A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Right Options
When it comes to performance-driven direct mail, understanding the nuances of postage is essential for success and optimized ROI. From marketing mail to first class postage and everything in between, there are numerous postage options to consider.
So, whether you’re a novice getting ready to launch your first direct mail campaign or seeking confirmation on your current choices, this blog will help demystify the various types of postage and enhance your postage savings and optimization.
Defining the Different Types of Postage
When it comes to direct mail, there are two main postage types that require consideration: marketing mail and first-class mail.
Marketing mail is commonly used for bulk mailings of advertising materials, giving businesses and organizations a way to send non-urgent, promotional, and informational materials to a large audience at discounted rates.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that marketing mail consists of two primary types: non-profit mail and standard mail. Non-profit mail is used by organizations holding tax-exempt status like charities, religious groups, and educational institutions, aiming to raise awareness, garner support, or advocate for a cause. In contrast, standard marketing mail refers to promotional material sent by other businesses to potential customers, often highlighting products, services, or special offers to drive sales and foster brand loyalty.
First-class mail, on the other hand, offers expedited delivery for letters and postcards, with a discounted option called presort first-class that streamlines processing by bundling first-class mail by zip code, ensuring prompt delivery without compromising on quality.
Understanding Timelines and Strategies
Understanding timelines and predicting in-home dates is crucial for direct mail campaigns. For example, if you’re sending postcards with coupons or letters with urgent announcements, opting for first-class postage ensures prompt delivery, capturing your audience’s attention when it matters most.
General timelines to keep in mind when selecting postage types include:
- Standard Marketing Mail: 5-14 business days
- Non-Profit Marketing Mail: up to 20 business days
- First Class Mail (including presort first class): 3-5 business days
However, it’s important to remember that packages take priority over letters, especially during peak seasons, where ideal in-home dates significantly affect campaign effectiveness. As a rule of thumb, starting November 1st, switching to first-class postage is advisable to ensure timely delivery, while tax season represents another busy period requiring careful consideration of postage options.
Postage Pricing Considerations
While direct mail is a powerful marketing tool, we know postage costs can be substantial. Selecting the correct postage and working with a direct mail partner that uses proven strategies like saturation, trucking, and co-mingling to lower postage costs are imperative, regardless of your marketing budget size.
Standard marketing mail typically costs $0.41 per piece for letters (prior to potential discounts), with non-profit organizations potentially benefiting from rates as low as $0.23 per piece (prior to potential discounts), provided they have a corresponding classification number registered with the post office.
In the realm of first-class mail, various postage options entail different pricing structures. Presort first class typically costs $0.62 per piece, but to qualify for this discounted rate, all print components such as mailing addresses and barcodes must be properly printed on the piece. Mail pieces using meter postage, which involves printing and timestamping the postage using a postage meter, incur a cost of $0.69 per piece. Conversely, first class mail with a stamp or indicia—a printed marking indicating prepaid postage—costs $0.73 per piece.
Finally, first-class postcards that are 6”x9” or smaller mail at a lower rate of $0.41 per piece, making it a cost-effective, yet still impactful alternative.
Important Requirements to Keep in Mind
Each type of mail carries specific guidelines for postage requirements.
To qualify for marketing mail postage rates, USPS mandates a minimum of 200 pieces, though aiming for 250 allows for addressing inaccuracies and duplicates. Additionally, each piece can weigh up to three ounces before added postage fees are incurred.
For non-profit organizations, obtaining non-profit postage pricing needs registration and acquisition of a corresponding classification code from the postal service.
Finally, first-class presort pricing requires a minimum of 500 pieces, although we recommend 550 to accommodate inaccuracies, with each piece allowed to weigh up to three and a half ounces before incurring added fees.
Final Thoughts
Mastering the art of postage and cost-saving strategies can make or break your direct mail campaigns. By understanding the nuances of each postage choice and collaborating with direct mail experts like Strata to implement strategic approaches to timing and cost management, you can unlock the full potential of your campaigns and achieve impactful, performance-driven results.
