Direct Mail, Marketing

Solving the Problem of Marketing

The Problem of Marketing

In any business, marketing plays a vital role in the success or failure of the company. Mediocre products with brilliant marketing are often very successful while fantastic products with poor marketing can fail. Should marketers use social media, direct mail, paid search, print ads, billboards, email, or all of the above? Should messaging be funny, professional, or edgy? The problem of marketing is complex and multi-faceted. Where do you start?

How your business solves the problem of marketing will almost assuredly be unique to your business, your industry, and your target market. There isn’t one perfect marketing solution for everyone. Instead, companies have to adjust and adapt as they learn about their customers and understand consumer behavior. The best starting point is to look at available data.

Marketing Channels

There are a plethora of marketing channels available to marketers today. These channels include both traditional mediums and newer digital options. Let’s look at the data behind a few of these channels:

Social Media

Social Media isn’t going anywhere. Currently, 75% of male internet users have a Facebook account while 83% of female users are on Facebook (WordStream, 2018). Using social media for marketing gives you access to a vast consumer base spanning a very diverse set of demographics. Also, Facebook now accounts for 40% of traffic to new websites compared to 38% for Google. What this means is that more users are finding new sites through social media than through a Google search. However, the average conversion rate for marketing via social media is only 0.71% compared to 1.95% through search. (Adweek, 2016).

Email

Email marketing to an opt-in subscriber based list is very efficient and performs well with an average conversion rate of 3.19%. Far outperforming social media, email accounted for 25.1% of all Black Friday sales in 2015 compared to 1.6% for social platforms. While social media generates the most traffic, email converts more prospects into sales (Adweek, 2016). The most significant challenge for email, however, is in building an opt-in subscriber list. Generating a list takes time and a reliable system.

Direct Mail

98% of consumers collect their mail the day it is delivered, 77% of them sort through it immediately. A quick check of your colleagues’ unopened email count will probably show you that most people do not view email with the same speed consistently. Regarding action, while only 45% of consumers act immediately on an email, 76% will tend to direct mail as soon as they open it. Direct mail response rate’s shine, topping all other channels at 1.4% compared to .03% for email, .04% for internet display, and .22% for paid search (Extend Your Reach, 2018).

Direct mail is also useful in all age demographics. 92% of millennials report being influenced to make a purchasing decision from direct mail (Resource Solutions, 2016). Marketers continue to bombard email inboxes and social media accounts with up to hundreds of messages a day. Direct mail, however, remains a less-crowded channel where your prospects spend time daily reviewing the mail pieces they receive. The challenge with direct mail is in acquiring a mailing list. Fortunately, there are reputable companies like ANS that can provide targeted lists at minimal cost.

Conclusion

The best marketing approach will always include multiple channels. Each channel you choose to implement will play a part in taking your prospects from the initial touchpoint to conversion. As you begin to solve the problem of marketing for your business, remember to start your strategy by looking at the data.

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