TABLE OF CONTENTSHospitality Marketing: What Is It and How to Boost Its Results Using Direct Mail?Companies in the hospitality industry always look to treat their guests the best and get positive ratings. Whether you run a chain of motels or a global conglomerate of luxury suites, hospitality marketing helps you advertise their services. It sets businesses apart and lets more people learn about their brand, improving sales and revenue! ![]() But which hospitality marketing channels produce the highest results? Should they opt for online or offline advertising? We always get mixed comments on these topics. Thus, this blog discusses the best ideas, tips, and trends to drive your business forward. It can help you learn about your top-performing choices and choose what best suits your needs! Let’s dig in! What Is Hospitality Marketing?As a result of hospitality marketing, restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, and other businesses can increase their revenue. It helps them spread the word about their products or services among their target audience. The hospitality sector is vast, with new players entering the industry daily! Hence, it is essential that brands put their best foot forward to remain in the spotlight. Their hospitality advertising efforts allow them to achieve this goal, get leads, and convert prospects steadily. A hospitality marketing strategy can include different campaigns, combining offline printed collateral with digital content. Integrated promotions allow businesses to connect with relevant customers and push them ahead of the sales funnel. For example, restaurants can run online loyalty programs for existing customers, motivating them to visit their brick-and-mortar locations. It is a common practice to entice people and keep them from switching to other brands! Remember that hospitality marketing focuses on selling experiences. All advertising programs must prioritize discussing how your brand helps people create memories for a lifetime! Convert your customers into brand ambassadors by making their stay or visit special. It allows you to spread word-of-mouth publicity and outshine the competition. Other benefits of conducting thoughtful hospitality and marketing campaigns are:
Challenges Hospitality Brands Face When Marketing Their ServicesSlowdowns, low revenue, and improper targeting are problems that hospitality brands experience. Here are the most common challenges: Uncertainty in Customer DemandIn the first quarter of 2021, Canadians took at least 46.5 million trips domestically and globally. Predicting such customer demand surges is hard! Moreover, many people book visits last-minute, making converting them into customers more challenging. Thus, one of the primary issues hospitality marketing must address is uncertainty. Your brand can use hospitality marketing to stay prepared to connect with customers with short and long lead times. Once you contact them and learn about their plans, sending personalized discounts and offers can be easy. Luckily, PostGrid’s direct mail services enable you to send personalized mailings quickly to fulfill your goals. You can curate well-thought offers and messages by segmenting your lists based on geo-demographics. And we offer variable data printing to prepare and ship these items to the correct addresses. Reaching Out to Mobile-First CustomersMore customers are using their smartphones to plan trips, look for things to do, or find restaurants and cafes. Making your websites mobile-friendly and staying connected with mobile-first customers can help you boost visibility. The hospitality marketing segment must consider how to make it simpler for customers to make bookings via phone. Here is an example: One of our clients wanted to redirect prospects to their ‘Offers’ page on their website. They aimed to promote their summer offers and get more people to sign up. We suggested they print custom QR codes on their direct mailers to improve customers’ experience. They only had to scan the code with their phones and get the offers on their screens. This hospitality marketing campaign gained massive publicity because it prioritized customers’ convenience! PostGrid allowed the client to get detailed reports of every recipient who scanned the code. This hospitality and marketing data helped follow up with prospects and close deals. Communicating Benefits and OffersRestaurants, travel companies, theme parks, hotels, and other hospitality businesses must find new ways to reach decision-makers. With a broad audience, finding the ideal channel to connect with teenagers, millennials, and older generations is daunting. Fortunately, they can use direct mail that resonates with all age groups to create personal connections. This hospitality marketing channel sparks interest in everyone and motivates them to complete the call-to-action (CTA). Brands want to contact prospects using creative marketing that focuses on exclusive experiences and brings value to people. Direct mail does this job well! Our direct mail automation solutions assist companies in bringing these hospitality marketing goals to life. They can launch effective mailing campaigns without taking on the workload or investing a fortune. Why Should Businesses Include Direct Mail in Their Hospitality Marketing Plans?Direct mail adds an emotional touch to your marketing messages. It also creates a 1:1 communication space where you can address decision-makers and encourage them to buy your services. This offline channel works best for hospitality marketing because people pay more attention to it. They also consider it a credible source when making purchase decisions. Here are more reasons direct mail should be among your top marketing plans: Better Motivation ResponseMailing campaigns drive a 20% higher motivation response than online channels. Thus, it is more persuasive and result-driven than email, social media, and other advertising methods. You can include direct mail for hospitality and marketing to create a valuable network of long-term customers. Add tailored messages and compelling offers to instantly grab your audience’s attention and hook them to your brand. You may build upon your efforts with frequent mailings to bring prospects closer to the bottom of the funnel. PostGrid allows you to launch on-demand and bulk campaigns based on your goals and needs. Hence, you can start hospitality marketing anytime and reach potential customers before your competitors! Integrate Offline and Online Campaigns.Direct mail lets businesses integrate offline and online channels to improve performance. Unlike old times, you can conduct mailings online, making omnichannel campaigns possible! Make your hospitality marketing successful by sending direct mailers that reinstate your online messages. It better impacts your prospects’ minds and helps them remember your brand for longer. Drive a Higher ROIA Canada Post study shows that 47% of customers visited the brand’s store after receiving direct mail. It denotes how offline mailings can impact people’s actions and drive better response ratios. Using direct mail to enrich hospitality marketing strategies can guarantee higher engagement if you do it right! It helps bridge the gap between you and your customers, allowing you to seal more deals faster. Create a Memorable ImpressionSending direct mail to introduce your brand to prospects is an excellent idea for hospitality marketing programs. They can send welcome postcards to everyone who moves to the area. For example, food chains can send their menus with handwritten letters to new movers. It helps them get people’s attention before the competition, generating steady leads in their sales pipeline. People can refer to this menu to order online or visit the location, making it a win-win for both parties. Businesses can also send direct mail to make their hospitality marketing efforts memorable. Its tangibility helps prospects and customers save the item for a few days or weeks, expanding exposure and brand recall. Tips to Make Your Direct Hospitality Marketing Plans SuccessfulYou can achieve higher-than-average results when you take the time to learn how to reach your milestones. No all-in-one hospitality marketing book tells you the secrets to success. But proper campaign planning and execution lets you get more valuable leads, boost brand awareness, and retain customers hassle-free. Below are some tips and tricks to help you conduct successful direct mail marketing campaigns: Leverage Your Audience’s PropensitiesYou may zero in on your prospects by studying and using audience propensities. They provide in-depth insights into your prospects’ behavioural trends to respond to your offers and buy your services. For example, if you run a lodge near Niagara Falls, you can target people who search for hotels nearby. Such targeting allows you to improve your hospitality marketing results without wasting time and money on cold leads. Consider what type of business you manage and list your existing customers’ characteristics. Understanding your buyer personas well is best before diving into hospitality and marketing ideas. Find an updated and targeted mailing list, enabling you to send mailers to relevant people. If you need help, use PostGrid’s direct mail API, letting you compile refined lists from scratch. We also provide address verification to cross-check your existing customer records before your campaigns, preventing mail returns and ensuring responses. Present Upfront Offers and CTAsYour offers encourage clients to contact you and learn more about your company. Please ensure they best represent your company’s features and benefits, differentiating you from others. Also, use straightforward CTAs to guide your prospects on what to do next. They allow you to generate and measure your hospitality marketing campaign’s results. An excellent practice is to link your offers and CTAs. For example:
You may include a deadline to ensure your hospitality marketing program produces the desired results within a fixed timeframe. For instance:
Ensure Your Mail Design Matches Your Branding.Brand guidelines help existing and potential customers remember you. They make your messages and offers unique. For instance, your company’s logo and colours help establish brand recognition. People might forget your name, but they remember these aspects well. Here are some tips to make your hospitality marketing campaigns represent your branding:
One of our old clients wanted to create artwork but didn’t know where to start or whether they should hire a designer. We helped them use our pre-built templates to design eye-catching hospitality marketing mailers with a built-in editor. It allowed the company to customize designs, add its logo, and experiment with different layouts. Thus, they saved 100% on design costs and launched their mailing campaigns with more flexibility. Inject Video Marketing Into Your Offline Mailers.Marketers forget to automate direct mail and transform it into a powerful online tool when planning campaigns. They believe they can only communicate written texts to their audience. But in reality, direct mail opens several digital possibilities for businesses. It takes hospitality marketing to another level, where companies can thrive with overflowing customer responses. One fantastic idea is to add video marketing pURLs to your printed items. They redirect recipients to your YouTube, website, or social media videos, making the experience more meaningful to them. People love watching video clips before planning trips or restaurant visits. Hence, this hospitality and marketing tactic can do wonders for your brand. And PostGrid makes adding such links and code a breeze. Moreover, you can learn which recipients visited the links, giving you better insights into their behavioural patterns. Conduct A/B TestingPostGrid’s automated direct mail solutions enable you to test different mail formats, sizes, and designs. You can send small batches for experimentation and learn which hospitality marketing combinations perform the best. For example, create groups A and B. Imagine these groups have 1,000 small-sized postcards and 1,000 letters, respectively. We allow you to set your campaign dates in advance. You can launch both programs on the same day and wait for the results. Also, you can send hospitality marketing mailings with different discount offers, say 10% cashback or 10% flat off. It is an excellent way of learning and using your audience’s preferences to your advantage. Hospitality Marketing and Direct Mail Trends to Focus on in 2023Businesses can use the latest trends to make their advertising efforts more fruitful and valuable. It allows them to adapt and communicate their messages to more markets. Here are some recent hospitality marketing trends to improve your mailing programs: User-Generated ContentCustomer testimonials, ratings, and case studies are essential to making your brand relatable to prospects. Imagine you want to visit a recreational facility in Ottawa. You research the best places and read online reviews. Also, you may skip locations with one or two stars because you already know they are not worth your time. Stepping into your prospects’ shoes helps you improve your hospitality marketing strategies. You can print your customers’ feedback on your letters or postcards, letting people know what your audience thinks about your brand. Post the same reviews or customer stories online to link your channels and expand outreach. Apart from Google or website reviews, tap into your social media interactions and direct mail responses. They also allow you to collect valuable user-generated content for your hospitality marketing mailings. RemarketingIt involves connecting with potential customers who already know about your brand or have visited your website. This tactic lets you contact people who spent time browsing your services but didn’t complete any bookings. Re-engaging such prospects with a tailored offer can help increase sales easily compared to getting new leads. A hospitality marketing agency can help you derive customer data using Google Analytics and other tools. API IntegrationsMore businesses have started using API integrations to add functionalities to their CRM systems. Hotels, travel agencies, food and drink services, and other businesses use different APIs to stay connected with their audience and expand marketing. They allow you to improve efficiency when conducting hospitality marketing campaigns. For example, you can integrate our direct mail API into your accounts, customer relationships, or other platforms. It lets you print and mail transactional and promotional mailers at the click of a button! The best part is that you don’t need to do anything in-house, saving time, effort, and money! It makes your hospitality marketing campaigns more productive and result-bearing. Promoting Unique Benefits.Flexible cancellations, guest safety, voice search, and better discounts are some benefits most hospitality companies promote. You can also market these services using direct mail to provide value to the readers and get them to complete the CTAs. Create tables, infographics, graphs, and images highlighting your best features and benefits. These hospitality marketing aspects might get lost on your comprehensive website, where readers find much information. But it is simpler to promote them in a direct mail piece. Use the Power of Personalized Direct Mail.Combining personalization with direct mail is a powerful combination. It allows you to use customer data to customize everything, from discount offers and CTAs to promotional messages and mailing frequencies. Personalizing your hospitality marketing campaigns is a sure-shot way to success. These programs perform better than generic mailings because recipients pay more attention to them. For instance, imagine getting a letter titled “Dear Reader.” You already know the company made no effort to learn about you before sending the mailer. Hence, you decide not to read it or toss it in the bin! It can happen with your mailers too! Avoid sending spam mail to prospects and hoping they read your message. Take a better approach to hospitality and marketing by personalizing customer interactions across all stages and channels. Ask yourself the following: Do you have a generic audience? If not, why use one-size-fits-all hospitality and marketing content to connect with them? The vacation plans of a large-sized family with six children will be different than a young couple. Also, business travellers, senior couples, honeymooners, and teenage friends will have different needs when booking restaurants. Your advertising plans must consider the differences and curate special offers for each group. Integrating personalization into direct mail may seem puzzling. But it is relatively simple and affordable, primarily if you use PostGrid’s automated mailing services! We let you add your recipients’ variable data to all mailers to make every piece unique. You can customize the reader’s name, location, hospitality marketing message, heading, offer, CTA, and more—we don’t impose any restrictions. Our variable data printing can prepare your custom hospitality marketing items without trouble. Also, you don’t pay anything extra to print and mail personalized pieces. PostGrid allows you to create mailing lists based on the following;