Looking to strategize your next direct mail campaign and select postage options that work best with your goals? Contact us today to connect with an expert.
and Get the Results You’re Looking For
Writing direct mail content may seem fairly simple, but in reality – it takes planning, drafting, and analysis to yield results. If you’re hoping to create concise, creative, and intriguing copy for your next direct mail campaign, follow along as we lead you through the top tips, from knowing your audience to crafting appealing incentives.
Know Your Recipient
Before even beginning to craft a direct mail piece, it’s pertinent you know who you’re sending to. Not just the list of contacts – but who they REALLY are. Their geographics, demographics, and even their psychographics. Learn about them through surveys, by research into customer trends and data, through your team (especially customer service), and so on. There are many steps you can take to get to know your current and potential audience – but make sure you take one of them before writing. The more you know about who you’re sending to, the better you can cater your content. And, keep in mind that using this understanding to not only cater – but personalize, is key.
Keep it Short & Simple
When it comes to direct mail, you want to keep text as short and simple as possible. These days, viewers have fatigue from constantly being bombarded with promotional content. Not only are they sometimes too tired to look at an ad with minimal text, but they’re also surely too tired to read large blocks of content. Keep your piece at a maximum of 3-4 sentences, with 20-25 words per sentence (if possible). Show the reader (that you know and care for according to step one, above) respect their time. Make it easy with bullet points, text hierarchy, and so on to help guide the viewer along a path.
Be direct and avoid the fluff. Direct sentences not only show respect for the viewer’s time, but establish more trust and in turn, authority, as you’re not being wishy washy or trying to confuse the recipient. Additionally, only be repetitive in your text if it’s meaningful and helpful to the overall message.
Lastly, and this one’s important – only include what’s necessary. If more information must be provided, lead the recipient to a QR code or a URL with additional content.
Write Intriguing Headers & Sub-Headers
Even if the recipient doesn’t care about your direct mail – they’re still going to (very likely) read the headline. So, make sure it’s an intriguing one, as it could make or break your piece. And make sure it’s legible and appealing, and that it tells your recipient exactly what they should expect from your mailer.
Include a Clear Call to Action
The call to action is what you want the recipient to do, and it should be obvious. This is just as important, if not more important, than the header of your piece, and many of the same rules apply to writing it. It’s important to not only make sure it’s intriguing, legible, appealing, and concise, but to include it on both sides of the mailer (if possible). You should also try to create FOMO (the fear of missing out) through a sense of urgency or scarcity. For example: “Only 20 spaces left” or “Expires in 30 days!”.
With that said, keep in mind that you should only have one call to action on your piece to not confuse the reader and make sure they know just what action you want them to take.
Incentivize
Although not always needed, incentives can be very effective when it comes to direct mail. Including a discount or exclusive opportunity can entice the reader to act, or at least finish reading the copy or flip the mailer over.
Incentives can contribute to something we touched on above, FOMO, by making the recipient feel that the mailer is exclusive and that they’ll miss out if they don’t take the next step or keep the piece handy. Like the call to action, it’s best to include the incentive on both sides.
One additional benefit to incentives? They’re great for tracking. For instance, if someone uses a discount code or coupon, you can easily tell if the campaign effectively caught their attention.
Show Proof
Including a review or testimonial on your mail piece can often increase credibility and show you have loyal, happy customers.
If you’d like to take an even easier route, simply including a recognizable, associated logo or a star rating can show your expertise and credibility and can quickly build trust.
Proofread
Even if you have amazing, well-crafted, direct content and beautiful design – if there’s even just one or two errors on your mail piece, your credibility goes down immediately.
With that said, make sure you have at least a few proofreading eyes on your piece (or even utilize a tool like Chat GPT) before sending it out.
Think Through the Format
It’s important that the right copy be in and on the right format – whether that’s a classic postcard, package, newsletter, flyer, brochure, dimensional mailer, or something else. But keep in mind – just because your mailer is bigger, doesn’t mean you should fill it all up with more even copy. Like we said before, short, sweet, and to the point is best.
