus pandemic? Spectrum Marketing Companies can help! Our expert marketing strategists are standing by to help you through this health and economic crisis. We have the marketing solutions, tools and guidance that you need in order to make it through these challenging times.

People are in their homes and have more time to read and look forward to receiving their mail more than ever. Now is a great time to market to them! Reach your target audience with one of Spectrum’s direct mail marketing solutions. Spectrum Mail Plus, our digital enhancement to direct mail, is a cost-effective omni-channel direct mail centric marketing program that integrates your mailing list with online ads for increased response. Informed Delivery is one of the integrated services as well. Contact us and we’ll help you determine the ideal marketing solution for your business

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direct mail direct marketing informed delivery usps informed delivery

No. 1 Priority – Win Your Customers Back

Make Customers Your Priority featured image

#1 Priority – Win Your Customers Back

Putting Your Customers First Has Always Been Important, But Now It Has To Be Your #1 Priority.

Marketing to your existing customers has always been important and they are your greatest asset. It’s much easier to reach existing customers through your marketing than it is to gain a new customer. COVID-19 will certainly test the loyalty of your existing customer base as it affects traditional business-to-customer relationships. Therefore, as businesses look to recover and re-open or increase the level of existing operations, re-engaging with current customers should be your #1 priority.

Unlike in the past, many customers may be hesitant to return to your place of business. They may be concerned over safety issues, be suffering financial hardships, simply don’t know if or when your business will be re-opening or providing the services they previously purchased. Now is the time to re-engage with your existing customers and let them know how you’re taking their safety concerns seriously and remind them that your business is open and ready to meet their needs.

So, how do you get the attention of your existing customers while reassuring them that you’re paying attention to their needs and concerns?

Create A Special Offer For Your Customers To Show Your Appreciation

Nothing says “we appreciate your business” more than a special offer for loyal patronage. That’s why it’s important to show your customers that you are grateful for their business by giving them an incentive to return after restrictions are lifted. Some customers may need that extra incentive to return to normal consumer behavior. Others may simply be looking for deals from businesses they’ve purchased from previously. Whatever the case, make sure you come up with a special offer to get your customers off the couch and into your business.

It’s important to keep your special offer “valuable” and a deal not to be missed. The idea is that the special offer provides enough incentive to get your customers out of the comfort and safety of their own homes and into yourbusiness. By providing something special – a discount off of a high-cost item, a buy one, get one scenario, or even free product (perhaps a discontinued or a previous model of a product). The key here is to incentivize customers with an offer that is something exciting and is perceived as high-value.

Depending on your business, and whether you closed during the initial COVID-19 quarantine, or simply scaled back your operations, you may want to choose your offer carefully. For instance, if you sell “non-essential” items that consumers have been reluctant to purchase during the pandemic, use a more aggressive offer to ensure that customers will take advantage of it.

Consider using a phrase that is specific to your situation to appeal to your customers. For example, if you have been closed since the beginning of the coronavirus restrictions, you might want to use something like “We’re Back! Come back this week and get 20% off your purchase!” Some other phrases that you could consider using (based on your situation) are:

“Win Back” Phrases To Use

We missed you! Come back today!
It’s not the same without you…
We’re ready when you are
We’re open! Come stop by
Save [promotion details] when you come back to us!
Hey, [first name], We’re open again!
We’ve changed to safely serve you

Once you’ve created the special offer with an appropriate phrase to get your customer’s attention, you’ll need to deliver it to your customers. Direct mail still yields the greatest response rate. Combine your direct mailer with Spectrum Mail Plus, our omni-channel marketing program, and you can reach your entire customer base in their homes with that special offer, both in their mailbox and online.

Hold A Special Customer Preview Day Before The Main Sales Event Starts

Everyone loves the thought of being first to preview a new product or being the first to try out a new service. Consider holding a special customer preview day where you invite only your customers to come and preview a big sale (a big reopening sale, perhaps) before the general public.