Hence, you can use these variables to craft custom messages easily and get better engagement ratios. PostGrid makes personalized and targeted mailings as simple as sending emails. You can launch your campaign online and reach tens of thousands of people without leaving your office or doing anything manually! What Are the 4 Types of Marketing Segmentation in the Hospitality Industry?As discussed above, personalizing your customer interactions is significant for your success. But it would help if you first segmented your audience into small groups for better customization. Here are 4 types of market segmentation in the hospitality industry: DemographicCategorizing customers using demographic details is beneficial for all businesses. They can tailor their messages to their ideal customer profile (ICP). Consider income, qualification, profession, and other factors to group your prospects into trackable classes. Such precision helps make the best use of hospitality marketing efforts and budget. GeographicThis segmentation type answers the “where” for your campaigns. Where should you send your mail? Or where can your customers visit if you manage brick-and-mortar locations like restaurants or theme parks? You can group your intended prospects based on their
Also, categorizing them into business and non-business customers can help improve your hospitality marketing campaigns. You can print the nearest store or hotel address in your mailers, letting people know you are not far away! PsychographicThis categorization enables you to group customers based on their personality or lifestyle. You can define buyer personas by considering their
Ensure your hospitality marketing agency leverages this data to let you conduct laser-focused programs with maximum results. BehaviouralIt involves segmenting people depending on their behaviour in the past few weeks, months, or years. Behavioural trends include
Types of Direct Mail Items Hospitality Brands Can ShipDirect mail is no longer a lost art. You can use many ideas and methods to conduct data-driven and creative hospitality marketing campaigns with PostGrid! Also, you can print and ship many direct mail formats based on your messages and objectives. Below, we have listed some of the best types: PostcardsThey are the most commonly-used mail types for hospitality marketing and other campaigns. Postcards come in many sizes to allow you to be flexible and creative. You can also use portrait cards to make your messages more unique and attention-grabbing! Sending postcards is apt when your message is short. You can use bullet points or images to make it pop since the space is limited. Also, postcards work well as discount coupons you want your recipients to store. They can refer to them to avail themselves of your hospitality marketing offers whenever needed. So do you want to use postcard marketing for your upcoming campaign? We offer many postcard templates to let you design your artwork within minutes. You may also make last-minute changes and customize all elements based on your preferences! Hence, you can send eye-catching mailers to your intended audience and guarantee positive outcomes. LettersLetters are an excellent choice to communicate longer hospitality marketing messages. For instance, you can use them to thank your existing customers and request referrals. You can also send letters to new movers, explaining your services and motivating them to contact you. Please customize your envelopes to avoid making your letters look like junk mail. Also, it helps differentiate your mailers from bills and other documents your prospects might receive. Folder Self-MailersSelf-mailers don’t need envelopes for shipping. They are similar to postcards but have a different format for inserting your address and message. Some marketers prefer folded self-mailers for hospitality marketing to add a creative touch to their messages. They can use the extra space to add pictures or other graphics, like large fonts and tables. Folded self-mailers can cost you more than hospitality marketing postcards because of the extra weight. But you can customize the paper size and weight to control prices. Fitting into Canada Post’s guidelines can also help you save money on postage. NewslettersYou may believe hospitality businesses don’t use newsletters to keep in touch with prospects and customers. But it is incorrect! You can print and mail newsletters to your audience to update them about many things, like
These stories can keep prospects and customers hooked, giving your hospitality marketing campaigns a headstart. How to Deploy PostGrid’s Direct Mail Solutions for Your Campaigns?Many clients conduct direct mail campaigns with us conveniently and affordably. Below are our top deployment methods:
PostGrid as Your Hospitality Direct Mail Marketing Partner!Hospitality businesses need robust advertising strategies to get and keep customers. They need to constantly connect with new people and discuss their services while maximizing the positive experience for existing customers. Though online marketing seems quick and convenient, it does not guarantee valuable leads. Most email replies and social media comments are spam, making identifying real prospects puzzling! But conducting direct mailings online with PostGrid can change your hospitality marketing approach. It allows you to explore new opportunities and tap into different markets without much effort.
Here are some of PostGrid’s features you can benefit from
The post Hospitality Marketing appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/hospitality-marketing/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/05/hospitality-marketing.html
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TABLE OF CONTENTSHow to Mail Something Without a Return Address: Does Canada Post Allow This Practice?Did you ever have to fill out lengthy forms that ask for too many details? We are sure you look for the optional columns, so you can save time by leaving them blank… ![]() It seems unnecessary and daunting to fill out so much information on a form, irrespective of its purpose. Hence, we get many questions asking- how to mail something without a return address! We didn’t take much time to understand that people hate writing their addresses on letters and parcels. All they want is to mention a few details, attach a stamp, and drop off the items at the earliest! But is mail with no return address valid? Does Canada Post accept and deliver such items? We will cover these questions and more in this blog. Let’s get to it! Can You Mail a Letter Without a Return Address?The short answer is yes! Luckily, it is your choice whether you want to provide a mailing address or not. You can skip this step if you know you are mailing to someone new or someone you don’t trust enough with your location. However, it is not advisable to send a mail with no return address. And here’s why: The Post Office cannot return items to you if they can’t deliver them. You risk losing your mail pieces, causing the wastage of tons of resources and money. Mentioning a return address helps you get your items back in good shape, allowing you to reship them. If you go to a Post Office to lodge your items and ask the workers ‘do you need a return address,’ they would probably answer yes. It is better to drop them in a street letterbox or your home mailbox and turn the flag up if you intend to mail them with no return address. Another benefit is that you can speed up the delivery process by mentioning the correct return address. The Canada Post processing machines read the mailing and return addresses to assign barcodes and mail more accurately. Leaving the space blank may cause your items to end up in a separate bin for the postal workers to sort manually—taking more time. If you want to spend less time preparing and shipping your items, try using PostGrid’s direct mail services. Our automated solutions help you streamline your mailing tasks under one roof. Also, you get access to several features, like extensive campaign monitoring, address verification, metadata tagging, template editor, etc. What Happens When You Send Mail with No Return Address?Recently, the police found hundreds of stolen mail items at a thief’s house, including sensitive banking and legal documents. Such thefts lead to several severe consequences like identity theft and money scams. And it is easier for fraudsters to steal and misuse mail with no return address! Typically, Canada Post might keep some items with valuable contents for a few days thinking someone would come and pick them up! If not, the workers send your undelivered letters and parcels to the Mail Recovery Centres in Atlanta for recycling or discarding. After learning these facts, we again get the same question: do you need a return address on mail Canada? The answer remains the same, but you can employ a different approach. Consider writing at least your surname and postal code, so the Post Office can find you and redirect the items back to your address precisely. Or you can use a Post Office box to receive your mail pieces without writing your address. You only need to mention the PO box number, and Canada Post drops the articles for you to collect. It is one of the best ways to hide your identity from recipients and still mention a return address. How to Label Your Mail Items Correctly?The next thing our clients ask us is—how to send mail without a return address. We understand you have a long list of queries… Are there some different rules for such items? What are the other elements you should add to your envelope or package? However, you only need to focus on three aspects when labelling your items, and they are: Mailing AddressBefore shipping mail with no return address, you should perfect your mailing address format. It is a primary address that enables Canada Post to process and deliver your items. And it is mandatory to write a delivery address on each mail piece! Here’s the Canada Post address format you can use: Line 1: Finn Jacobs (Recipient’s name) Line 2: Marketing Head (Mention the additional delivery information like floor number, department, or wing above the civic address) Line 3: 11-210 Mackay ST NE (Unit number, civic number, and street name) Line 4: Montreal QC H3G 2J1 (City, province/ territory abbreviation, and postal code) Following this format is your first step on how to mail something without a return address. There are also other rules you must comply with, including:
Return AddressYou can decide that you want to mail with no return address! But, you must still know how to write a return address and where to place it. It helps in emergencies when you don’t have a choice or whenever you need to mail valuable items. Fortunately, there is no separate address format for it! You can follow the same guidelines as above for your return address. However, it is advisable to add the words- ‘Return Address’ on the top to make it apparent. If you mail with no return address, add your mailing address in the centre of your item and leave the other spaces blank. Otherwise, you can place your return address in the top-left corner on the same line as your stamps. StampsYou cannot ship anything without affixing the correct Canada Post postage. Most individuals use stamps, while businesses prefer imprints and metered mail. It doesn’t matter if you mail with no return address; you must pay the appropriate postage amount. Hence, your postal fees have nothing to do with the question- do you need a return address? Consider the following factors to determine your mailing cost:
If you aren’t in a hurry, try choosing affordable mailing options, like Flat Rate Boxes and regular Parcels. They might take a while to deliver your items but won’t burn a hole in your pockets. You may need to pay more if you use add-ons, like a signature on delivery, mailing receipt, etc. However, PostGrid helps you print and mail with no return address at an all-inclusive pricing structure! Our customizable mailing options help companies in several sectors, like healthcare, real estate, insurance, etc. You make the decisions, and we help you execute them! More on How PostGrid’s Direct Mail Services Ease Your Mailing OperationsPostGrid’s direct mail API and software help you mail with no return address without incurring any losses. You can choose to mention a different address on your items. All you need to do is tell us whatever you need! Our account managers do more than answer queries, like how to send mail without a return address. They help clients understand how PostGrid works to allow them to connect with their audience and communicate their messages. Also, you can get hands-on experience using PostGrid by requesting a demo. “The online PostGrid demo was excellent! I understood how easy it was to set up an account and send all types of mail items with the click of a few buttons. My company was looking for such speed and efficiency, and we are happy that we got it!” Said one of our clients & CEO of a Financial Services Franchise. With our detailed API documentation and customer-friendly assistance, you may rely on PostGrid to send marketing and transactional mail effortlessly. Thus, you no longer need to spend another second thinking- do you need a return address in Canada? Our solutions help you do everything online from your smartphone, laptop, or other devices. ConclusionTry to mention the correct mailing address on your items even if you mail with no return address! This address helps Canada Post identify your destination and find an appropriate delivery route. Also, it saves your items from getting lost or reaching an incorrect address. You must take care of a hundred things while conducting a direct mailing campaign or simply sending crucial documents to clients. But why waste so much potential when you can use PostGrid’s automated direct mail API at 75% lesser costs? Sign up now to see how PostGrid can help you stop worrying about sending mail with no return address and make mailing a pleasant experience for you! The post How to Mail Something Without a Return Address appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/how-to-send-mail-without-return-address/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/05/how-to-mail-something-without-return.html TABLE OF CONTENTSPostal Code TargetingEvery marketer or anyone who simply wants to market a product or service they are selling makes it a point to have a well-thought-out plan for it, or at least the successful ones do. Effective marketing can only be implemented when you have solid data and innovative solutions, both of which are not easy to come by. So whenever a marketer finds a new medium or source for reliable and usable data, they hold onto it tight and never let go of them unless they really have to. ![]() Postal Code Targeting or PCT is an acquisition solution that perfectly fits the requirements of a marketer and has access to a very reliable and effective source of data. It basically allows businesses to reach out to similar customers or customers with similar buyer personas who live in the same postal code, which is also where their existing client base is. By doing this, PCT allows you to close in on your preferred customer profiles that have a higher chance of conversions. This article discusses Postal Code Targeting and its relevance to the marketing world. The article will also make attempt to give you a comprehensive idea of how PCT enables you to connect with your potential customers in a new and effective way. We also elaborate on the significance of profiling your existing customers based on their postal code. Furthermore, the article also goes on to explain the other popular acquisition tools offered by Canada Post, including Neighbourhood Mail and Personalized Mail. What is Postal Code Targeting?Postal Code Targeting of PCT is, as the name suggests, a new targeting system created by Canada Post. With the launch of PCT, the Canada Post introduced a new way that marketers can target and reach out to new prospects. The PCT was launched by the Canada Post in early 2017, and it has gained immense popularity since its launch. This is not the first time Canada Post has dabbled with acquisition tools that can be instrumental to marketers around the globe. Postal Code Targeting uses specific information such as who shops, the frequency at which they shop, and the preferred product/service category of the potential customers. Additionally, as the tool comes directly