Design with Purpose
We’d be remiss if we didn’t remind you that design is just as important as the copy when it comes to direct mail. Be sure to think through branding, colors, textures, graphics, images, and so on to make the best impression and appeal to your audience.
With that in mind, are you to send carefully crafted, effective direct mail pieces that include concise copy and enticing CTA? We’d be happy to help you set up and execute your next performance-driven campaign. Reach out to the experts at Strata.
In a world dominated by digital interactions, a variety of businesses (especially grocers and retailers) are rediscovering the enduring impact of direct mail on customer engagement. Furthermore, businesses are catching wind that direct mail is where tradition meets innovation for loyalty campaigns. In this blog, we’ll delve into the strategic use of direct mail as a powerful tool for crafting and enhancing loyalty program marketing campaigns, and we’ll also be examining how its unique attributes can cater specifically to the needs of those in the grocery and retail sector. From creating tangible and personalized connections to celebrating customer milestones, we detail the diverse ways in which direct mail can shape a memorable and targeted loyalty campaign experience.
Benefits of Direct Mail for Loyalty Campaigns
Tangible and Personalized
Generally, direct mail can establish a tangible and personalized connection with each customer due to its physicality, elevating the overall customer experience and enhancing memorability. Unlike digital interactions, receiving and opening mail adds a sensory dimension to the engagement, making it more immersive. This tactile experience, coupled with personalized content tailored to individual preferences and purchase history, can foster a deeper connection and strengthen the emotional bond between customers and loyalty programs.
Highly Targeted
Direct mail enables precise targeting by leveraging customer purchase history, preferences, and demographics. This capability enhances the relevance of loyalty program messaging, ensuring that the content resonates with each individual recipient. By tailoring campaigns to specific characteristics and behaviors, companies can deliver personalized and meaningful communications, increasing the likelihood of customer engagement. The precision of direct mail targeting not only introduces the loyalty program effectively but also ensures that the message reaches the right audience with maximum impact.
Engaging
As touched on above, the targeted and tangible nature of direct mail prompts customers to actively engage with campaign messaging, and – even better, redeem their loyalty points. The physical presence of loyalty program materials can enhance the customer’s inclination to participate, and this active engagement, stimulated by the personalized and tactile aspects of direct mail, can contribute significantly to the success of your loyalty initiative.
For more retail marketing ideas, click here.
Common Strategies of Direct Mail for Loyalty Campaigns
Updates, Reminders, & Thank-Yous
Direct mail keeps customers engaged in loyalty programs through timely updates, personalized thank-you notes, and strategic reminders. It also provides customers with information about their loyalty points, program changes, and new features, ensuring they’re consistently informed and engaged.
Personalized thank-you notes sent via direct mail can create a memorable and emotionally resonant experience that strengthens the customer’s connection with the company and its loyalty program. Additionally, businesses can send timely reminders about upcoming expiration dates of loyalty points, encouraging customers to seize the opportunity to redeem their rewards before they expire.
Milestone & Exclusivity Incentives
Direct mail can reinforce customer loyalty through thoughtful celebrations and exclusive privileges. By celebrating customer milestones, such as reaching specific point thresholds, celebrating birthdays, or even acknowledging anniversaries of first purchases, businesses can add a personal touch. These are often accompanied by extra incentives to further encourage ongoing loyalty, such as a free gift or discount.
Direct mail’s also an ideal platform for announcing exclusive sales and events, offering customers early access and special privileges linked to their loyalty status. This not only fosters a sense of VIP treatment but also actively encourages customer participation.
Direct Mail for Loyalty Campaigns, In Action
Executing a successful loyalty campaign that includes direct mail involves implementing key strategies to enhance customer engagement and overall effectiveness. So, what’s the process here at Strata? Below you’ll find what we consider most important:
Personalized Content
Incorporating personalized content and utilizing customer data – such as addressing customers by name and tailoring messages based on their purchase history, preferences, and loyalty status.
