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Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Direct mail is a critical tool
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday looming around the corner, many retail organizations are gearing up to deliver marketing and advertising campaigns that will engage customers and entice them with targeted promotions. Marketers should consider multiple components to their strategies to make certain promotions for these two major holiday shopping events gain as much traction as possible among consumers. The following tactics can help ensure a marketing campaign is firing on all cylinders.
Get started early
For the retailers that will open in the small hours of the morning on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it's important to let shoppers know well ahead of time. According to St. Louis CBS News affiliate KMOX, teaser ads can plant the seed in consumers' mind that the company is preparing for an event that's worth their time. It's also a great way to generate excitement. Macy's used this tactic last year to get shoppers interested and increase awareness by sending out teaser ads earlier in the fall.
One of the keys for this type of campaign is using multiple channels to deliver the message. Direct mail teasers can be delivered easily and quickly using mailing software to ensure addresses are valid and accurate. Retailers can use postcards to highlight the various promotions that will culminate during the Black Friday event. At the same time, email reminders are effective to reinforce messaging. Waiting until the week may not give shoppers enough time to plan, especially since many consumers divide up their purchases between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail locations.
Allocate sufficient resources
Because Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be some of the most lucrative shopping days of the year for many merchants, it's important that they spend sufficient time and money on their marketing campaigns. Business 2 Community recommended companies acknowledge and accept higher costs may be necessary to guarantee better quality marketing collateral. Materials created in house can often vary in terms of craftsmanship.
As a result, working with a third-party organization like a print shop to create marketing deliverables will likely yield better results. Direct mail especially requires superior color schemes and visual components to grab customers' attention. A mailer printed in house using a consumer-grade printer may not be as effective and will likely drain resources, including ink and toner.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions, marketers have a unique opportunity to engage shoppers over an extended period of time leading up to the events. However, success depends on smart budgeting and channel usage to keep customers in the loop.