What is the benefit of doing this? First, it gets your customers – the folks who have bought from you before – in your establishment. If they’ve bought from you before, chances are, they will again. Second, those consumers that were previous customers are likely to spread the word or even bring a potential customer with them to your “preview”, thereby increasing your exposure beyond your list.

Last, holding a preview before the main sale begins can give you insight into what the response will be to your direct mail marketing campaign. Knowing which offers were redeemed will help you prepare your inventory appropriately. Do you have enough product on hand for your most popular sale items?

Your customers are likely to be honest with you and will give you candid and pertinent feedback that might help your main sale be more successful. Make sure you solicit their feedback when they attend your preview event because you may learn some invaluable insight.

Use Promotional Periods Longer Than What You May Have In The Past

Doing business post-COVID-19 is most definitely going to be different and you’ll need to adapt to the new “normal”. Previously, you’ve probably held weekend or 2-day sales to get people to come in during a specific promotional period. After restrictions are loosened from the coronavirus, you may have to lengthen your promotional period to accommodate for fewer consumers in your business at a time and to give your customers more time to respond to your sale.

It is important to take into consideration the restrictions that your state and community have imposed on businesses in the process of reopening. Some restrictions call for a staggered reopening with different businesses and industries opening days apart with specific instructions as to how many customers can be in the store at a time, how far apart tables need to be for dining, etc. Know what those restrictions are and consider them when planning the length of your sale to enable all of your customers to visit your store during the promotional period.

Extend Your Event’s Draw With Spectrum Mail Plus

As mentioned previously, using our omni-channel direct marketing program, Spectrum Mail Plus, to increase your business’s message frequency and reach is highly recommended. Your customers are currently searching for products and services from the comfort of their home. If you use traditional marketing methods like direct mail, combining that with social media and online ads, you can increase your response rate 23-46%. What better way to entice your customers to get off the couch and visit your business!

Response rates for direct mail are already better than all other mediums combined at 5.1%. Combining that with digital ads on social networks like Facebook and Instagram increases the likelihood that your customers will see your ads multiple times before setting foot in your establishment. That repetition is critical to generating response!

Omni-channel marketing has already proven to be the best approach to direct marketing with Spectrum Mail Plus having consistently demonstrated the ability of the method to significantly impact performance. Try Spectrum Mail Plus with your next direct mail marketing campaign and experience the difference in response to your marketing!

Let Spectrum help you make sure your greatest asset, your customers, will come back ready to buy and continue to return.

direct mail direct marketing direct to digital marketing planning omni-channel marketing

Marketing Planning for Your Big Comeback During Covid-19

Marketing Planning for Your Big Comeback During Covid-19

Time to Start Putting Together Your Business’s Plan for Your “Grand Re-Opening Event”

Could you reopen much earlier than expected? While we all recognize that the timing of businesses reopening during the coronavirus pandemic will be based on a variety of factors, most believe that it will start to happen earlier than anticipated. So without a crystal ball on the exact date for your; industry, state or local market, our first recommendation is, “be prepared”.

If you’ve closed temporarily or reduced your staff and hours significantly, you’re probably already trying to figure out when you can return to normal business operations. But how do you know when you’ll be allowed to reopen and more importantly, how will you go about your business’s “big comeback”?

You’ve probably scaled back your advertising efforts, which is understandable, however, you shouldn’t have stopped marketing completely. Why? There are a variety of reasons to not stop direct marketing, the biggest of them being that consumers are spending even more time at home online surfing, on social media and checking their mailboxes – it’s the perfect time to market to them and let them know that your business is still serving your customers. With more decision makers at home, reaching out with a direct mail campaign can deliver more impressions and generate higher response.

To position your business effectively for when the time is right, we’ve developed the following planning guide. We can help you address these critical steps:

Top 3 Planning Priorities

Pull Your Existing Customer List

While your business may have slowed and there’s a few calm moments, take some time and review your existing customer list. Inevitably, there’s some list work that can be done to help ensure that you’re using the most up-to-date data on your existing customers. When restrictions lift and business resumes, they’ll be the ones coming through your doors first and those you should reach out to first when your business reopens. So, clean, update and get an understanding of list counts for one-to-one marketing outreach so that you can hit the ground running.

