Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow your business, building your business is a process that involves a lot of planning and decision-making.

And the most important part of the growth process is getting the word out to the people who matter most so you can grow and strengthen your customer base.

Luckily, businesses in every industry have discovered that implementing direct mail campaigns into their marketing strategy has helped them build and grow their business tremendously. And we have put together some effective direct mail campaign ideas that will help you generate new leads, nurture existing ones, and strengthen your current customer relationships.

Generating New Leads

Direct mail has a response rate of 4.9%, that’s higher than emails, social media, and paid search advertising combined!

Which means a direct mail campaign is the perfect marketing strategy for generating new leads and here are a few direct mail campaign ideas that will help you do just that.

Make Your Company Standout

When you reach out to new people, you need to introduce who your company is to begin generating brand awareness.

There are multiple ways you can achieve making your business standout using a direct mail campaign including:

Send Eye-Catching Catalogs - Few companies are sending out catalogs to brand new people, and they should all be! Catalogs aren’t just for leads or customers, they’re perfect for getting potential leads interested.

In fact, 77% of recipients who are sent a catalog visit a retail store or website. This statistic proves that catalogs in a direct mail campaign can significantly help you generate new leads and with an eye-catching catalog design, your brand is sure to standout amongst the rest.

Share Your Message with Everyone - Every Door Direct Mail or EDDM allows you to choose a specific ZIP code and then reach every household on that given route without even knowing their addresses.

This is an especially useful direct mail campaign idea for companies just starting out as it’s extremely affordable and the perfect way to introduce your brand to a large audience.

Use Large Postcards - Postcard marketing is the most affordable direct mail material, one of the most versatile, and gets the job done.

One way to make your direct mail campaign stand out is by using a larger postcard like a 6” x 9” or 6” x 11” postcard. This will ensure that your direct mail piece is larger than the average items within your recipients' mailboxes making it impossible to ignore your message.

Say Hi to Your Customers’ Neighbors

People who live around your ideal customers are most likely in need or interested in your product or service too. So, try a direct mail campaign using Proximity Mailing. 

All you need to do is enter a customer’s address, choose a radius surrounding that address, and then limit it to the nearest number of individuals you’d like to reach. You can even filter your audience by certain demographics.

Share What You Offer to Those Who Are Interested

Reaching people who are interested in, who are in the market, or who are searching for what your company has to offer is the perfect direct mail campaign idea to generate new leads.

And you can achieve this with Propensity Mailing (or Intent-Driven Direct Mail). This direct mail solution will create a list of individuals who are most likely going to take you up on your offer and when you design a direct mail piece that introduces who your company is and include an irresistible call to action, you are sure to generate new leads more than any other direct mail campaign.

Nurturing Existing Leads

When you’ve gained a new lead, you need to really make your brand standout and connect with your lead so when it’s time for them to make a decision, they choose you.

Of course, you can try to standout by sending emails each week, or spending lots of money on digital ads, however, direct mail response rates are 5 to 9 times higher than any other advertising channel, so we recommend these direct mail campaign ideas below so you can gain real results.

Add An Irresistible Call to Action

When someone receives a physical, tangible piece of direct mail, they connect with it on a greater level, and many consumers try a business for the first time because of direct mail.

And to really drive interest you need to include a call to action that your leads can’t resist.

Whether you’re using brochures, postcards, or catalogs in your direct mail campaign, you will have a better chance at building your business by offering something to your leads. Consider offering a discount, a freebie, free shipping, or even a free sample.

Make your CTA or call to action clear and make it standout with bright colors and large text. You can even include a QR code or unique URL to track your results.

Reach Out Multiple Times to Strengthen Interest

Converting a lead into a customer can take time, which means you need to reach out multiple times to build brand awareness and to keep your company top of mind.

Of course, it can be expensive to send large mailings or catalogs several times in a row, so try Direct Mail Commingling for your next lead nurturing direct mail campaign.

This direct mail solution allows you to send as little as 1 postcard with bulk mailing postage rates applied. It’s the most affordable direct mail campaign idea for reaching out to small audiences and for reaching out multiple times while being extremely effective at turning more leads into customers.

Add Personalization to Your Direct Mail Campaign

Adding a name to your direct mail piece can increase your response rate by 135%. So, why not add your audiences’ names to your direct mail campaign mailers to increase the chances of converting your leads to customers?

With Variable Data Printing you can customize each direct mail piece to be personalized for each of your recipients. This can include names, images, and more, plus it’s easy to do and affordable!

Strengthening Current Customer Relationships

Building your business isn’t just about gaining new customers, it’s also about strengthening your existing customer relationships no matter how many you have.

And with repeat customers spending 67% more than new customers, marketing to your current customers is extremely important.

Wish Your Customers a Happy Birthday

Birthdays are the perfect time to let customers know you are thinking about them.

So, send your customers a birthday mailer with a special offer just for them for a direct mail campaign that is sure to get results.

You can even integrate your direct mail campaign into your CRM or marketing automation platform so each month birthday mailers are automatically sent to customers who have birthdays that month.

Reach Out During Important Milestones

Just like wishing your customers a happy birthday, reaching out during important times can help build stronger customer relationships. 

This could be a direct mail campaign that acknowledges your customers’ anniversary, their anniversary of being your customer, or your company’s anniversary.

Just send your customers a postcard message during these times that includes an exclusive offer.

This is another great direct mail campaign idea that can be integrated into your CRM or marketing automation platform so you can automatically strengthen your customer relationships without planning each month.

Reward Your Customers

Establishing a rewards program, or loyalty program promotes customer retention, they can encourage customers to buy additional items or upgrade their service, and they can even attract new customers. In fact, almost 60% of consumers consider companies that offer rewards or loyalty points as one of the most valued aspects of their shopping experience.

Create a direct mail campaign that promotes your rewards program to let your customers know you are thankful for their business.

This could include a postcard that reminds your customers that their rewards points are growing and ready to be redeemed, a QR code or unique URL that leads to a survey where if they complete the survey they will be rewarded, or simply a mailer letting your customers know you value their loyalty along with a discount code just for them.

Conclusion:

US advertisers spend on average $167 per person on direct mail while earning an average of $2,095 per person who received their direct mail piece.

With that kind of return on investment, it’s no surprise that direct mail campaigns are a leading marketing strategy for companies to build and grow their business. And with the above direct mail campaign ideas, you can start building and growing your business as well.

Click the button below to explore more ways you can use direct mail and to get started on your effective direct mail campaign today.