Not enough paper for your catalog? Direct mail to the rescue!
If catalogs are a main part of your marketing mix, then you know how valuable they are for driving sales and maintaining customer loyalty. But, with today’s supply chain challenges, you may be having trouble finding paper and press time for your full mail plan.
The challenge with a catalog is that only a few printers do it well and it uses a fair amount of paper. With current capacity issues at printers and limited paper supply, it’s hard to get a catalog (or all of your catalogs) in the mail.
So, what to do? Don’t stop mailing! According to the ANA 2021 Response Rate Report, direct mail drives the highest ROI for all media. Physical mail drives engagement so consider other forms of direct mail in place of the catalog.
For people that already know your brand and product assortment, a direct mail piece can be the perfect nudge to keep you top of mind. Done well, it has emotional appeal and space to push products, with a driver to explore online.
Effective formats include tri-fold, gate-fold, double gate-fold and plastic-coated postcards. Check out title nine gatefold below.
Plus many, many printers are able to execute direct mail formats well which helps with capacity issues. Smaller mail formats use less paper too! If sized right, you can capture letter-size postage rates (less than flats). Add a postal discount technique like a QR code, and you are in the mail, making an impact, for a reasonable rate.
Here’s the trick that makes this feasible: Talk with your circulation team to work out the customer profile that will respond best to this technique. Typically direct mail works best with customers. If you want to prospect with direct mail, we suggest you start small: test, learn, and repeat.
Keep talking to your customers, whatever the format. They will cherish the catalog when it finally arrives. And if you want to chat formats give me a shout at kathyj@jschmid.com
Thanks to Unsplash for the cover image.
Tags: Brand Storytelling, Customer Experience, Kathy Johnston, Strategy