from Canada Post, you practically have access to Canada’s largest database, which has a whopping 15.8 million addresses in it. The access to such an extensive database alone is reason enough for marketers to employ Postal Code Targeting or PCT for their business. Canada Post has, in the past, launched other tools that have proven to be most effective and useful for markets in almost all industry verticals. Neighbourhood Mail and Personalized Mail are the other acquisition tools that were introduced by Canada Post before PCT, and although there are similarities in their operation, each of them is different. You could say that the PCT, in terms of operation, comes somewhere between Neighbourhood Mail and Personalized Mail. Neighbourhood MailNeighbourhood Mail is part of Canada Post’s Smartmail Marketing, and similar to PCT, it is also used as an acquisition and awareness tool. However, the Neighbourhood Mail covers a much more extensive audience than PCT and is delivered to an average of 500 points of call. This means it delivers to everyone who lives in a specific area or postal walk regardless of whether it is a home, apartment, business, or farm. Marketers usually use geographic or demographic data for finding the ideal postal walk for their campaigns. You should also note that there are no addresses on Neighbourhood Mail items. Personalized MailPersonalized Mail, as the name suggests, focuses on one-on-one engagements with customers, and it is ideal for retaining your existing customers. Personalized Mail can help you build a relationship with your customers that can stand the test of time. They are personalized with the customer’s name and address and delivered to a single address. Unlike Neighbourhood Mail, they have the potential to create an emotional impact on the recipient. Connecting With New Prospect Using PCTOne of the nifty things about PCT campaigns is that it lets you choose whether you want to remove or suppress your current customers. So, if your campaign is specifically focused on getting new customers, you can easily do that with PCT. With precision targeting like the one offered by PCT, you can effectively connect with the target audience and also maximize your Return on Investment or ROI. However, that is only the beginning of a wide array of advantages offered by PCT campaigns. Creating highly targeted PCT campaigns is relatively easy and straightforward. All you have to do if you want to pitch your direct mails exclusively to your new prospects is leverage the postal code data from Canada Post accessible through PCT. This means you have to use your own customer database in tandem with the audience insights proprietary sources of Canada Post. Additionally, you can also factor in third-party sources where all your data is updated every month. You don’t need to combine your customer data with the data you get from Canada Post, but it is the best approach to take if you are looking for a refined targeting of your prospects. By combining the data, you can easily identify the postal codes where your ideal prospects live. Furthermore, you also get advanced audience insights from the Canada Post that enable you to narrow down the specific audience based on various criteria, including lifestyle, demographic, and even geographic. These criteria are matched with the characteristics of your ideal customers to find the right fit for you. So, what does this mean for your business? Well, it means that the next time you carry out a mail campaign, you don’t have to worry about sending the same acquisition-focused mail to your existing customers or vice versa. In essence, you are sending each group, i.e., existing customers and potential customers, two entirely different mailpieces. In such a case, the prior is optimized to attract existing customers with attractive offers such as loyalty points or discount coupons, and the latter will be heavily focusing on converting the prospect to a buyer. The Process Involved in PCT CampaignThe process involved in the PCT campaign is relatively simple. Any standard machinable mail item can be termed PCT as long as it has a unique 2D barcode printed on it. This 2D barcode is created by Canada Post after you provide them with your database. Canada Post then selects the postal codes that align with the taste of your best customers. Once this is done, your postal mail is targeted to that entire postal code while suppressing the mails that would otherwise be sent to your existing customers. This makes PCT campaigns ideal for ultra-targeted mail campaigns like acquisition mails. You should know that in order for Canada Post to generate the acquisition list for your business, it requires 200 test samples from you. Furthermore, you can not make an impulsive decision of employing Postal Code Targeting for your campaigns either because Canada Post can take up to two days to give you the results. And that’s not all, it can take around eight days for the processing and selection, and you may lose another three days for setting up a Commercial Account with Canada Post. Additionally, you should also factor in the fact that all testing is done in Ottawa, which means the Postal Code Targeting can get even more delayed for Western Clients. After you have successfully set up the account, you will need to decide on a Postal Code Targeting indicator. Of course, you will obviously have the standard PCT indicia businesses often tend to choose a customized indicia. However, if you are unsure, you can always refer to the Postal Code Targeting Customer Guide from Canada Post. Significance of The 2D BarcodeThe 2D barcode is perhaps the most important part of a PCT campaign, and therefore you need to ensure that the printer you employ for this is Postal Code Targeting compliant. Everything from the quality of the 2D print to its grade and readability is a considering factor when it comes to PCT. Furthermore, even the format, size, and specifications should be tested because in the case of repeat mailings, if all the factors are consistent with the first mailing, then it may not be necessary for Canada Post to test it again. The mail is reviewed first, during which it is determined whether the mailing needs to be tested again. The popular solution that is adopted by most businesses is to pick an advanced direct mail service provider who uses Postal Code Targeting compliant printers. For example, PostGrid is one of the leading direct mail providers that employ Postal Code Targeting compliant printers. The significant advantage of using advanced solutions like PostGrid is that it can automate the entire direct mail process along with superior address verification that ensures a 99% deliverability rate. Things to Know About Canada Post Postal Mail TargetingOnce you get the results from Canada Post, you can continue to see the result and even start over your campaign but, you can not use the unique mailing IDs as they are different for each order. However, you can generate a new list if you want to. But, in case you do want to resume the list, you should make it a point to indicate the same on your initial request and inform Canada Post in advance. Cost of Postal Code TargetingThe Postal Code Targeting can be said to be somewhere in between Neighbourhood Mail and Personalized Mail. They allow marketers to reach out to people living in a certain postal code while enabling them to avoid the existing customers in that area which makes it ideal for acquisitions. = On average, Postal Code targeting mail reaches 20 points of call. The cost of Postal Code Targeting is higher than the other two mails in Smartmail Marketing. This is also attributed to the fact that it involves intense processing and can sometimes take days. The Postal Code Targeting price per item according to machinable standard (Up to 50g) is 31.9¢. ConclusionPostal Code Targeting is a part of Smartmail Marketing from Canada Post. It can be very effective for marketers, especially for those trying to get a better results for customer acquisition. Postal Code Targeting or PCT allows you to combine your own data with data from Canada Post to create a refined list of targets for your campaign that are constrained by their postal codes. The 2D barcode is an essential part of Postal Code Targeting and is delicate since its quality can affect your campaign. Businesses should make sure to employ an advanced direct mail partner with Postal Code targeting compliant printers to ensure the best result for their campaigns such as PostGrid. Using advanced systems like PostGrid also ensures maximum deliverability through their advanced address verification system. The post What is Postal Code Targeting appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/postal-code-targeting/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/05/what-is-postal-code-targeting.html TABLE OF CONTENTSHow to Write a Postcard: A Comprehensive Guide For Your BusinessPostcards are a lot more than just your travelling these days. To be honest, they are becoming way more popular than ever for people or even businesses to get in touch with the world out there. But, writing a postcard for any occasion or purpose can become a very intimidating experience, especially when you come face-to-face with the other side. ![]() This is why we have created this unique guide on how to write a postcard effectively to connect and enhance your brand awareness. Here is how you can fit everything into the tight space so that every piece of information fits right into place according to the postcard format. Let’s get started Postcards and Their EffectivenessWe know you must be wondering if the postcards are even worth putting your efforts into when compared to various digital marketing campaigns. And when done correctly, the answer to the above said is a YES! So, before we dive into the depths of how to fill out a postcard. Let us now look at some of the quick facts about Postcards and what makes them effective. They are:
The above-stated facts highlight how postcards can be a part of an effective direct mail marketing strategy. But, only if it is done perfectly! It is why we are providing you with some tips and tricks on how to write postcards in the best ways possible. So, do not stop & keep reading! How & What to Write on a Postcard?When it comes to direct mail assets, all the successful material for marketing- whether it directs you to the web or is in printed form- shares the following two elements:
Your postcard will go right from the mailbox to the trash bin of the customers (along with all the effort & money you invested in the same) if you do not add these elements. Below are a few guidelines that you need to make your postcard campaign a success and truly stand out. Content As Per The Postcard FormatAlthough the content and design are something that needs to work on together. But our professionals at PostGrid, always recommend starting the content part first. Here, by content, we mean the message that you wish to convey to your customers. Even though the visual design may seem a little exciting- We mean, who does not like sassy graphics or snazzy fonts? However, while understanding how to write a postcard that ultimately drives success, it is better to start with brainstorming along with refining your ideas to create the perfect content for your postcard. Here is what you must do: Identifying the Goal of Writing a PostcardAlways remember that postcards are small, handy, and easy to scan. Therefore, it is better to stick to a single idea. Do not overflow your postcard with tons of different messages, as it can leave your customers confused. Instead, stick to the one that suits your goals and display it creatively to make your customers go crazy for your brand. Also, another worth-counting aspect of postcards is that they are very versatile, which means that you can use them the way you want and convey the messages accordingly. Some of the most common uses of the postcards are:
Regardless of your big idea to create the best postcard, try taking the above-mentioned into consideration and write your postcard better than ever. Also, identifying your goals is one of the most prominent phases to look for when understanding how to fill out a postcard. Know Your Target AudienceApart from your primary message, your target audience may be the most crucial aspect to consider when writing an effective postcard. Below is a list of factors that you must look out for:
Understanding who your customers are will further help you understand how to write the address on a postcard and choose the design that with them connects effectively. Remember, it is crucial because a middle-aged father residing in the suburbs will respond differently than his college-going son or any young adult. Choosing the Perfect DesignWithout a design, the thought of writing a postcard can be a little overwhelming, especially when you have a lot of other things to handle as well. Luckily, you do not have to start from scratch. It is because there are various designs available on the internet that you can use for inspiration. Also, if you are opting for tools like PostGrid for your marketing campaign, choose from the template gallery for the most eye-catching postcard designs. At PostGrid, we provide you with the best yet personalized experience in just a few clicks. It means that you can either design from scratch or customize the templates available and make them yours. Settling onto The Relevant GraphicsThere is nothing that screams Unprofessional like those highly-pixelated pictures or tacky stock images. So, make sure that every graphic you choose is high-quality and looks professional, depending upon your design and theme. Try not to use any complicated designs or copyrighted images unless you have the right to use them. Here, depending on your brand and message, you can add the following types of graphics to your postcards:
Avoid using vague images that look nice but reflect something else. For example, the picture with a beach is perfect unless you are promoting a vacation home. Or else it will not really support your brand message. Follow The Message HierarchyHere, try to take all the previously written content and convert it into a visual hierarchy. Make sure that everything reflects the importance of every element used in the postcard. In other words, make sure that your message hierarchy is loud & clear and has the following:
Keep It SimpleSo, by now you might be having an idea about how to write a postcard, one thing that you must remember is that SIMPLER IS BETTER. As you move ahead and finalize the content and design elements for your customers, try to laser-focus on your goals by:
Lastly, as one final note, we would like to encourage you to go ahead and start writing postcards for your customers. – Even if you are still feeling intimidated by the idea of creating one. Remember, every postcard you make will only provide you with hands-on experience but will also give valuable insight into the marketplace and your target audience. However, if you still need a little inspiration to get started, sign in and check out our template gallery and automate everything in a better way. From print and mail to help you translate your ideas into clear, eye-catching, and unique postcards- At PostGrid, we aim to provide you with all. Keep It SimpleSo, by now you might be having an idea about how to write a postcard, one thing that you must remember is that SIMPLER IS BETTER. As you move ahead and finalize the content and design elements for your customers, try to laser-focus on your goals by:
Lastly, as one final note, we would like to encourage you to go ahead and start writing postcards for your customers. – Even if you are still feeling intimidated by the idea of creating one. Remember, every postcard you make will only provide you with hands-on experience but will also give valuable insight into the marketplace and your target audience. However, if you still need a little inspiration to get started, sign in and check out our template gallery and automate everything in a better way. From print and mail to help you translate your ideas into clear, eye-catching, and unique postcards- At PostGrid, we aim to provide you with all. The post How to Write a Postcard in Canada appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/how-to-write-a-postcard/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/05/how-to-write-postcard-in-canada.html TABLE OF CONTENTS25 Best Direct Mail Ideas For Your Business With ExamplesDirect mail is one of the oldest forms of marketing and yet, businesses across different spectrums still love using direct mail campaigns. On the other hand, there are also marketers and business owners who rely entirely on digital marketing campaigns. The latter can’t seem to understand the true potential of creative direct mail advertising. ![]() Maybe these stats can help you understand the potential of direct mail for marketing your business. “Direct mail achieves a 4.4% response rate, compared to 0.12% for email.” – Forbes But since you are here, reading an article on best direct mail ideas, it is safe to assume that you are at least intrigued by direct mail. And if you are a marketer, you would also know that no marketing effort is ever as easy as you think. No marketing effort can succeed without the right tools and effective strategy. We have created a list of the most creative direct mail advertising strategies to help you reach your marketing goals. Here are 25 of the best direct mail ideas you can use to boost engagement and conversion rates for your business. #1 Benefits Over FeaturesHello Fresh’s self-mailer is one of the best direct mail ideas that prove you don’t need to get flashy or complex material for successful marketing. They used the basic idea of giving the audience what they want in their marketing self-mailer. Instead of going on and on about their features, Hello Fresh highlighted the customer’s benefits on their mailer. Such a piece of creative direct mail advertising appeals to the customer’s needs and forms an instant connection with the right audience. #2 Use BIG ImagesAnother surprisingly simple yet effective direct mail format you can use for your business is BIG images. We say BIG and not big to emphasize the extra large image size. Take a look at this example of this self-mailer from United Healthcare. There is a reason why we say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And United Healthcare does just that with this self-mailer for their virtual visits. The picture is big and hence, easily understandable. As you can see, it quickly conveys what the mailer is about and does not keep the audience guessing. #3 Involve The Audience With Product SamplesSending product samples may seem like an old-school marketing method. However, it is still the best advertising mail format to involve the audience in your campaign and introduce your product/brand. It is a perfect way for companies in the cosmetic industry to harness a wider audience. Function Of Beauty is a company that used this strategy for marketing its customizable hair care products. Scent strips, sachet packets, etc., are easy and convenient ways to send product samples to your audience. Similarly, we had helped a few clients implement product sample-based direct mail campaigns even when they did not have a physical product. We used a simple QR Code in the direct mail to help our client’s audience to demo their digital product. Similarly, you can employ the same direct mail format to provide a “sample” of subscription-based products. #4 Use Checklists As Involvement DeviceAnother great way to convey what your business organization has to offer the customers is to include a checklist in your direct mail. Take a look at this creative direct mail advertising mailer from PNC investments, for example. As you can see from the image above, PNC Investments gives a checklist of everything an investor requires. It effectively explains what the company can do for its clients and provides a fair idea of what the client can expect from PNC Investments. #5 Use Quiz As Involvement DeviceBesides checklists, you can also use interactive quizzes as an effective tool to boost involvement with your direct mail. Try placing the quiz on the outer envelope as seen in this Harvard Heart Letter newsletter, a Grand Control. It is a surprisingly efficient advertising mail format for your business mailers. As you can see, the quiz gives the reader something to think about and practically intrigues them into opening the envelope. As long as you can target your marketing efforts accurately, this direct mail format will yield positive results. #6 Use a Question As The HeadlineYou can try using a direct mail format that includes a question as the heading like the one you see below. Unlike what you may think, questions work better when you place them in the title than anywhere else. Relax The Back – a bed retailer does a stellar job in attracting their audience with a hooking question in the above direct mail. The best direct mail ideas use simple and inexpensive strategies like this to get the desired results. #7 Establish Your Online ExpertiseAlthough direct mail itself is an offline tool, the truth is that your business can’t grow without a solid online presence. The typical customer expects your business to be accessible through different online channels. Hence, you must establish your online presence in your direct mail format. Look at this advertising mail format Wine.com used on their marketing postcard. You can see how the mailer informs the reader about their app and its availability in Apple App Store and Google Play store. Similarly, you can also provide links to your social media handles, website URL, etc. Here is something our CEO told us about QR codes in direct marketing during an open discussion: “We have helped numerous clients to boost their online engagements like QR codes. Think about it, would you rather scan a QR code in the direct mail, or would go to the trouble of opening a browser and typing in a URL? Yes, with the right offer the latter is possible but our goal is to maximize engagements. And if there is one thing I have learned it is that the easiest way to drive action is to make the action easier!” #8 Use Familiar BrandingAnother one of the best direct mail ideas you can use for your business is branding the target audience is familiar with. Companies often use their branding images from TV or other media to make their marketing mail stand out. Take the direct mail format above, for example. Using a branding image that your target audience is already familiar with helps you make a more substantial impact on the audience. Your brand is easier to identify if the customer is already aware of the image on direct mail. #9 Use Direct Mail To Welcome CustomersYou may also consider using a direct mail format to welcome a new customer. Of course, you could do the same with an email or even a text message, but they are not very personal. On the other hand, a personalized and feasible welcome letter helps your customers feel valued. The welcome letter from Asurion is one of the best direct mail marketing examples which welcomes new customers. Even here, you can see that the company first highlights the customer’s benefits. Besides that, the mailer walks the reader through the significant services and capabilities of the company. #10 Feature Positive Customer TestimonialsThere is nothing and no one a prospective customer trusts more than a stranger posting a review for a product/service. We are all guilty of doing it at some point. But the key takeaway here is that using customer testimonials could be one of the best direct mail ideas for your company. Consider this direct mail format from The Florida Gulf Coast University, for instance. The mailer does an excellent job of showcasing the organization’s role in the lives of individuals. Like in this case, the mailer conveys how the donations received by the university helped their students. And in our experience, including testimonials in the direct mail format is highly efficient, especially for non-profits. Of course, that is just one of the many strategies we implement for non-profits. #11 Offer FREE Products And ServiceOffering free products and services in your direct mail campaigns is not a new concept in marketing. Business organizations have used this strategy forever. And let us tell you something, business organizations will continue to use this advertising mail format for the years to come. In the example above, you can see Estee Lauder offering gifts free of cost to their customers. Similarly, you can provide free online services to your customers too. You must include a QR Code that the customer can scan to access FREE gifts or rewards. #12 Tap Into The Customer's EmotionDid you ever wonder why creative direct mail campaigns are still in high demand despite it being an age-old marketing strategy? The primary reason direct mail campaigns still enjoy a high open and response rate is their ability to create an emotional effect. Humans are emotional beings, and we often tend to put feelings over facts. It is the basic concept you need to understand to tap into the customer’s emotions. Of course, as humans, we go through a spectrum of emotions in our lives, but driving action only requires targeting 7 of them.
Successfully tapping into any of these emotions will allow you to intrigue your customer regardless of your direct mail format. #13 Use Magnets As Promotional ProductSeveral of our clients come to us looking for ways to make their marketing message last longer in the customer’s mind. There are several direct mail examples you can refer to for accomplishing this. But, our favourite solution is to use magnets as a promotional product. Some of you may find this hard to believe. But, including a small magnetic marketing piece in your mailer can help you acquire new customers and retain existing ones. Organizations like the American Psychological Association use a magnet for membership renewals in their direct mail format. Every home uses its refrigerator door to house all sorts of things, such as recipes, to-do lists, etc. And the customer can use the magnetic piece you send to hand all of them. In other words, the customer ends up interacting with your brand daily. What more can you ask from creative direct mail advertising? #14 Use Handwritten Direct Mail FormatUsing a handwritten mailer is one of the best direct mail ideas you can use for your business. However, it comes with its fair share of challenges. Imagine manually writing or even signing hundreds or thousands of direct mail. But luckily for you, it doesn’t have to be that way. Our advanced direct mail solution provides you with advanced capabilities, including various handwriting fonts. PostGrid implements the best direct mail ideas for your business by offering custom-made direct mail solutions. Take a look at this handwritten direct mail from City Union Mission, for example. It immediately stands out from the rest of the mailer and shows the customer that you put thought into the letter. Furthermore, you can use special printers that use software solutions to guide the pen plotter to create more authentic-looking handwritten notes and letters. #15 Use Referral ProgramsReferral programs are one of the best direct mail ideas for your business if you want to use direct mail to expand your customer base. You may know referral programs by the name friend-get-a-friend or member-get-a-member. It is a marketing strategy that leverages your good relationship with your customers to target their friends and family. Referral programs are not new, and their primary challenge is getting the customer to open and read your offer. The direct mail format comes into the picture here. “Direct mail open rates can reach up to 90%.” – Fundera With such a high open rate, more of your customers are likely to know about your referral program. As a result, participation also increases significantly. Energy provider Reliant’s direct mail format should give you an idea of what your referral mail should look like. #16 Use Headline in Johnson BoxFor those new to direct mail campaigns, a Johnson Box is a common practice in marketing mailers. It contains the key message of your direct mail and highlights it separately to draw the reader’s attention. Using this direct mail format increases the likelihood of the audience reading the rest of the mail. Consider the business letter from BJ’s Wholesale Club, for example. Here, you can notice that your attention directly goes to the headline. With accurate targeting and a relevant headline, you can intrigue the reader to check the rest of the mail. #17 Use The Word "You"Using the word “You” and personally addressing the audience is one of the best direct mail ideas to enhance your interaction with customers. You may not know this, but simply using the word “You” appropriately in your communications can help you significantly on your sales pitch. Direct mail itself is a personal communication channel. And addressing your customer as “you” enhances the unique nature of your mail. So, the next time you want to create a template for one of your business mail, make sure to use this direct mail format. #18 Use Personalized MapsAnother interactive way to boost your direct mail engagements is using personalized maps in them. There are several advantages to printing customized maps in your direct mail format. One advantage is that maps are more interactive, and the reader will likely check them out of curiosity. Companies prefer to use Variable Data Printing or VDP for printing customized maps in direct mail. It makes the whole process much more straightforward and eliminates errors. Marketers and business owners from the retail and eCommerce industry often use customized maps in their direct mail format. We have helped several clients set up a VDP process using our fully automated direct mail solution. PostGrid for eCommerce offers advanced solutions that let companies send fully personalized mailers, including customized maps. The example above lets you get a comprehensive picture of the direct mail format containing a personalized map. #19 Extra BIG FontThe simplest way to grab your target audience’s attention with a direct mail format is to use the extra big font. Using different large fonts could mean less space for your content. In other words, you got to make use of the best use of the limited space you have when you use extra large fonts. Take the direct mail example of Healthy Directions. You can also use extra big fonts that cover a significant portion of your envelope. However, you should ensure that the big font you use is relevant to the offer you are pitching in your mailer. #20 Use InfographicsIf you want to make your direct mail seem more attractive and convey your message effectively, using infographics is an option you should consider. Infographics are easy to understand and communicate the most information to your audience, making them one of the best direct mail ideas for your business. You can use attractive colours to make your direct mail look brighter or use your brand’s colour scheme. Infographics simplify complex ideas and explain statistical data in a way that all your audience can understand. Take a look at this infographic from an American Express campaign in 2020. You can see how they skillfully placed the relevant numbers and illustrations to drive their point. Using similar creative direct mail advertising, you can convey more data without making your mailer look dull. #21 Use Jokes And PunsWho doesn’t like some light-hearted jokes and puns to brighten up their day? It is high time businesses stop sticking to the same old routines and patterns. Incorporating some jokes or puns in your advertising mail format is an excellent way to enhance the quality of your correspondence with the customer. Take the example of this advertising mail format of a direct mail from Neopost. Here, you can see that they used a simple pun about matches. While such jokes probably won’t have your customer laughing without a breath, they can still bring a smile to their faces. And if you can accomplish that much, you will at least create a good impression on your prospects. #22 Get Creative With Your EnvelopesBusinesses often get so caught up in their direct mail that they often forget or overlook the envelopes they come inside. It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best direct mail inside an envelope if it never gets opened. Hence, you must factor in the envelope when deciding on your advertising mail format. This direct mail envelope from Logies Junior is a perfect example of creative direct mail advertising. Logies Junior is a window cleaning company. The company used a window envelope and added an image of a person cleaning the “window!” It is also worth mentioning that printing on envelopes is also ideal for your other communication. For example, a hospital should print envelopes with the brand logo or colours so the recipient can quickly identify them. Doing so ensures that your mailer does not get thrown away without opening. #23 Use Pop-Up Cards/BooksAs kids, we all enjoyed turning the pages of a pop-up book, and we’d spend hours just looking at them. If you think about it, we still want them as adults. We may not spend hours marvelling over the pop-up and examining its detail. But it is one of the cool direct mail formats that everyone loves. IKEA is famous for some of the most creative and best direct mail ideas, and they have some beautiful pop-up cards/books. You can also use a similar approach for your business marketing. However, it is worth noting that the finishing process involved in such mailers is complex. Hence, our best bet is to pick a printer specializing in pop-up printing materials. #24 