How To Use Direct Mail To Bypass The Biggest Obstacle In B2B Marketing
Business to business services rely on marketing to company owners and managers to gain new clientele. Unfortunately, many of the biggest clients are shielded from marketing efforts in the office by the dreaded gatekeeper. The gatekeeper is most commonly a secretary or a receptionist, but they can be any position in the business so long as they are the first point of contact for company callers and visitors. It’s the gatekeeper’s job to turn away salespeople who are trying to speak with the would-be decision maker of the business.
Those who have experience in sales should be all too familiar with the dreaded gatekeeper. The people in these positions filter out most sales-related calls or visits to the higher-ups. This makes directly marketing your business services difficult, but there is a way around. There is one form of direct marketing that has a significantly higher chance of making it past the gatekeeper than phone calls or people do. As you may have guessed from the title of this article, that medium of marketing is direct mail.
Direct mail has an advantage over other forms of direct B2B marketing for a few simple reasons. The most prominent reason is that gatekeepers are significantly less likely to filter their boss’s mail like they filter calls and visitors. In other words, your mailer will have a much easier time getting into the recipient’s office than a salesperson. Nobody wants their mail thrown away without permission after all. So, it’s safe to say there is a high probability of your target clients at least seeing your piece, whereas they may never hear your salesperson’s pitch.
Now that you know about the ultimate B2B marketing vessel that is direct mail, here are some tips to make sure you see results from your next campaign.
Bigger Is Better
Simply put, for B2B products and services you will want the largest postcard size available. 6×11 inch postcards are ideal because they are large enough to stand out among the rest of the recipient’s mail and have plenty of space to include your graphics, product or service info, testimonials, special offers, and contact information. Of course, you can make your piece stand out even more with eye-catching design elements. Consider using a funny graphic or a vibrant color scheme – but be sure that these fit in with your brand and message so that the piece doesn’t come across disjointed.
Repetition is Key
Although direct mailers have a higher likelihood of reaching their intended recipient in B2B marketing, they aren’t completely immune to interference. Some people may receive your piece at a time when they are too busy to think about whether they want your products or services. Others may throw it away by accident. Most people need to see an advertisement multiple times to be able to recall the brand that was featured in it. In order to maximize the chances of your mail piece having the desired impact on its recipients, you should send out multiple mailings of the same piece.
If you send repeated mailings, you’ll improve the likelihood of your audience noticing and eventually remembering your brand. This is crucial because when someone has a need for products or services that your offer, you want to be the first brand that comes to their minds. Repeat mailings are a brand-building technique that will unlock the lifetime value of your clients, so think of it as a long-term investment.
Of course, this barely scratches the surface of how you can utilize the power of direct mail. Cactus Mailing has 20 years of experience in this medium, and we’d be happy to advise you on the aspects of list creation and design among other things. If you are interested in creating your own direct mail campaign, fill out the form below or give us a call! We’ll get past those gatekeepers together!