Marketing Mix Integration
Integrating direct mail into the overall marketing mix for your loyalty campaign is often crucial for success. Most of the time, coordinating direct mail with digital and other marketing channels amplifies the impact.
Testing and Optimization
Implementing a testing and optimization strategy for any direct mail campaign helps companies refine their approach over time. A/B testing different elements, such as messaging, design, and incentives, can allow for identification of the most effective strategies for engaging customers and driving loyalty.
Before following the strategies and practices above, companies should understand the audience they’re targeting, what their goals are for their rewards and loyalty program(s), and what they want out of their customer loyalty marketing campaigns. With that said, it’s very likely the campaigns will benefit from personalized content, streamlined workflows, and integrated direct mail. With the use direct mail, grocers and retailers alike can create a targeted and memorable experience for their loyal customers. Contact Strata today to explore how our expertise can help take your loyalty or rewards program(s) to the next level.
As we’ve noted in other blogs, and tell our customers day in and day out – asset management is key to business success and reputation management. Not only is it key, but poor asset management can truly be the downfall of your marketing, and even of other aspects of your company. Asset management isn’t just the use of the right logo or letterhead. It’s fully utilizing all of your available, valuable content and resources across the board to get the most out of your messaging and produce the highest possible ROI. Failing to use materials isn’t just a waste – it’s a loss! In this blog, we’re outlining the real cost of poor asset management, and what leads to it.
What is Asset Management
When it comes to business marketing and communications, asset management is the organization, distribution, and utilization of all marketing and communications resources, from logos to sales sheets. It’s the process a company uses to execute, keep track of, and share resources that are pertinent to a company’s proceedings. If you’re interested in further understanding the importance of asset management, feel free to check out our blog “Managing Your Marketing Assets to Protect & Reinforce Your Brand”.
How Does Poor Asset Management Happen?
Bad asset management can happen, and continue to happen, for a variety of reasons. Here are the most common ones:
Too Many Communication Channels
When too many channels are used to communicate, distribute, use, and edit materials, it can be really confusing for your team! This confusion can cause a loss in productivity. Plus, when there are several versions on numerous channels – it’s easier to make mistakes and share or use the wrong materials.
Lack of Processes/Organization
As you may know, when it comes to many business practices, SOPs are vital, and asset management is no exception. If your company doesn’t have a system of processes for managing marketing and communication assets, how can employees be expected to know about materials, and to use the right materials? With SOPs, employees know what to use, when to use it, how to use it, and so on (and don’t have to play any guessing games). When employees have to guess and search, a lot of valuable time gets wasted (and, as you know, time = money).
Additionally, SOPs for the actual naming and organization of assets is just as important – as files can be labeled and sorted in a way that makes them easier to find.
No Versioning Control
If how you create, edit, update, and delete asset versions is not communicated and well-established, the wrong versions of marketing assets end up getting distributed and used.
Additionally, if there’s no standard for when assets get thrown out, things can get trashed too soon – causing a huge time waste of having to recreate already-created materials.
Using a Bad Platform (or No Platform at All)
It’s important that employees are able to find what they need, and that it’s easy for them to create, manage, and adhere to processes, communication, and organization. Sometimes, it’s not within budget to have a specific employee managing and creating these processes, and even if your company does have the money for this – one person likely doesn’t have the bandwidth to manage it all. We’d recommend an asset management platform, like the ones Strata creates and customizes, to store and distribute your company’s assets.
No matter what platform you choose, make sure it makes sense for your company’s individual needs, as they likely don’t call for a one-size-fits-all approach!
Costs of Poor Asset Management
As noted above, bad asset management can cause a variety of unwanted, unnecessary costs for your company. Let’s discuss some of the big ones.
Money
Of course, we’d be remiss to talk about how poor asset management can cost you, in general, lots of money – impacting your bottom line. “51% of marketers waste money producing or recreating assets that go unused because people don’t know they exist or can’t find them. In addition, 46% waste time downloading and uploading assets into different tools.” – Demand Metric.