Postcards For Birthdays And Special OccasionsYou know how important a direct mail message is and how it can influence how a customer responds. However, direct mail is not all about the marketing message. The timing of your creative direct mail campaigns is just as important as the message. The best time to send a personalized postcard to the customer is for their birthday or other special occasions. Sending a customized postcard on your customer’s birthday is not merely a nice gesture. It shows thoughtfulness and how you value your customers. Hence, it is one of the best direct mail ideas for retaining customers and boosting brand loyalty. #25 Use Loyalty RewardsUsing direct mail to keep your loyal customers engaged using new offers is one of the best direct mail ideas for your business. Direct mail has a high open and response rate, and people love getting freebies and discounts. So, it should be easy to understand why direct mail and loyalty rewards are a good match for each other. Consider the following direct mail from 1-800-PetMeds for a minute. It offers a 30% discount and free shipping for all future orders. And to top it all off, it is personalized with the customer’s name and their pet. Several of our clients come to us seeking help in implementing postcard marketing campaigns for their businesses. And most of them are concerned about how we plan on implementing postcard personalization and here is what our Sales Head tells our clients “Sending a similar postcard for your business is easy if you have PostGrid’s direct mail API. Our direct mail solution allows you to use a template and personalize your mailers. And we can promise you a zero-error direct mail process because you can connect PostGrid directly to your CRM. Our automated system uses the data directly from the CRM so there is no scope of error in PostGrid’s direct mail personalization.” In other words, PostGrid can your best direct mail ideas to life using our automated solution. ConclusionAbove we saw 25 of the best direct mail ideas for your business. The market size of the Direct Mail Advertising industry in Canada is $1.3bn, and it is still growing. It means grabbing the customer’s attention is no longer an easy game, even when using a highly efficient channel like direct mail. The strategies we discussed above show how vital it is to implement creative direct mail advertising ideas for your business. However, every direct mail idea we discussed requires you to have an advanced direct mail system like PostGrid to back it up. It doesn’t matter if you want to send a personalized birthday card or the QR codes to a personal discount coupon. You will need an automated direct mail tool like PostGrid to implement your business’s best direct mail ideas. PostGrid offers a quick and easy direct mail process for companies saving them valuable time and resources. The automated system takes care of everything from personalizing your letters to delivering them to your target audience. Hence, companies must ensure they have a tool like PostGrid to support their creative direct mail campaigns. The post Interactive Direct Mail Ideas & Examples appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/interactive-direct-mail-ideas-examples/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/interactive-direct-mail-ideas-examples.html TABLE OF CONTENTS6 Ways in Which Effective Claims Management Can Help You Fasten PaymentsDid you know that 90% of healthcare claim denials are avoidable? With the right claims management system in place, you can also prevent denials and accelerate payments! We understand that it is time-consuming, expensive, and hectic to process claims and follow up with insurance agencies. However, it is an ongoing and essential process to get reimbursed for your services. ![]() There are plenty of steps involved, from patient admission to claims approval. So, how to accelerate these activities and get paid faster? The short answer is digitizing your hospital claims management system. You can prepare and submit claims speedily and handle denials more systematically! Digitalization also enables you to save costs, increase patient satisfaction, and facilitate correspondence. In this blog, we will discuss how efficient claims management allows healthcare providers to streamline claims processing and boost productivity. Let’s get started! What is Claims Management in Healthcare?Healthcare claims management is the billing, preparation, organization, and submission of medical claims. All hospitals and physician practices need to process claims accurately and submit them to insurance companies for reimbursements. But how does it work? Well, there are a series of activities that healthcare providers need to undertake, like:
A medical claim has all the details of services provided to a patient with a breakdown of the fees. There is no single medical claim definition per se; it simply means a medical bill sent to insurers for review and adjudication. All the above steps might seem simple but are very complicated and daunting. The entire process can take up to several weeks sometimes. Also, not all claims are approved and paid for the first time. Instead, they are denied and sent back to the providers for modifications or corrections. There can be several reasons for claims denial, like faulty processing, coding mistakes, etc. Healthcare providers must re-prepare and re-submit these denied claims on time to request reimbursement again. Thus, hospitals also have a denial management strategy to identify errors and respond to denials. What Can You Do to Reduce Denials and Improve Claims Management Within Your Institution?With denial rates rising to 57% and healthcare costs increasing more than ever, you need to take some solid steps to improve claims management processes. Below, we have enlisted some things your institution or practice can work on: Assigning Job RolesFrontend workers usually have jobs, like:
On the other hand, backend staff deals with claims submission, accounts receivable, claims denial management, and more. The frontend and backend staff of a hospital are equally responsible for processing error-free claims. However, we often see that the backend staff handles most of the responsibilities in medical claims management. Thus, most issues are spotted at the latter stage of claims processing by backend workers. You can change that by defining job roles accurately and holding both departments accountable for denials. Keep Your Patients UpdatedTransparent billing, detailed meetings, patient support, etc., are some examples of how you can strengthen patient relationships. Your patients should be your priority, which is why you need to keep in touch with them. It is not a mandatory requirement of hospital claims management to update patients on their claim statuses. But, constant interactions can help you handle denials better and accelerate approvals. Effective insurance claims management enables you to update patients promptly and personalize messages. Thus, you can also work on your patient retention strategies simultaneously. Secure Patients’ Personal DataThere might be a dozen people at your institution who can access patient files effortlessly. However, you need to limit access to only a few members who directly handle your patients’ healthcare, protecting their privacy. Also, ensure that all your claims management activities are in accordance with PIPEDA regulations. It will help you eradicate data breaches and maintain your brand reputation. PostGrid’s direct mail services are PIPEDA-compliant. Therefore, if you need to print and mail medical documents to patients or insurers securely, PostGrid is an excellent platform to get started. Follow Up With InsurersHealthcare providers must make follow-ups an integral aspect of their claims-handling mechanism. Every seven days or 15 days, they should follow up on their submitted claims to increase revenue levels faster. Also, think of other ways to contact insurers and inquire about your dues. For example, you can set up a triggered campaign to send follow-up letters to insurers weekly as a reminder to complete your reimbursements. You can combine such mailing campaigns with email and calls to increase impact. In short, you can develop a robust claims management program by using multiple channels. Outsource Your Claims Management TasksIf you want to save time, increase efficiency, and process claims in the best way possible, consider employing a claims management company. By outsourcing, you can free up your employees’ time, cut manual effort, and reduce administrative costs. Plus, you can ensure that everything is completed smoothly and securely. Why Should You Outsource or Automate Claims Management?As said earlier, claims processing isn’t a one-time job that healthcare providers need to get over with. Hence, they need a long-term plan that is consistent, reliable, and digitized, like automated claims management solutions. Below are some other reasons why you should employ automation software to take over all claims-related tasks: Submitting Error-Free ClaimsHospitals and physician practices often face issues, such as undercharges, denials, delays, etc. But, they can avoid these hurdles by submitting flawless claims the first time itself. A claims management system can help them accomplish this objective along with availing some other benefits, like:
Prioritizing High-End ClaimsNaturally, some claims are worth a lot and need to be processed faster than others. Automating hospital claims management can help you prioritize high-priority accounts and keep tabs on your incoming payments. You can segment claims according to the payer compliance, amount, eligibility, demographics, etc. Hence, you can map out your priorities easily and boost reimbursements. Reduce Paper-Based TransactionsSeveral healthcare providers, especially small practices, still store their patient files offline. They also prepare most of their claims-related documents on paper. However, it can lead to many problems, like inefficient organization, wasted time, human errors, etc. Though digitizing these activities can improve data storage and streamline claims management to some extent, it still takes up a lot of time. Thus, you need a claims management software program to help you prepare claims according to industry standards, find and compile files in seconds, and submit claims in no time. Track Claim StatusesIt is crucial to track your claim statuses to know if everything is working smoothly. If there is an issue, healthcare providers must identify it as soon as possible and make the necessary changes. Without a robust claims management automation system, tracking every claim can be a complicated process for you. It enables you to follow up with insurers automatedly, respond to queries immediately, and get approvals faster. Handling Denials65% of all claims are never re-drafted and re-submitted by healthcare providers. The reason could be anything from time crunches to high costs. Naturally, many providers don’t have enough time and resources for denial management in medical billing. Hence, they must outsource their hospital claims management to manage denials without manual intervention and additional costs. Reporting and AnalyticsClaims management automation helps healthcare institutions analyze their strategies, understand patients’ needs, and reduce denial rates. It allows them to identify the reasons for denials and draft reports quickly for added efficiency. Also Read: What Are The Tips To Implementing Effective Direct To Patient Marketing Campaign? How Can PostGrid Help You Process Claims Effectively?PostGrid’s direct mail API can help you automate several tasks, like: Sending Medical Claims and Patient BillsUsing PostGrid, you can print and mail bills to patients, insurance companies, and other third parties effortlessly. All you have to do is integrate our API into your CRM and start sending invoices from your system. PostGrid also offers a variety of letter and invoice templates that you can customize to suit your claims management needs. Though you can email these invoices, mailing ensures that insurers pay attention to them and clears your dues speedily. Plus, you can send them via Canada Post Registered Post to get proof of mailing helpful in legal disputes. Statement Printing and BillingApart from medical claims, you may also need to send account statements to patients and insurance providers. Statements help you inform them of their dues and motivate them to settle their accounts soon. Some healthcare institutions send statements regularly as part of their claims management processes. Thus, using PostGrid’s print and mail API can help them streamline their mailing activities and cut misspending. Preparing Other Claims-Related DocumentsThere are several more documents that you may need to send to an insurance agency or patient, including:
PostGrid helps you speed up claims management by allowing you to prepare all medical documents with complete ease and convenience. Verifying Mailing AddressesHundreds of thousands of people move every year, leaving your old database obsolete. Therefore, you must update your patient data from time to time to avoid sending mail to incorrect addresses and risking ineffective claims handling. Fortunately, PostGrid offers address verification to help healthcare providers cross-check the delivery addresses of their patients and other parties. It enables you to manage your data more efficiently and avoid getting mail returns. Send Debt Collection LettersOften, insurers ignore or deny your submitted claims even after several resubmissions and follow-ups. In such cases, opt for sending debt collection letters with all the necessary details to get insurers to reply to you. Sending such letters can help you facilitate hospital claims management and generate more responses. PostGrid also offers several other features for healthcare providers, like:
ConclusionClaims management is a very complicated and lengthy task for almost every healthcare organization. But, you can speed up things and make things easier for yourself by automating the entire process. This way, you can sit back and relax while a software application does everything on your behalf with more efficiency. Also, having a proper hospital claims management system enables you to serve your patients better and improve your brand image. PostGrid’s direct mail marketing software allows you to draft, print, and mail all medical documents on time. Thus, you can process claims and ask for reimbursements more systematically. Request a demo right away to see how PostGrid can transform your claims management activities and help you improve your ROI. The post Hospital Claims Management appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/hospital-claims-management/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/hospital-claims-management.html TABLE OF CONTENTSTop 12 Healthcare Direct Mail Best Practices to Help You Advertise Your Services EffectivelyDirect mail helps marketers make their voices heard to their prospects amidst the digital noise. It is personal and offers people a break from their screens! In the healthcare industry, providers use medical direct mail to remind patients that they are here for them. It is a tangible reminder that talks about their services and help get people to walk in through their doors. Moreover, nearly 81% of Canadians read the mail items they receive the same day, making it the most attention-grabbing marketing channel. ![]() Apart from providers, other businesses like healthcare equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, etc., also use medical direct mail. It allows them to reach physicians and administrators and form professional relationships. Hence, there are many reasons to use mail healthcare, and we will discuss them further in this blog. However, it is crucial to remain strategic regarding reaching the relevant audience, tracking results, etc. Also, try making your mail items creative and interactive—to stand out from the crowd and make recipients feel special. Healthcare professionals, clinics, dental offices, pharmacies, insurance agencies, etc., can use these engaging mail pieces to achieve their goals. This blog also walks you through several best practices for healthcare direct mail to help you improve your ROI. Let’s get started! What is Direct Mail Healthcare?Direct mail marketing is a traditional strategy to help businesses connect with potential customers. There are no middlemen in such marketing forms, and there is a one-to-one interaction between both parties. Healthcare organizations employ medical direct mail to do the same thing as other industries—increase conversions and retention rates. Fortunately, direct mail works equally well for all sectors and can produce fantastic results if done right! You have countless options to choose from, ranging from different direct