Allison Jensen
Once your Shopify site is set up, it is important to utilize a combination of digital marketing and direct mail tactics to drive traffic to it.
For eRetailers, digital marketing probably comes second nature. Designing emails, crafting social media posts, and setting up SMS/text campaigns are instinctive first steps for any omnichannel marketing strategy. However, that often leads to direct mail being overlooked.
While it may sound surprising, direct mail is actually great for driving website traffic. It takes some of the heavy lifting out of online efforts and can act as an extension of a direct marketing team. Powerful synergies are created when direct mail supplements an email marketing campaign or contains a QR code or AR integration.
While it’s certainly not direct mail vs. digital, direct mail certainly has a few benefits that work in its favor. The first is that it may make your business feel a bit more “real” or “authentic.” We are NOT saying that your website isn’t real or authentic, but with so many scams out there, you may find that people who have never heard of you or shopped with you before may question if you are a legitimate business at first. Advertising your website using something as tangible and trustworthy as mail can help overcome that misconception.
The second benefit is that direct mail serves as a constant in a fast-moving and quickly changing world. When you put something on paper, it shows that serious thought and consideration were put into it, because now it is permanently out there for the world to see.
In times of uncertainty, like today’s current business environment, this may provide a sense of comfort to your customers and prospects that may not be able to be achieved by digital marketing alone.
The final benefit is that direct mail has a long lifespan and is very likely to be read. Emails can easily be deleted without seeing anything but the subject line, but direct mail usually has a little more design space “real estate” to work with so that some portion of the message is read before it gets put aside.
And right now, with more people at home than ever, many of them are spending more time reading and processing their mail. They may be reluctant to try something new right now, but laying the groundwork now will set you up for long-term success, especially when you consider how long it takes to reach prospects for the first time.
With those benefits in mind, here is an example of a direct mail piece that might support an email campaign:
Postcard Side 1
Postcard Side 2
In this example, fictional retailer Pet-Lo uses the same messaging, personalization, color scheme, and offer throughout physical and digital media. If the email is sent a few days before or after the postcard is received, Serena will have a better recall later after seeing both pieces, and the likelihood that she will respond may be higher because she has two ways to respond.
The Bottom Line
Direct mail provides a valuable solution for driving website traffic. Employing digital marketing and direct mail tactics in conjunction with one another boost response for the best results.