Additionally, turnover is more likely to increase if employees feel confused, out of control, and lost, and it becomes more difficult to keep good talent (which you can’t truly put a price on). This difficulty hiring and keeping employees also impacts all the expenses used to hire – from recruitment and onboarding to training and corporate culture.
Lastly, when assets are unorganized, it’s much harder for teams to accurately measure the ROI of marketing materials. In turn, teams waste time making materials that don’t produce ROI, or miss out on creating materials that would be highly impactful.
Time
As mentioned above, poor asset management causes confusion and reduces employee productivity. Tons of time gets wasted when employees can’t find materials, or when employees are forced to frequently fix mistakes and re-create. Poor asset management often causes a lot of additional, unnecessary effort from the marketing team, who are more likely to create duplicate content due to a lack of organization.
Credibility
This one is fairly self-explanatory, but can be highly detrimental. If assets are unorganized and poorly managed, and wrong or old materials are distributed, customers are more likely to lose trust in your company. Inconsistency in messaging and branding can even cause and otherwise happy customer to begin to lose faith in your business.
Inability to Scale
If assets and materials are well-communicated throughout an organization, scaling to support new verticals and brands is much easier and more seamless. But, if your assets and materials are poorly stored and not up-to-date, new pieces often require starting from scratch – or at least close to it. Poor asset management makes it almost impossible for marketing teams to quickly adapt to meet changing business needs.
Opportunity Costs
Last but definitely not least, if an organization’s teams don’t have the right assets for sales, customer service, recruitment and other initiatives, opportunities get missed.
Speed is especially important when it comes to sales and conversions. If your team doesn’t have the right materials and assets right away, your competitors will win customers over.
And, when it comes to other departments, such as marketing, if your team doesn’t have the right assets to create, for example, an on-the-fly email or a quick social media post, they may miss opportunities to join the conversation, send news of a last-minute promotion, effectively manage your company’s reputation, and so on.
Interested in better managing your assets and avoiding the above costs? Contact our team or visit our Integrated Marcom Tech page for more information.
A Look Into How Physical Assets Can Support this Digital Space
In an era dominated by the digital age, it’s tempting to cast aside marketing strategies that predate this revolution. However, as we notice a constant influx of digital marketing tactics bombarding consumers, it raises the question: do tangible assets still capture the most attention? Our belief is a resounding yes, especially when considering the distinct advantages, they now offer in this digital age.
Personalization in Direct Mail:
In today’s digital landscape, personalization is key for email and SMS strategies, but it’s often overlooked in direct mail. However, we have the technology to mass-produce personalized direct mail, including names, addresses, and tailored content. Why does this matter? In a digital age, personalized direct mail stands out, especially since there’s been a decline in traditional mail volume, resulting in less mailbox clutter. This presents a unique opportunity to make a significant impact in an uncrowded market. Personalized direct mail enhances customer satisfaction, encouraging recipients to engage with the content and respond to the call to action.
Personalization for Abandoned Carts:
Personalization is a powerful tool when it comes to re-engaging consumers with their abandoned shopping carts. It demonstrates your thoughtful consideration of their needs and fosters a stronger connection between your company and the customer, motivating them to take action.
Moreover, pinpointing the specific reasons behind cart abandonment empowers you to address these concerns directly and strategize for the future. Common issues include pricing, lack of information, and confusing UX/UI. Once you’ve identified these concerns, you can tailor your approach accordingly.
In our experience, the majority of abandoned carts are due to price concerns. One effective method for cart recovery is strategic incentivization, such as offering discounts or free shipping to ease the purchase burden. To reignite overall customer interest, emphasizing the benefits of your products is key. Remind customers why they were initially drawn to your offerings and how they can enhance their lives, providing the motivation to complete their purchase.
However, it’s important to tread carefully with personalization. Some recipients may find overly detailed personalization intrusive. Avoid including information that may seem too personal, especially in the context of showing up at their doorstep, as not everyone is well-versed in data and tracking practices.