mail formats to design layouts. Try making these selections based on your offer, messaging, and target audience. Why Is Healthcare Direct Mail Still Prevalent?Many marketers ask questions like- isn’t direct mail obsolete these days. But, it is far from the truth that direct mail is dead! The direct mail industry has become more successful than ever after companies started overusing digital media! The total value of this industry in 2022 is $1.3 million. Thus, we cannot deny that healthcare direct mail is still the most effective marketing channel and can produce fantastic results. Below, we have listed a few more reasons this marketing form is popular: It Is Trustworthy and AuthenticHow often have you interacted with a sponsored advertisement on Instagram or Facebook? Once a week? Perhaps, once in a few months? Direct mail assures engagement because people perceive it as an authentic healthcare communication channel. They also believe mail healthcare is more reliable than emails and other digital marketing ads. Naturally, selecting a physician is a big decision for almost all patients. Thus, sending a well-curated healthcare direct mail item with your contact details helps build trust and credibility. It Has a Longer Life SpanMost people scroll through an online ad but look at a direct mailer for a long time. If you add up the time recipients take to open your envelope, scan the graphics, and read your copy, you can grab their attention for a few minutes! Hence, medical direct mail has a longer shelf life as recipients read it carefully and save it for future reference. Try attaching a coupon with a time-bound offer to make people act faster. Healthcare Direct Mail Has High Response RatesThe average response rate you can achieve using offline mail is between 2% to 4%. It may seem less, but the equivalent ROI can surprise you! Also, this response ratio is much higher than most digital marketing channels. It Is MemorablePeople remember healthcare direct mail pieces and are more likely to engage with them. Undoubtedly, traditional mail creates a nostalgic effect that makes recipients remember it weeks later. Thus, you can increase your brand visibility and recall rates by sending mail using healthcare mailing services like PostGrid. Such automated solutions help you ship items at the right time to the right people to increase the impact of your campaigns. There Is Less CompetitionDirect mail is a less-crowded channel compared to overflowing inboxes and never-ending ads. You can embrace the opportunity and contact prospects directly at their houses or offices. Furthermore, you can be more creative and make your healthcare direct mail items eye-catching. Hence, recipients can separate your mail from their bills and pay more attention to your marketing messages. Healthcare Direct Mail Best PracticesWe have divided this section into two parts to help you distinguish between marketing to doctors and patients. Let us see how they can advertise using offline mail in the best ways possible: Marketing to Physicians or DoctorsFace-to-face meetings seem mandatory for marketing to medical professionals, but it can be hard to get an appointment. Fortunately, medical direct mail helps create strong bonds with potential customers without in-person correspondence. Nowadays, most marketers close numerous deals without personally meeting their clients using mail. Below, we have compiled some productive techniques to help you further: 1. Personalize Your CopyEven adding the recipient’s name is enough to grab their attention. You don’t need to go out of your way and spend extra to personalize your mailers. Just use medical mailing services like PostGrid, which offer variable data printing. 2. Provide Relevant DataThe medical field is evidence-based, and healthcare professionals want to see relevant statistics backing up your claims. Hence, try adding facts and figures to your healthcare direct mail pieces to convince your prospects to buy from you. 3. Segment Your Mailing ListsAll healthcare providers have specialized needs, and you cannot send the same medical direct mail items to everyone. Therefore, use targeted mailing lists based on the following factors:
Luckily, PostGrid’s direct mail services offer custom mailing lists to help all businesses target their intended audiences. 4. Do Something DifferentIt is advisable to ditch your plain, white envelopes and think outside the box. All clinics, hospitals, etc., already get a lot of such mailers, and it is easy for your medical direct mail to get lost in the shuffle. Therefore, use colourful envelopes with one-line teasers, or switch to other mail healthcare types, like postcards. You can also send corporate gift items, including branded mugs, pens, water bottles, etc., to your top-end and crucial clients. 5. Let Your Expertise Reflect on Your Healthcare Direct MailCreate content reflecting your industry knowledge and highlighting your brand as a reputed one. You can insert some use cases and customer reviews to make your items more persuasive. 6. Focus On Your CTA and OfferUse a straightforward CTA allowing your prospects to know what to do next. You can get them to call, email, fill out an online form, book an appointment, etc. The plan is to get these healthcare providers closer to the final sales stage using medical direct mail. Moreover, you need to add a discount offer to motivate potential customers to purchase your products, primarily when interacting with them for the first time. 7. Integrate Your Marketing ChannelsCombining your offline and online marketing forms allow you to get the best results. Using such integrated strategies, you can reach a broader audience and increase brand awareness. Try amalgamating healthcare direct mail marketing software with email marketing, paid search, social media marketing, etc. Also, it is essential to time these campaigns properly to increase efficiency. Marketing to PatientsThough you can use all the strategies mentioned above for marketing your services to patients, here are some more tips to help you: 8. Add Patient TestimonialsAdding the testimonials of your existing and loyal patients is an excellent way to make your healthcare direct mail credible. Also, they help make your items more interactive and result-driving. 9. Verify ListsYou may have the details of thousands of patients in your database. Hence, you can combine those records and conduct a healthcare direct mail marketing campaign. But, there could be problems like mail returns and delivery delays if your mailing lists are not updated. Nevertheless, you can prevent tons of wastage by using PostGrid’s address verification before mailing. It can also help you build segmented lists from scratch for your campaigns. 10. Add Your Brand Logo and Contact DetailsIt seems obvious, but many organizations fail to provide adequate information in their medical direct mail. Including your phone number is not enough; you must also provide your email address, location details, website link, social media profiles, etc. Thus, patients can engage with you on a channel of their preference! 11. List Your BenefitsYou can promote your services by talking about your benefits. For instance, you can tell your patients that you offer several payment options for their convenience in your mail healthcare. Also, you can discuss your after-hour services that help the working class or busy parents visit you. These benefits differ from organization to organization, but including them in your medical direct mail copy is always a good idea! 12. Send Mail During Public HolidaysHealthcare providers can use public holidays, like Victoria Day or Canada Day, as an excuse to send healthcare direct mail to their patients. They can send discount coupons for free consultations to new patients or ship informative letters to their existing patients interested in specific services. Furthermore, you can send holiday greeting postcards to your old patients to make them feel appreciated and boost retention rates. Is It Illegal to Send Medication Through the Mail?Along with marketing items, most healthcare organizations also use medical direct mail to send other documents, like:
But are you allowed to send medication via post in the same way as marketing and transactional mail? The short answer is yes, but you need to follow several guidelines. Also, you must know the Food and Drugs Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act govern drugs. You can only ship medication if your packaging, labelling, and contents follow the applicable regulations. How Can PostGrid’s Healthcare Mailing Services Help Businesses?PostGrid offers automated direct mail services to allow organizations to connect with their existing and potential customers. You can integrate our API into your CRM or other software applications and mail items directly from your system. Here are some of our most helpful features that healthcare organizations and other medical-related businesses can benefit from:
These features are only examples of the extensive healthcare mailing services that PostGrid offers. We are also known for our: ConclusionHealthcare-related businesses find it hard to prove their trustworthiness and attract genuine leads. However, medical direct mail can help them increase their response rates significantly. It is one of the oldest marketing forms but generates excellent results for all companies. Still, conducting a healthcare direct mail marketing campaign in-house can be daunting and expensive. Therefore, you should try PostGrid’s direct mail API to cut costs by 75% and get everything done 50% faster. Are you ready to save your internal resources and conduct mail healthcare campaigns effortlessly? Sign up now to see how PostGrid works to help you fulfil your objectives! The post Healthcare Direct Mail: Best Practices for Medical Mailing Services appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/healthcare-direct-mail-best-practices/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/healthcare-direct-mail-best-practices.html TABLE OF CONTENTSA Guide To Direct Marketing: How to start it, Advantages, Examples, and MoreIt is no secret that personalization and proper targeting are crucial for the success of a marketing campaign. Perhaps the only marketing strategy that whole-heartedly accepts this fact is direct marketing. Yet, many companies are still not using it for their business. ![]() If you are among one of these companies, then it is high time you reevaluate your marketing decisions. Here’s the scary part: every day you spend without direct marketing is a day gained by your competitors. Talking about your competitors, they could be using direct marketing to get closer to your target audience with them even as we speak. Hence, it is high time that business organizations better understand direct marketing and how it can benefit their business. What is Direct Marketing?In essence, direct marketing is a type of advertising that targets specific consumers or consumer groups instead of the masses. It is the more personalized approach of marketing where you communicate directly with the target audience, which effectively gets rid of the middleman. Direct marketers aim to persuade their target audience into taking the desired action. The desired action could be placing an order, visiting your website, filling out a form, etc. What’s more? You can use numerous formats for marketing your products/services to your target directly. Some of the most commonly used marketing formats include:
Why Does Your Business Need Direct Marketing?You would be wrong if you think that direct marketing is yet another marketing strategy for boosting sales and generating leads. Marketing your business directly to your customers offers numerous advantages that make marketing management easy. Efficient Strategy For Promoting Products and ServicesThe most distinguishing aspect of direct marketing is that it does not target the masses, unlike standard marketing strategies. The highly targeted nature of directly marketing your business enables you to target an audience genuinely interested in the product or service. As you can guess, better targeting leads to better leads, which eventually leads to more sales and conversions. Hence, marketing your business directly to the customers boosts the efficiency of your marketing efforts significantly. Customized Marketing CampaignsThe chances are that you are already using an indirect marketing strategy for your business. Did you ever notice that indirect campaigns always use the same marketing message for all your target audience? How well can a generic message resonate with the target audience? You can create a personalized marketing message for group or individual audiences with properly executed direct marketing plans. For instance, your company can target customers based on their age, income range, etc. Using such extensive data can create relevant marketing messages for your existing and potential customers. Measure The Success of Your Marketing CampaignsMeasuring the success or efficiency of your marketing efforts is a must if you want to yield better marketing results. Without a personalized approach to marketing like you have in direct marketing, you can’t get a comprehensive picture of your campaign’s effectiveness. So what does all this mean? It means you can analyze aspects such as the response rate for each specific channel, the revenue it generates, and the ROI. Furthermore, it helps you understand how much your target audience is willing to pay for particular products or services. Conveniently Reach Your Target AudienceLooking at your existing or old indirect marketing channels, you notice that it doesn’t leave much room for flexibility. It is more likely that you have to meet the demands of the middleman for executing your marketing campaigns. In contrast to this, your direct marketing plans are significantly more flexible and convenient. For example, if you are looking for a higher response rate, you can use direct mail for your campaigns. But, if what you want is speed or shorter execution time, you can opt for an email marketing campaign. Advantages of Using Direct Marketing For Your BusinessIt is not easy to list all the advantages a business organization can get from employing direct marketing campaigns. However, below we have compiled a list of the most significant benefits of direct marketing for your business. Targeted AdsTargeted ads always drag in better results for your business than non-targeted ads. As we have already discussed, targeted ads refine who sees your ads or marketing content. Only the people who are likely to be interested in your product or service see your ads. In short, targeting specific groups of customers with a direct marketing message is more likely to generate quality leads. For instance, consider a real estate business – they are likely to generate more quality leads by targeting buyers and sellers within their area of operation. Budget MarketingAs a business organization, you would have unquestionably come across situations where you have had to cut down on your marketing expenses. Directly marketing your business does not merely help you minimize your marketing expenses. It helps you set up ambitious yet realistic goals for your marketing campaigns. As a result, direct marketing enables you to improve your sales despite having a relatively low budget for marketing. Compared to broadcast promotions, marketing directly to the target audience costs significantly less. Increase Sales to Existing and Past CustomersMany marketers assume that the customer, by default, doesn’t welcome businesses to interact with them. But, the truth is that customers value companies that understand their customer’s needs and build a personal relationship with them. Direct marketing is perfect for targeting your existing and past customers. Why? Because you already have the information of what kind of products your customers like. Hence, it is not hard to find the right products and offers that can catch the customer’s attention. Furthermore, it will also help your business find out why some of your customers decided to move on to a different brand. More importantly, it lets you find out what it takes to re-establish your relationship with lapsed customers. Boost Customer LoyaltyAs you saw in the section above, direct marketing plays a significant role in maintaining good relationships with its customers. When you are marketing your products or service directly to the customer, you can personalize both the message and the offer. It also means that you can link the offer in your marketing campaign with the customer loyalty program. Sending birthday cards, inviting the customer to a sales event, and offering loyalty points are some customer loyalty strategies that you can use. Ideal For Launching New Products or ServicesIf you want to market a new product or service that you intend on launching to the market, direct marketing is the best choice for you. What makes direct marketing the perfect launching pad for your business’s new product/service is obvious. It is no secret that the communication between a business and its target audience is much more effective when it is direct. Using a personalized approach works best for your customer acquisition programs as it can generate authentic leads. If that’s not enough, direct marketing also helps businesses adapt to the market demands and adopt an approach best suited for it. Ideal For Measuring Product DemandNothing can give your business an edge over its competitors than understanding the product’s demand in the market. No matter how good your product or service is, it will fail if it does not meet the consumer’s demand. Furthermore, it also lets you:
As a result, you can easily modify your marketing campaigns and ensure their good performance. Therefore, direct marketers must monitor and analyze their marketing efforts to optimize them. Types of Direct MarketingWhat makes direct marketing an ideal marketing strategy is that you can implement it using different formats or channels. You can market your products or services directly to the target audience using offline and online communication channels. Here are various ways that are most effective in selling your products or services straight to the target audience. Direct Mail MarketingDirect mail marketing is one of the best ways for businesses to reach out to their target audience. Despite what you may have heard about offline marketing channels like direct mail, they are not dead. In fact, offline marketing channels like direct mail are perfect for your direct marketing campaigns. Why? Because the digital marketing sphere is already filled to the brim with marketers trying to catch the audience’s attention. If that’s not enough, direct mail marketing offers a higher ROI potential than most advanced marketing strategies. Additionally, using an advanced direct mail automation tool like PostGrid gets advanced capabilities. We have made a list of methods you can make your direct mail marketing more effective, and you can read all about it direct mail marketing here. You can use PostGrid for printing all kinds of print media for marketing your business, such as:
Advantages of Direct Mail Marketing
Email MarketingIn a way, Email marketing is the faster version of direct mail marketing. It is also one of the most commonly used direct marketing plans companies use. In terms of speed of execution, email marketing is much faster than direct mail marketing. However, email marketing is not as effective as it once was. One reason is that almost every mainstream company now uses email marketing. The customers are bombarded with one marketing email after another. More importantly, it is easy to ignore emails and leave them unread forever. You can use this type of direct marketing to send all types of marketing materials, such as:
Advantages of Email Marketing
Web Push MarketingWeb push marketing involves using the customer’s stored information in the browser to send relevant push notifications. In most ways, web push marketing is similar to push notifications on mobile devices. The only difference is that the notices are sent to the target’s desktop or laptop instead of mobile. These are the same notifications that you might have noticed popping out on the corner when browsing through websites. The push notification can be about anything, including:
The direct marketing method helps your business establish direct contact with the target audience. It does so by providing relevant information to the user in real-time. Advantages of Web Push Marketing
Mobile MarketingMobile marketing is one of the most popular direct marketing plans available for business organizations of all shapes and sizes. It involves all communication with the target audience through their mobile devices. Some of the most widely used mobile marketing strategies are
Mobile direct marketing usually includes sharing links, discount codes, etc., with the customers, which leads them to business websites. It is an effective marketing strategy in a day and age where a good amount of our time is spent on mobile phones. When implementing mobile marketing for your business, it would help to analyze your target audience. For example, a deep analysis of the target audience can reveal when the audience actively uses mobile devices. Once you have that information, you can easily pitch relevant offers or content to the target. Advantages of Mobile Marketing
Messenger MarketingAs you can guess from the name, messenger marketing uses various messaging apps such as Facebook/Meta messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. These apps let your company send direct messages to the target audience. Generally, it involves a hybrid of text message and email. Messenger marketing is often considered a more subtle way to reach the target audience. What does that mean? It means it is a direct marketing method you can use for collecting more personal details of the target, such as their phone number and addresses. Hence, it is no wonder that many B2B companies are in love with messenger marketing as they often need an initial touchpoint. They can use messenger communication to nurture leads and establish dynamic relationships with prospective buyers. Advantages of Mobile Marketing
TelemarketingTelemarketing is perhaps the oldest direct marketing strategy in this list other than direct mail. Although telemarketing is not as popular as it was back in the days, it is still an effective marketing strategy. As you know, telemarketing involves contacting prospective customers directly via phone. It can be an extremely effective marketing strategy if you have the right people for the job. However, several countries have a do-not-call list that lets individuals opt out of unsolicited sales calls. Hence, it might be hard to get the full potential out of your telemarketing campaigns. But, if you want to target people with whom you already have an existing relationship, the opt-out facility won’t be a problem. Furthermore, a significant portion of the target audience generally doesn’t go through the trouble of adding themselves to the list. Advantages of Telemarketing
Social Media MarketingSocial media marketing is by no means a new concept to marketers. It is one of the most effective direct marketing strategies to help your business achieve the desired result. The target audience uses social media platforms regardless of their age or economic background. Furthermore, social media platforms like Facebook offer superior targeting features. You can ensure that your marketing ads always reach the right audience when you have such advanced targeting capabilities. Did you know that several companies depend solely on social media marketing to generate leads and sales? Yes, that’s how effective social media marketing can be as long as you execute it right. Advantages of Social Media Marketing
Direct Marketing vs Indirect MarketingThe main difference between indirect and direct marketing is their targeting. When marketing directly to the customers, it is either for an individual customer or a highly targeted customer group. Whereas, in indirect marketing, the marketing message is broadcasted often randomly. But what other differences do the two marketing techniques have? The following table will help you understand the differences between direct and indirect marketing.
How To Start A Direct Marketing Campaign For Your Business?You have already understood how promising it is to market your product/service directly to customers. And you are probably wondering how you can get started on direct marketing advertising for your business. The following pointer should provide you with every information you need for that. Step 1: Choose The Best Marketing Method For Your BusinessThe first thing you need to do before implementing direct marketing for your business is to decide on the ideal marketing method. Now the best marketing method for your business can vary depending on the various factors such as your
Let’s take the example of the real estate business again. A well-designed direct mail postcard campaign is the best direct marketing method for real estate businesses to target their prospects. Why? Because it lets realtors target people within their farm area and can include attractive images of the property. In addition to this, realtors can even employ specialized direct mail services for the real estate business. Step 2: Create a Targeting ListOnce you have picked the suitable direct marketing method for your business, you can create a targeting list. If you are unsure about how to create a targeting list, start with the data you have on your existing customers. You can segment your current customers into smaller groups. Some of the factors you can use for segmenting your target audience are
Understanding your target audience is essential in creating an effective marketing strategy and message for your business. Step 3: Create Your Direct Marketing MaterialAgain, creating the marketing material for your business can vary depending on what marketing method you choose. For instance, if you are using direct mail marketing for your business, you may have to consult with a designer or a direct mail company. Furthermore, you may also use advanced automation tools like PostGrid for designing and printing personalized mailers. Similarly, all direct marketing plans can be streamlined and simplified using advanced tools with automation capability. One of the recent projects we undertook required us to programmatically automate the workflow of our client’s direct mail communications. We were able to use our direct mail automation system to significantly reduce the manual errors in the process. Our solution also ensured that our client could easily send 1000 – 3000 mailings a month, which affected their retention and response rates positively. Step 4: Ensure You Can track Your Direct Marketing CampaignTracking your direct marketing plans is a must regardless of your marketing method or strategy. Thankfully, it can be easily implemented by adding results trackers to your marketing campaigns. For example, you can add scannable QR codes or promotional codes to your direct mailers as a results tracker. Now, if you are dealing with email campaigns, you can add pixel code to the emails for tracking your marketing campaigns. The pixel code lets you know every time someone clicks on the CTA and navigates to your website. Similarly, you must add a relevant results tracker to your direct marketing plans. Step 5: Test Your Direct Marketing CampaignTesting is an integral part of every marketing campaign, and it is no different for your direct marketing campaign. You can test your marketing campaigns by selecting a small batch or group of the target audience for sending your marketing material. After they receive your marketing material, you can check their response. If a significant portion of the batch responds to your marketing message, you can consider sending the marketing mailer to a larger audience. And, if you do not receive the desired response initially, you may have to make adjustments to your marketing material. Step 6: Analyze Your ResultsMerely testing your direct marketing campaigns is not good enough to make them successful. You also need to analyze the data you get from the tests. But, before you begin studying your marketing campaign, you need to ensure that you give the campaign enough time to run. Some of the factors you need to analyze are each campaign’s response rate and marketing material. Comparing campaign results against your lead generation and revenue would also be best. Furthermore, the analysis should be carried out throughout a specified time, like a month or two. Direct Marketing ExamplesWe hope that you know all there is to direct marketing and how you can implement it for your business by now. Now, let’s take a look at some direct marketing examples that can help you along the way and optimize your marketing efforts. #1 Touch BrandingTouch Branding is a leading branding agency based in Prague with extensive experience in global marketing campaigns. A direct mail campaign is one of their notable marketing projects that directly target the target audience. It carried a peculiar tagline, “We’ll give our blood for good branding.” Of course, it also had relevant graphics that supported its marketing message and tagline. The direct mail had a picture of a blood bag. And the marketing tagline was printed on the blood bag rather than on the background. Interestingly, the company supported the direct mail campaigns with an email campaign and banners on their website. #2 CanvaThere is a good chance that you or someone at your organization has already come across one of Canva’s direct marketing emails. Whenever Canva creates a new design concept, they market it to all their subscribers. Every subscriber receives an email informing them about the new design concept and how they can use it on presentations and infographics. It is a simple and effective way to market a product, and Canva often backs it with minimalist content that communicates everything the recipient needs to know. ConclusionThere is no question about the effectiveness of direct marketing plans. It offers a more personalized and targeted approach to marketing that is bound to bring positive results. Businesses have numerous reasons to market their products or services to the target audience and few reasons not to do it. Furthermore, businesses can use online and offline channels for marketing their business directly to the customers. Offline marketing channels such as direct mail offer superior marketing capabilities. It is especially true when employing advanced tools like PostGrid. Automated solutions like PostGrid ensure easy and convenient execution of your direct marketing plans. In addition to this, tools like PostGrid also help you analyze your marketing performance and systematically perfect your strategies. Similarly, every direct marketing campaign can be optimized with the right tools. We could go on and on about the benefits of marketing directly to your target audience, or you could try it and see the results. The post Direct Marketing: What, Why, How and Examples appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/direct-marketing/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/direct-marketing-what-why-how-and.html TABLE OF CONTENTSDirect Mail for BanksIn the last decade, direct mails were replaced by digital marketing campaigns. However, brands have now restarted understanding the importance of direct mail marketing. It works in almost the same way for all types of companies. Brand promotions, a higher number of leads, a higher ratio of sales conversions, and customer retention are the top features of direct mails. However, recently there has been a concern if direct mails are still used for banks and whether it is still efficient. According to a DMA report, the response rate analytics suggests that about 70% of all credit unions and banking institutions make use of a direct mailing strategy as a regular part of their marketing campaigns. ![]() Along with sending transactional and compliance mails, banks are now also sending gifts and other direct mail pieces to their audience, both current and potential. A number of banks like American Express, CitiBank, Bank of America, Capital One, and many others are actively using direct mail marketing for banks regularly. Outstanding banking offers printed and mailed on-demand with beautiful graphics, and taglines are the core feature of bank direct mail marketing. Banks use this marketing technique to inform, educate, and promote altogether. Another DMA report stated that direct mailings get 600% more responses than digital advertisements and posts. Advantages of using Direct Mail Marketing for BanksThere are a number of benefits of using direct mail for banks, including effective communication, close relationships with clients, and brand publicity. Please find below the benefits in detail: Improves CredibilityPeople trust brands that take extra effort to stay in touch with them and are visible everywhere. Direct mail for banks drastically increases their credibility level and gets the audience to trust them. When it comes to banking, there are money matters involved, and credibility is highly questioned. Direct mailing campaigns provide a comprehensive platform to create a personal and emotional touch through the mails sent directly. High Response RateThe response rate is always higher in direct mail marketing for banks than in online marketing campaigns. People can miss out on a post on their social media pages, but they can never miss out on a mail directly sent to them. This mail is highly personalized and makes the recipient feel special. On the other