Get Your Messaging Right

Next, consider this: a lot has changed in our country, states and local communities in the last few months and it’s affected how business is operated. As a business owner, you’ll need to take this into consideration when you’re communicating your message – what are you customers’ needs? What are their concerns relative to social distancing? How will you deliver your product and/or service to meet their expectations of safety?

You’ll need to address topics like, safety, trust, operating adjustments, product/service offerings and more in your messaging. You’ll need to assure them that you’re practicing the best safety methods and that you’re putting their needs and concerns first.

For instance, by continuing to include a curbside pick-up or delivery option to address concerns about shopping or being amongst large groups of people is a great way to instill confidence and loyalty for customers as they begin to resume normal shopping behavior.

Have you lost market share since COVID-19 began? It’s possible you may have to re-establish your position in the market. What may have been an easy sell before may be more challenging now with consumer spending having decreased. You may be in the unique position to GAIN market share if you are quick to adjust your business or you offer products and services that withstand the current challenges. If that’s the case, your marketing efforts could pay dividends as business returns.

Prepare Your Marketing Materials

Once you’ve cleaned your customer lists and have determined what messaging you’ll use for marketing, it’s time to identify an appropriate theme, format and design for any direct mail campaign and have it designed and ready to go so that you can either start marketing or react quickly to changes.

You’ll need to determine what formats and designs will have the most impact on consumers. Ensure your direction provides enough physical space to effectively reflect; your products and services, safety measures being taken to build trust, present strong offers and stand out in the mailbox.

We also recommend using a combination of traditional direct mail and coordinated digital marketing targeted to the same recipients to reintroduce your business. Combine direct mail and digital with Spectrum Mail Plus?

With Spectrum Mail Plus, you can reach your customers in their mailboxes and online, through both Facebook and Instagram (where they are spending the majority of their time these days). The digital ads will reach them before, during and after they receive your mail campaign. Because many consumers and their families are housebound, the digital aspect of Spectrum Mail Plus has helped lift the response of traditional direct mail campaigns substantially. Typically, we see a 23-46% increase in overall response.

Planning Is Key To Your Marketing Success

As with any campaign, planning is key. Just as much thought should be put into how you’ll deploy your post-COVID-19 campaign as the campaign itself so that you can optimize its impact.

Once businesses begin to reopen and our communities returning to a “new normal”, you’ll need to be prepared for increased consumer demand. Many businesses have suffered from quarantines and lockdowns both government and self-imposed and as a result, production has decreased for many businesses as they cut back due to declining revenue. The key is to not cut back so far that bouncing back is impossible. Judging by the effects of COVID-19 from China and Europe, business recovery post-COVID-19 is coming along at a rate much higher than predicted.

This said, it’s important that businesses prepare for the increased demand once economic recovery has begun and businesses begin to bounce back. The future is still uncertain, however, it is essential to prepare rather than be caught short.

Spectrum Can Help

The important thing to remember is that we’re all in this together. When you’re ready to talk about marketing planning for your big post-Coronavirus comeback, let us know. Spectrum is here to help.

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The Power of Social Match

We take your direct mailing list and MATCH leads with their Facebook and Instagram user accounts. Resulting in increased conversion rates.

Match your mailing list with your Facebook and Instagram user accounts. Your target market will not only receive the mailing, but will be delivered the SAME message on their social feeds, even before they visit your client’s website online. This means a higher conversion rate for your campaign! SocialMatch is a component of Spectrum Mail Plus, and omni-channel direct marketing solution. Learn more >

Social Match Allows You To

80% of sales are made between the 8th and 12th contact. Social Match allows you to reach interested prospects at yet another activation point.

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Tag: direct marketing

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