Effective Direct Mail Strategies for Abandoned Carts:
When it comes to effective direct mail strategies for addressing abandoned carts, retargeting technology stands out as a top contender. Research suggests that it often takes approximately eight touchpoints with a consumer before securing a sale. Custom retargeting technology, such as dynamic QR codes, plays a pivotal role in streamlining this process. These codes bring customers back into the digital realm, allowing you to track their interactions through direct mail and make informed decisions on your next steps.
Timeliness is a crucial factor in implementing direct mail strategies for abandoned carts. It’s essential not to let too much time elapse; the most opportune moment to re-engage is in close proximity to when the cart was initially abandoned.
In crafting your direct mail content, focus on creating engaging copy and compelling calls to action (CTAs). Using concise yet enticing language helps convey your message effectively and seamlessly tie it into your ask. After all, the primary goal of sending this mail is to reconnect the individual with the product at hand.
Lastly, remember the importance of adaptability and customization in these strategies, as their effectiveness may vary depending on the industry and product characteristics.
Combining personalized direct mail with digital marketing can be tricky, but surely it is a winning strategy. If you’re ready to enhance your marketing strategy, contact us today for expert consulting in direct mail marketing and optimization. Let’s drive results together!
A Strata YouTube Original Series
When it comes to direct marketing, quality design is crucial. When you invest time and effort into clean, visually appealing, effective designs, your marketing campaigns can stand out from the competition. We spoke with Courtney Prate, Creative Designer, to get answers to several frequently asked direct marketing design questions. Read on to see what she had to say!
Q: How important is graphic design for direct marketing?
A: If you look at the world around you, marketing is everywhere – and a big key, if not THE key for that marketing is design. Without thinking through design, your direct marketing will very likely be a flop.
Q: What’s the best process/steps when designing direct marketing materials?
A: Although there are key aspects to keep in mind when designing digital and physical direct marketing materials, it’s not one-size-fits-all. Every designer has their own process and way of designing. The most important factors (I believe), are 1 – consistently keeping the end-user in mind, 2 – being open to other opinions and potential options (you never know what might work), and 3 – ensuring the call to action (what you want the customer to do) is top of mind and clear.
Q: What is the most important thing to focus on when designing direct marketing?
A: It’s always important to focus on the call to action, ensuring that it’s clear, obvious, and…actionable! After all, you could have amazing content and imagery, but if the customer doesn’t know what to do, is the piece really worth it?
Courtney goes more in-depth and answers a variety of other design-related questions in our latest YouTube channel release. View the whole video by clicking the image below. Here are the other questions she answers:
- What’s the biggest mistake you see commonly made with direct marketing design?
- Why is branding important to keep in mind when it comes to direct marketing design?
- How do I decide on the channel, material, and sizing of my direct marketing?
- What are the most attention-grabbing colors for direct marketing design?
- How do I choose the right images for my direct marketing design, and where do I find them?
- When is it worth it to A/B test designs?
- How many revisions should a direct marketing piece go through?
- What are the biggest design trends of 2023, and what do you see evolving in the next few years?
Click the image below to view the full video!
If your direct marketing design could use some help, or you have additional questions, contact our experts today! Strata’s more than happy to help your company transform your marketing campaigns.
A Strata YouTube Channel Original
In our last few blogs (and their corresponding YouTube videos) we’ve gone over the basics of new mover marketing, how to choose the right partner, and some steps to get started. Now, it’s time to take a deeper dive into how you can specifically utilize new mover marketing in the grocery industry and what channels and workflows work best.
A Quick Review of New Mover Marketing
To give you a brief refresher, new mover marketing is a specific, niche marketing tactic that’s designed to reach new residents in your area. It’s one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers that have just recently entered your specific target market. When it comes to new movers, they’re nobody’s customer, yet – so it’s an effective tactic to make a good first impression at the same time they’re looking for your product or service.
What do New Residents Really Want?
