Direct mail marketing and corporate gifting strengthen the health of key accounts, helping to reduce the churn, increase customer satisfaction, and ultimately improve your bottom line. These strategies allow you to connect with your customers personally and express appreciation, which elevates customer engagement and profitability by:
· Strengthening customer relationships
· Increasing customer advocacy
· Increasing customer retention
· Driving more upsell opportunities
· Staying top of mind with customers
Building solid relationships with your customers through direct mail marketing and gifting requires nurturing and attention at every stage of the customer journey, not just when signing the contract. Your strategy doesn’t have to be complicated or costly, but it does need to be thoughtful. After all, the most effective gestures are personal and relevant, a token demonstrating how much you value their business.
How to use direct mail marketing and corporate gifting
In this article, we’ve compiled ten of our favorite ways to use direct mail services and corporate gifting to give you a competitive edge:
1. Onboard new customers
2. Reward product or service usage
3. Incentivize a desired action
4. Reengage customers
5. Enhance hybrid and virtual events
6. Congratulate customers
7. Drive upsells
8. Create seasonal campaigns
9. Celebrate personal milestones
10. Express appreciation
Continue reading to learn more about these engagement- and bottom-line-boosting methods for using direct mail marketing and corporate gifting throughout the customer lifecycle.
Onboard new customers Landing a new deal isn’t only thrilling for you and your team – it’s exciting for your customer, too! Capitalize on the excitement about the possibilities resulting from your partnership by sending your new customer a small gesture of appreciation. Welcoming new customers with a personalized mailer or gift is a wonderful way to show that you’re glad to have them on board.
Reward product or service usage Another way to use direct mail marketing and corporate gifting is to reward your customers for using your product or service. Recognizing product usage and brand engagement in this way can help reduce the chances that your customer will abandon your company’s offering for your rival’s. Whether you reward for time spent using your product, attending an event, or trying your new product lineup, sending a thank-you token can go a long way toward building customer loyalty. Incentivize a desired action If you need customers to respond to a request, download the latest version of your platform, or perform some other desired action, consider using direct mail marketing or a corporate gift for that purpose, too. Incentives are an excellent way to improve customer response rates and enhance loyalty.
Reengage customers Do you have a list of customers who haven’t engaged with your products or services in a while? Then consider reigniting the flame with direct mail advertising or a small corporate gift. Reaching out to let disengaged customers know they’re missed and valued can help woo them back.
Enhance hybrid or virtual events With more events taking on a hybrid or virtual approach, direct mail marketing and corporate gifting can help event attendees feel more engaged. Consider designing your materials and gifts in the same theme as the event to elevate the experience and increase event anticipation.
Congratulate customers
A win for your customer is a win for you, too. So, whether your customer has reached a milestone, launched a new product or service line, or reported record profits, send a personalized gift or direct mail marketing piece congratulating them on their success.
Drive upsells Direct mail advertising and gifts can also help drive your upselling efforts. For instance, consider sending a mailer to engage multiple stakeholders or introduce yourself to your new customer account representative. You could also align these engagement-boosting tools with marketing campaigns promoting a new product or offering to increase the launch’s success.
Create seasonal campaigns It’s common for companies to use direct mail advertising and gifting campaigns to capitalize on traditional holidays, such as Christmas or Hannukah. For instance, create a mailer with holiday offers, gift ideas, or a signed letter from your CEO. However, you could also veer off the beaten path to recognize offbeat holidays related to your offerings, such as National Napping Day or High-Five Day.
Celebrate personal milestones Recognizing your customers’ birthdays, work anniversaries, promotions, and personal milestones using direct mail marketing or corporate gifting is another way to boost engagement and loyalty. Everyone loves to be celebrated!
Thank loyal customers and spur referrals
Finally, thanking your loyal and happy customers with a direct mailer or corporate gift is another beneficial strategy for enhancing engagement. It’s also ideal for driving new business and customer referrals. For instance, you could send customers a postcard, letter, or gift whenever they provide an online review, testimonial, case study, or refer a friend or colleague.
Regardless of which direct mail marketing and gift ideas you use to boost engagement and profitability, check out our article on mistakes to avoid to ensure your mailer is a success. Need help launching your direct mail campaign? Contact us to learn how we can put our expertise and the latest technologies like EDDM and IQ Mail to work for you.
