If there's one thing that makes every marketing strategy bigger and better, it's data. More than instinct or trendy techniques, data is what leads marketing campaigns to success. Information about what your market needs, who your market is composed of, their ages, genders, purchasing habits, locations, and search habits are all essential for constructing effective, memorable products and campaigns.
This information isn't just one-time use, either. Your customers' data can be used to further refine future campaigns and promotions. You can gather information on what works, what didn't, and what can be further improved from even the simplest campaign. We've talked about the importance of data in digital marketing in our article 'The Importance of Marketing Analytics in 2020'. Today, we're going to show you how you can collect useful data even through traditional marketing campaigns— specifically direct mail marketing.
Why Direct Mail?
Direct mail marketing might not be the first thing you think of when you think about an effective 21st century marketing campaign. After all, sending things through the post can be slow, and there are much faster avenues to results through digital marketing. However, direct mail marketing can be a fantastic tool in your marketing strategy because it brings in the results.
According to data-driven marketing solutions company Triadex Services, direct mail marketing is inexpensive, long-lived, trackable, and boasts some of the best ROI among all the techniques. A direct mail campaign can be highly targeted and tailored to your marketing needs. Best of all, it's one of the few traditional marketing techniques that can be traced, allowing you to tap into an offline market without worrying about lost data. Here are some ways you can track results below.
Phone Numbers
One of the most basic ways you can track your results is through a simple phone call. If you're offering a new promotion or product, you can quickly take note of how many people are interested in it by setting up a specific phone line for that product. You don't even have to set up a new phone or landline to do it. Business.com has quick and easy tips for setting up a business phone number without needing to use a separate phone. This method is easy, traditional, and pretty traceable, though it might take some effort and staff to man the phone lines.
Dedicated Landing Pages
Another way you can see who your campaign has reached is through directing recipients of the campaign to dedicated landing pages on your website. You can make these landing pages available through specific urls, or track even more detailed results by using a UTM code. Relatable CTO and co-founder Stefan Pettersson has an easy to understand how-to guide on setting up basic link tracking. Simply include the link with the relevant text string into your campaign materials and track your results through Google Analytics and more.
QR Codes
Perhaps one of the quickest and easiest ways to link your offline and online marketing campaigns is through QR codes. They've been around for a while, but advancements in technology and the presence of QR code scanners in smartphones' native camera apps have made the setting ripe for a QR boom. The industry has seen a 28% growth in QR code reach from 2018 to 2019, and could be looking forward to more as more businesses make use of it. It's also especially convenient for customers, who won't have to type in URLs and will simply have to scan your codes using their phones. You can then track the number of scans and website page visits through the appropriate tools.