To answer the question, new residents are looking for “reliables”. These are goods and/or services that new movers can depend on daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly. Since they’re new to the area, they’re usually unsure where to start. When it comes to grocery stores, sometimes there can be almost too many options for consumers to choose from. Because of this, you, as a grocery store, are in constant competition with other stores near you. That’s why it’s so important for your grocery store to be the first to reach out and make the consumer aware of your store – before competitors – and show them you’re close by. With immediate outreach, they’ll see you care, are convenient, and have quality goods.
The Best New Mover Channels for Grocers
We’ve deemed ourselves experts in new mover marketing all around – and we’re very practiced in some of the best channels and workflows for grocers (specifically) to reach new movers. One of the best channels you can take advantage of is direct mail. We know direct mail to be vital to the success of new mover campaigns, especially those of grocery stores. When mail is executed correctly, with personalization and attribution tactics, it can cut through all the digital noise and stand out in the mailbox. As we’ve mentioned in past blogs and videos, the average response rate for direct mail can be up to 50% more effective than those of email blasts, so it’s definitely worth your time and money!
Like we hinted at above, not all direct mail is created equal, so we suggest that those in the grocer industry send a “welcome handshake”. This is either a 6×9 or 6×10 postcard or bifold that allows your store to be introduced and represented in the best way possible. Again, the key to a good direct mail campaign is making sure it’s personable and actionable. With personalization and calls-to-action, you can welcome new movers to the neighborhood by first name and provide a personalized offer, which they can access by QR code or PURL. Another option? Provide a personalized coupon that they can redeem in-store, upon their first visit. If you want to go a step further in terms of personalization, include a map that shows the location of your store relative to their new residence. Generally, you want to make it as easy and enticing as possible for new movers to choose and visit your store.
What’s Next?
With this quick read, you now have a look into one of the top grocery industry channels to utilize for your next new mover campaign. But – it doesn’t stop there! We still have more suggestions when it comes to the best channels and workflows for grocery establishments like yours. Head over to our YouTube channel, where you’ll hear these suggestions from Connor, a member of Strata’s Strategic Sales Team. Or, if you’re ready to take these new mover marketing steps with Strata, contact us today.
A Strata YouTube Channel Original
In our last three blogs (and their corresponding YouTube videos) we’ve gone over the basics of new mover marketing. It’s important to remember that new mover marketing can differentiate between industries, so the best plan of action for specific business types may not be the same as others. In this blog and its corresponding YouTube video, we’re taking a deep dive into how you can specifically utilize new mover marketing in the healthcare sector – as well as what channels work best.
A Quick Refresher on New Mover Marketing
To give you a brief refresher, new mover marketing is a specific, niche marketing tactic that’s designed to reach new residents in your area. It’s one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers that have just recently entered your specific target market. When it comes to new movers, they’re nobody’s customer, yet – so it’s an effective tactic to make a good first impression at the same time they’re looking for your product or service.
What are New Residents Actually Looking For?
To answer the question, new residents are on the lookout for “reliables”, which are goods and services they can depend on daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly. The healthcare industry is full of these “reliable” services – and these services are much different than those of grocery stores and restaurants. Customers will more likely choose any grocery store or restaurant to at least check out and maybe turn into their new “go-to” spot. If it ends up that they don’t like the spot – it’s really no big deal. They’ll move on and find another. With healthcare, most people don’t want to “try out” 4 or 5 doctors/healthcare services until they find one they like. In general, it’s a lot more work to fill out paperwork and questionnaires at healthcare offices, and most people only want to do that once.
Potential patients want to feel important and valued, so it’s key to be the first to reach out. When you reach out – first, the potential patient can get to know you and your system, while ensuring that you’ll be there in their times of need.