hand, digital marketing is likely to cross over a million people and still get fewer responses due to less personalization. Also, people prefer being updated through direct mails rather than through subscriptions, events, and online advertisements. Moreover, the ROI is visibly way more than any other marketing strategy. Increased Brand AppearanceIf there is one place where you are guaranteed to get the attention and time from a person, it is at their own house. Direct mail marketing for banks gives excellent results because they are financial institutions that every person deals with at all stages of their life. Everyone does banking, and therefore, these firms can easily increase their brand appearance by using direct mails. People instinctively know what it is about. When offered solutions to their banking need in a creative manner, they are sure to acknowledge the same widely. There are very few distractions in the way of these direct mails and are more likely to catch the audience’s attention, ultimately increasing brand appearance. Drive CustomersBank direct mail marketing can also be used to drive customers to the bank’s digital channels or website. Personalized URLs, call-to-action, video mailers, and promotion codes can intrigue the recipient to visit banks’ landing pages and get to know more. In this way, recipients are first converted into leads and then converted into clients effectively and smoothly. One can send appealing and innovative gifts to their targeted audience, which will motivate them to take action in response. Great TechnologyDirect mails for banks is backed up with the latest technology for better tracking and excellent results. You can very easily synchronize your campaigns with your social media channels, website, and email platforms. The direct mail software captures and stores all the information of people who visit any of these channels and converts them into a mailing list for you to add to your CRM software. The features also allow banks to integrate all their online banking activities with direct mail marketing for banks. This way, direct mails will be well-connected, and recipients will enjoy getting mails corresponding to their own activities. The behavioural triggered direct mails help make this possible, wherein mails are sent out in response to the customers’ actions. Perfect TimingBy integrating everything on a common platform, banking institutions can now access all their campaigns’ insights with one click. These insights help them plan their upcoming bank direct mail marketing. The marketing teams can plan and execute these campaigns at the right time and on an urgent basis with the print and ship on-demand features of the software. This facet enables the right marketing at the perfect time, taking excellent advantage of an opportunity. For example, Americans express sent-out fortune cookie packets with already eaten cookies to their drive cardholders, showcasing how they can lose significant bids to travel abroad at low costs. This campaign created an urgency among the people to grab the opportunity as soon as possible. American Express took advantage of this opportunity and mixed it with direct mailing to achieve great results. Wide ApplicationsThere are several applications for direct mail for banks. It can be used for anything where printing and shipping are involved, from branding to delivering formal documents. Everyone involved at all levels of the firm can use the direct mail features at some point or another. The information stored is available to everyone according to their permission levels at any time for use. Having clarified why the big names in the financial service industry like the American Express, Well Fargo Citibank, and other similar brands invest heavily in the direct mail marketing campaign annually, let’s look into details on the different types of financial direct mails. They’re all prevalent in the industry. Drive More Business using Bank Direct Marketing:Bank direct mail marketing is a driving force towards business. There are a number of ways banks can drive good business by making use of direct mail marketing campaigns. Some of the ways to successfully do the same are mentioned below: ![]() Upfront ProposalMake your direct mails more informative. You can put in as much information as you want but all in a well-structured format. There has to be a clear proposal made to the audience in the form of special offers and discounts, incentives on sign-ups, customer appreciation bonuses, and so on. Direct mail marketing for banks gets much more appreciation and acknowledgment when clear proposals are made. Promotional items with the brand name and logo also work great. Creativity and PersonalizationAlways use the highest level of innovation when it comes to sending out direct mails to banks. Good designs and well-written lines make the mails worthy of attention and provoke thought in the audience’s minds to respond. Less creative mails are likely to be ignored. The ROI becomes high when the marketers think out of the box and are successful in creating campaigns like none other. And that’s when direct mail software comes into the picture to help banks get their desired campaigns conducted successfully. Envelopes with pleasant graphics on the outside receive more attention than plainly printed envelopes or wrappers. Demographic TargetingDemographic segmentation helps classify the audience in terms of their age, income level, gender, and other factors. This information is beneficial for bank direct mail marketing as you can send direct mails according to this classification to get assured responses. For example, people having small children can be given the option of a good education program. Similarly, older adults can be offered exceptional retirement plans to fit their requirements perfectly. People with a different range of incomes can be approached accordingly with varying plans of investment. Demographic targeting is a great tool to be used in direct mails, especially for banks. Connect with SeniorsDirect mailing gives you a chance to connect directly with older adults who actually appreciate your direct mails and are looking forward to receiving the same. They are sure to read your direct mails, understand them deeply, and provide mouth publicity for your brand. Communication MailsYou can use direct mails to communicate about anything from personal and business loans to investment plans and general banking. Banks can send newsletters, regulations, notices, policy details, and credit card offers to the concerned audience. This action allows them to be in touch with their customers at all times and not just at the time of promotions. PostGrid Direct Marketing Automation for BanksPostGrid is a marketing automation tool that enables you to conduct smooth direct mail marketing for banks and assists you in all your offline marketing activities. Let our platform or direct mail API help you sort these things with just a couple of clicks while you focus on other things. Our direct mail automation software bridges all communication gaps between banks and their customers; be it transactional or promotional direct mails, this tool can also print and send whatever you want whenever you want. With our highly efficient tracking system, you know exactly where your mails are. Our tracking system states the perfect time for you to connect with the recipients. Highly customizable features, beautiful designs, vivid colours, engaging messages, and complete applications are the features that make our software the best choice for your direct mail campaign. PostGrid is an all-in-one solution for your offline marketing needs. Streamline your advertising in the right direction. Contact us now for more details on how to use our tool for your offline marketing campaigns. The post Direct Mail For Banks appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/direct-mail-for-banks/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/direct-mail-for-banks.html TABLE OF CONTENTSPhysical Address Vs. Mailing Address: Know the DifferenceWhen was the last time an eCommerce website asked you to provide a mailing address? If you ever had to deal with such situations, you already know that people use more than one type of address. So, are mailing addresses and physical addresses the same? ![]() Well, the answer is a clear no. Both of these addresses mean two completely different things and serve distant purposes. In simple terms, a physical address describes a physical location, and a mailing address is a place where you can receive postal mail. A mail address can be someone’s physical address as well, but not always. To understand the reasons behind such scenarios, let us first learn the meaning of the different types of mailing addresses. Physical AddressA physical address is a place that is physically located somewhere and falls under the local authority’s jurisdiction. For example, if your house address is 852 MacLaren Street Toronto, Ontario M1S 1T4 It is called a physical address. Other names for a physical address include residential address, street address, physical home address, etc. If you are looking for an apartment to rent or buy, its physical address is the first thing to consider. This location helps you know whether there are good schools, hospitals, and other places nearby. Now, let’s talk about business organizations. What is the physical address of a business? How can you decide whether a location is apt to become your physical address? In general, the place where a business conducts its operations is its physical address. Usually, companies look for a well-connected area to set up their office. You may think that every company has an office somewhere. So, all companies have a physical address. But, in reality, a lot of companies operate online or are home-based businesses. So, they don’t have a particular office space to term as their physical address. So the question arises: how will these companies receive postal mail? That’s when mailing addresses come in. Mailing AddressAs the name goes, a mailing address is where you can receive your mail items. It is also called the postal address or delivery address. For example, if you are shopping online, you will enter the address where you want to receive your parcel. It doesn’t matter where you live or what your physical street address is. Mailing addresses are tied to the postal services of a country. Here, Canada Post is the concerned postal authority that keeps records of all the mail addresses in Canada. Some companies have a separate mailing address due to a variety of reasons, primarily home-based businesses. They do not opt for receiving mail at their homes and instead choose another location for this purpose. However, it is different with large organizations. Usually, their physical and business postal addresses are the same. Not Every Mailing Address Is a Physical AddressThe prime differences between these addresses are geographic locations and mail deliverability. While visiting a place, you would need a physical address and not a mailing address. On the other hand, you need a mailing address for sending a letter to someone. So, you need a different type of address for both of these reasons. But, you can still use a single address as your physical and mailing address both. If you are wondering about the possible reasons why someone’s physical and mailing address are different, we have a list below: PO BoxesIt is the most common reason why someone has two different addresses. If your physical address is in a PO box-only area, you cannot receive mail there. Instead, you must use a PO box for receiving all your mail items. So, you must mention your PO box address rather than entering your physical address to order something online. Unique Postal CodesSome large buildings, universities, government agencies, and organizations are assigned unique postal codes. By unique postal codes, we mean those codes that serve only one location. Since these places receive mail items in high volume, it makes sense that they have their postal codes. However, in such cases, Canada Post business addresses are different from mailing addresses. It delivers all the mail items to the mail department of the place, which then internally distributes them. Extreme Weather ConditionsPlaces with extreme weather conditions or hard-to-reach tracts are deemed as non-serviceable by Canada Post. The post offices near such areas drop the mail items at a post office box. The recipients can then collect their mail from there. It also applies to highly rural areas where it is difficult to reach. Residents can arrange for different mailbox services to get their mail. Military AddressesYou cannot mention physical addresses to mail to someone in the military. Instead, you must write a separate mailing address that helps Canada Post deliver mail to the military forces. Remember to mention the FPO or APO address along with the unit designation to get your mail delivered accurately. Canada Post sends the mail items to these military post offices that further distribute them. Clustered MailboxesYou would often find people debating about residential addresses vs. postal addresses. However, there’s another reason why your office or home address is entirely different from your postal address – clustered mailboxes. In many places, Canada Post does not deliver to individual mailboxes. Instead, it drops off mail at a community mailbox which is a cluster of those individual mailboxes. Hence, your mailing address will be the address of this community mailbox and not your physical address. Which Type of Address Do I Need?Before deciding which type of address you want for your business, consider your company type. All companies need a mailing address to receive crucial correspondence, but not all require a physical address. For example, if you run a company that conducts online webinars, you would not need a physical space. In this case, you can use a virtual address (more on that ahead) or rent a mailbox. But, if you are planning to own an office address and hire some people as full-time employees, you surely need a physical address. Virtual AddressesA virtual address is a boon for small and home-based businesses. If you work from home or do not have an address to receive mail, you can use a virtual business address. These addresses act as mailing addresses for you. It is known as “virtual” because you don’t need to go anywhere to get your mail. This virtual mailbox helps you receive postal mail without renting or buying a place for that. You can also use Canada Post mail forwarding business services to redirect your mail anywhere. Just provide a mail forwarding address, and your virtual post office box will send the items straight to you. Moreover, some companies also use virtual offices to conduct meetings. It can be very beneficial as having a space to conduct meetings and meet customers improves brand credibility. Difference Between a Street Address and a Mailing Address?Before we talk about the difference between street addresses and mailing addresses, let’s talk about what a street address is. Typically, a street address is the same as your physical address. It describes the place where something is geographically situated. However, you may not always receive your mail delivery at your street address. For example, if it’s a PO box-only area or has clustered mailboxes, your mailing address is bound to be different. How to Write Mailing Address Canada?For sending and receiving mail accurately, you must know the mailing address format in Canada. In addition, it helps the Canada Post mail sorting machines to read your mailing addresses correctly. Follow the below guidelines for addressing an envelope:
Find below an example of the Canada Post address format: Liam Tremblay In case you have any troubles standardizing and verifying mailing addresses, use our mailing address lookup services. Also, our address validation API can help you validate your mailing lists in minutes and continue sending mail without any issues. Over to YouWhile running a business, you must understand the difference between a physical address vs. mailing address. This way, you can make better decisions and also send and receive mail without any confusion. PostGrid’s international address verification API and software can help you verify your mailing addresses. So, you don’t have to spend any more on lost and returned mail items. Thus, companies can maintain their professional image and complete deliveries on time. Want to know more about how our API can help you update your database and improve the efficiency of your mailing activities? Sign Up Now! The post Physical Address Vs. Mailing Address: Know the Difference appeared first on PostGrid. source https://www.postgrid.ca/physical-address-vs-mailing-address/ Via https://postgridcanadainc.blogspot.com/2023/04/physical-address-vs-mailing-address.html |