Does direct mail still work?

Any effective marketing strategy for a luxury jewelry brand often focuses on digital advertisements and electronic mailing lists before traditional paper pieces of mail these days. Direct mail has, in many cases, been relegated to the annals of history. But for many jewelry brands, it’s hard to let go of the tried and true postcards, letters, and other direct mail pieces. 

When it comes to engaging potential customers and sending out effective, personalized messages to your existing customer base, direct mail can still work. In this article, we’ll compare the pros and cons of direct mail, and discuss other options that you can use either alongside or instead of traditional mail.

Direct mail advantages

These are just some of the benefits of direct mail campaigns:

• The tangible quality of mailers provides a physical object that customers can hold onto to remember your brand and the special offer.

• Direct mail postcards or letters offer highly personalized messages with properly segmented mailing lists.

• Direct mail can have an exceptionally high ROI of over 160%

• Design flexibility can reduce digital fatigue for a client base overwhelmed with digital advertisements

Direct mail drawbacks

Some primary disadvantages of direct mail marketing include:

• Designing, printing, and sending direct mail has an initial higher cost than email marketing, SMS, or other digital efforts.

• Paper mailers may not align with a brand’s sustainability and environmentally conscious culture.

• It is more difficult to track responses from physical advertisements than it is with online trackers and cookies.

• The lack of interactivity or open brand/consumer communication may alienate some ideal clients or customers.

What do physical mail promotional materials look like in the jewelry industry?

Determining the type of messages to send through direct mail works pretty much the same way it does for email marketing and for other advertising sources. You identify the needs and wants of your target audience and offer them solutions to their problems, personalized product recommendations, or special offers and discounts that align with their buying habits. 

For the jewelry industry, physical mail promotional materials also demonstrate the brand’s commitment to quality, luxury, creativity, and style. An elegant letter with a gold foil trimmed envelope certainly conveys a sense of high-end design. It’s easy to express exclusivity with a VIP-style invitation to explore a new designer collection.

Examples

Brochures – Glossy, well-designed brochures can showcase various jewelry collections with exquisite photography and enticing product descriptions. These are a great way to introduce your store, new arrivals, and seasonal promotions.

Postcards – This most cost-effective form of digital mail gives recipients easy access to information about special offers or limited time promotions. The obvious brand style also helps with recognition and building a quality reputation in the industry.

Invitations in Letter or Card Format – Nothing feels quite like receiving a sealed envelope with an exclusive invitation to a special event. This is especially helpful for high-end jewelry retailers who cater to the most discerning customers.

Thank-You Cards – Power up your personalized marketing efforts with thank you notes sent to customers after purchase. This is a great opportunity to upsell and build brand loyalty.

Leverage direct mail campaign ideas for digital marketing

Not everyone likes direct mail pieces. One person’s coveted special offer is another person’s junk mail. Above all else, you must send the right type of marketing to the individual customer based on their interests, past purchases, future plans, and receptivity.

But you don’t have to choose one or the other. It’s possible to combine the directness of postcards and letters with your digital marketing campaigns to boost responses even more.

After all, today’s marketing depends largely on integration and omni-channel experiences that consumers at all stages in the customer journey can count on. Consider the following ideas to integrate direct mail with your electronic efforts to create a kind of “tradigital” marketing masterpiece that gets more results than ever before.

Create integrated campaigns that leverage digital and physical content

One of the simplest and most often used methods of doing this today is having QR codes printed on direct mail postcards or letters. The recipient can scan for additional information, special offers, virtual jewelry try on apps, and give you important tracking information at the same time.

Use personalized messaging based on shared insights from both types of marketing

The more specific data about an individual consumer that you collect and analyze with a powerful tool like Clientbook, the more effective all future jewelry brand messages will become. Incorporate insights collected from digital marketing efforts to segment the postal list effectively and design mailers that get the right type of attention. This can superpower your retargeting ads efforts for every part of your strategy from PPC to social media posts to postcards.

Build a cohesive and memorable brand across all marketing channels

One of the most powerful parts of building a loyal customer base who responds favorably to every new jewelry collection announcement or limited time sale is consistent branding. As you integrate traditional and digital efforts, always align the graphic design and message with what your brand stands for and provides to discerning customers.

Conclusion

Direct mail still works. Statistically, it has one of the highest returns on investment when compared with any other type of advertising in use today. Jewelry retailers who are dedicated to giving their customers what they want should consider the power of postcards, letters, and thank you notes seamlessly integrated into their overall brand building efforts.

Just as an heirloom piece of jewelry can pass down through the generations and continue to bring joy to each wearer, or how a classic gold necklace or pair of diamond earrings remains a go-to option in many jewelry wardrobes, traditional marketing methods stand the test of time. Combine the tried-and-true success of direct mail with your brands digital strategies to augment the results from each and come up with a better overall response that can elevate your jewelry brand considerably.