Best New Mover Healthcare Campaign Channels
Based on our years of expertise and data collection, we’ve compiled a list of what we think are the best channels to utilize when reaching out to new movers to hopefully turn them into patients. The first channel we recommend utilizing is direct mail. The average response rate for direct mail can be up to 50% more effective than that of an email blast, when done correctly. For a direct mail campaign to be done correctly, there must be some aspect of personalization, multiple response vehicles (such as QR codes and PURLs) and accurate data lists. The key to quality, effective direct mail is incorporating more than one touchpoint. If you’re able to send more than one direct mail piece, your potential patient will be consistently reminded of you and your business.
The next channel we recommend utilizing? Digital advertising. Targeted, focused ads can show potential patients that you’re close by and welcoming new patients. A benefit to using digital advertising? The level of precision. With digital ads, you can measure performance through impressions served and ad clicks. If you pair with the right new mover marketing partner for your business, you’ll be able to see how many and which customers converted due to your digital ads. This real-time data is vital to the success of your campaigns. It allows you to see what campaigns are working, which ones are not, and make the necessary adjustments on the fly rather than once the campaign is over.
What’s Next?
You now have some potential, optimal channels to utilize as a part of your next new mover campaign. But it doesn’t stop there! We still have more suggestions. Head over to our YouTube channel (by clicking the thumbnail below) to hear from Rob, a member of Strata’s Strategic Sales Team. He’ll fill you in on the rest of our channel recommendations. If your healthcare system is ready to take these new mover marketing steps with the team at Strata, contact us today.
A Strata YouTube Channel Original
In our past two blogs and their connected YouTube videos, we’ve given you a ton of basic information on new mover marketing. Now, it’s time to get into the first steps of starting a new mover marketing campaign. If you’re not super familiar with new mover marketing, it can be difficult to determine where and how to start, but we’ll lead you through the first things to do and ensure you’re well prepared.
A Quick Refresher on New Mover Marketing
To give a brief refresher, new mover marketing is a specific, niche marketing tactic that’s designed to reach new residents in your area. It’s one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers that have just recently entered your specific target market. When it comes to new movers, they’re nobody’s customer, yet- so you must make a good impression at the same time they’re looking for your product or service.
First, Answer the Question – Is a New Mover Campaign Right for Your Company?
New mover marketing is continually gaining popularity, and fast. It’s currently up 3% since last year, despite any economic rough patches. Why? Because people are always moving. Whether it’s for a new job, family changes, the need to start fresh, or anything else – and that will never change. When someone moves to a new area, they’re almost solely focused on unpacking, organizing, and settling in. They’ll heavily rely on word of mouth (WOM) marketing and other advertising to learn and figure out all their new go-to spots.
However, all this doesn’t mean that new mover marketing is fit for every business. It’s important to realize how (and if) your business can benefit from new mover marketing, and when another type of campaign would make more sense. At Strata, we typically say that if your product or service is needed within the first 6 months of a move, you should be targeting new movers. Anything within that 6-month mark would be something that new movers need in their day-to-day lives after a move. For example, think grocery stores, dentists, vets, salons – the list is endless. On the flip side, anything after that 6-month mark will typically be something they already own/have and are looking to buy new, now that they’re settled in. A good example of this? A new car. The majority of people don’t move to a new town and automatically search for and buy a new car. New mover marketing is all about the new movers’ priorities, so it’s important to understand where your business falls within those priorities.
Start with the Right Data
The use of data is incredibly important for new mover marketing, but it’s even more important to target the right people rather than all the people. You want your efforts to pay off – so sending new mover campaigns to residents who’ve already been established for years or have moved within the same zip code will more than likely be a waste of your time (and money). Sometimes, a smaller list will produce higher ROI, since you’re targeting actual, definite, new movers. Make sure you work with a reliable and well-versed company to ensure quality data over quantity of data. To learn more about the importance of quality over quantity, check out this blog.
What’s Next
Now you have the first few steps to starting your new mover campaign – but don’t stop there! In the video below, Connor, a member of our Strategic Sales Team at Strata, will go into the next set of steps you’ll take to create the best new mover marketing campaign possible. Check out the video by clicking below, and if you’re ready to take these first new mover marketing steps with Strata, contact us today.
