Why Print Should Be In Your Marketing Mix

When it comes to campaign planning, most marketers don’t think about print as part of their marketing mix. Digital channels such as emails, text messaging, banner ads, SEM, and social media make it easy to track, convert, and measure customer behavior. Plus, they can be easily turned on or off, so they are responsive to agile marketing strategies. 

However, when you put all your marketing eggs in the digital basket, you run the risk of missing out on fully engaging with your prospects. 

For one thing, the modern consumer is overwhelmed by digital messaging. When it comes to email blasts – or even carefully tailored email newsletters – your message is likely filtered into an unread folder. According to research, the average corporate professional in the US receives 120 emails per day and only responds to 25% of them (source). Meanwhile, the PPC Project reports that in 2021, the average person is exposed to between 6,000 and 10,000 digital ads per day.

As we have shifted to an increasingly digital world, each digital channel gets more saturated every day. That’s why omnichannel marketing (or deploying your messaging across all possible channels) is more important than ever to ensure your campaign’s success. We recommend partnering with mailing and printing services to add direct mail to your toolbox. 

Here’s where print can fit into your marketing mix:

Mail and Print Services to Warm Up Prospects

Promo codes for first purchases or free trials

Send a promo code in a print direct mail campaign. This might include printed postcards, flyers, or brochures to drive first-time purchases or free trials of your products. The discount creates a sense of urgency so that your prospect takes action by the end of your campaign. Meanwhile, you can use the promo code on the back end to track the success of your mailer. (If you use personalized URLs or promo codes, you can even measure the campaign at the contact level.)

Flyers to drive retail traffic into stores

If your business has a local brick-and-mortar location, then send flyers or brochures to prospects in the area to drive them to your store. You can deploy this when your location is hosting an event, such as printing a flyer announcing the event. It’s also a great way to promote a sale by sending postcards via direct mail with the sale information and dates. 

Whitepapers or case studies to educate a buying committee

For B2B marketers, sending printed collateral can go a long way towards building credibility for your brand (a tactic that Search Engine Journal identifies as a major priority for content marketers in 2022). Send members of your buying committee whitepapers or relevant case studies as follow-up to your initial sales calls. This helps you continue the conversation without getting lost in their digital clutter. 

Direct Mail Services to Win Repeat Customers

Mail Catalogs After First Purchase

For transaction-based businesses, winning a customer’s repeat business is just as important as making that first sale. Use a printing and mailing service to follow-up their first order with a physical catalog that highlights similar products. This cuts through digital noise and demonstrates you’re paying attention to what they like. Again, you can include promo codes or personalized URLs to track this campaign.

Send a Customer Welcome Kit

When a customer signs up for a free trial or subscribes to your service, keep their business by welcoming them with fanfare. Build welcome kits including brand SWAG, printed cards or brochures with upsell opportunities, and other material that celebrates and informs them. We recommend partnering with a mail and print service that keeps these kits on-hand for easy ordering.

Mail Personalized Thank-You Notes

For customer wins that required personal effort, take the time to stand out from the crowd with printed, personalized thank-you notes. You can either send these from your desk or, as a marketing team, set up template thank-you notes with a postcard printer that handles variable data printing (VDP) so that your sales people can easily print and mail cards from a service like Mimeo.

Mail and Print to Build Your Brand Relationship

Send Birthday or Anniversary Notes

Celebrate your customers with birthday messages or notes to mark the anniversary of when they first did business with you. While this kind of touchpoint is common in email marketing, you will stand out more when you leverage the print channel. Try printing custom postcards with personalized fields like your customer’s name, anniversary, and first product purchased. Even better, add a promo code to drive them towards an upsell opportunity.

Mail Sales Alerts

For transactional businesses, keep track of what your customers buy and when. Then, when you are running a sale, make sure the customers who would be interested in the sale item get a physical notice about the sale. That might be a custom postcard, flyer, or brochure. Ideally, include a personalized URL or custom promo code so you can track the success of the print campaign. 

Print Invitations to Brand Events

Events are an important part of your brand strategy. However, most marketers rely on email invitations and social media to get the word out. Instead, add printed invitations to build excitement and grow your attendee list. This works for both online and in-person events, since the most important part is sending a physical card that will grab your attendee’s attention.

When it comes to marketing in today’s world, the team that leverages as many channels as possible will see the highest returns on their campaigns. That said, your printer needs to be agile so that you can bring your content ideas to life as quickly as possible. Mimeo’s on-demand print services offer self-service project set-up and overnight delivery. If you need help with printing of flyers, postcards, brochures, or other marketing collateral, set up your free account to get started!