Test These Ideas to Re-energize Your Direct Mail

Direct mail continues as a solid marketing performer across many industries, but even the trustiest workhorse can fall behind without occasional spurs to response. So if you need to inject new energy into your 2015 mail campaigns, consider these suggestions from Paul Bobnak, research and content director of Who's Mailing What! and DirectMarketingIQ. Bobnak recently looked over the mass of 2014 direct mail and picked out four standout ideas that mailers may want to test this year. First, consider individualized maps. Maps are common components to drive consumer traffic, especially in retail, but a postcard by Patient First, an urgent care center chain, made tweaks that really boosted impact, Bobnak asserts. Patient First used variable data to create a personalized "You are here" starting point at the prospect's home, made the map bigger "than you'll see in almost any direct mail package," and positioned the map above the postal indicia to maximize effect. Second, Bobnak suggests calling out the competition, especially on price increases, citing campaigns by both Comcast and Verizon cable services that boldly pressed consumer pain over competitor bills that had "gone up recently." Third, make testimonial copy work harder for you by boosting authenticity, Bobnak urges, pointing to the tactics of LifeLock, an identity security provider that sold its value proposition by highlighting "real-life" case studies with actual customer photos. Finally, update your direct mail with the digital icons that have acquired such call-to-action power, Bobnak suggests, using a 2014 Citi MasterCard letter as an example. To see the actual direct mail examples, go to http://www.directmarketingiq.com/article/4-direct-mail-ideas-try-2015/1

B2B Online Success Is Still Built on the Basics

Distracted by the buzz of new tech toys and tactics, B2B marketers sometimes need to be reminded of the basics of online success. For a review of B2B online fundamentals, check out Lee Odden's recent TopRankBlog post. Here are just the first four of the 21 basic tactics that he lists, and note that they are not high-tech investments but offline efforts with online impact: client testimonials that speak to the target audience; case studies that show the brand's problem-solving breadth and depth; industry recognition to enhance credibility; media relations to get quoted, profiled and linked in the press and blogosphere. Other, more online-specific basics include quality website design and functionality, targeted online advertising, search engine visibility on competitive terms, and so on. To further aid online success, we'd also like to remind of the basic marketing disciplines -- targeting, testing, tracking, updating and optimizing. Analyze your customer and make sure an event presentation, news release or social post offers useful content in a format likely to be shared by the target audience, for example. And avoid wasting ad, design and search dollars by implementing targeted, measurable response testing. For Odden's complete article, see http://www.toprankblog.com/2014/07/21-b2b-online-marketing-tactics/