Finding the Right Balance

As you move into the electronic/social media world to market your latest product, here’s a word of caution: Don’t neglect print for direct marketing.

Current research of third-party opt-ins reveals that e-mail reaches only 30–40% of the total b-to-b audience. But with snail mail, you can hit every target audience member’s mailbox with a message that will get reviewed before it hits the circular file.

Consider:

• In direct marketing, target audience coverage is everything. There are currently almost two-and-a-half times as many b-to-b prospect snail mail lists as there are e-mail lists available for rental. You can reach almost three times as many prospects with snail mail over email.
• Buyers can't read your e-mail if they're not online at work. Plant managers and engineers, health professionals, field service technicians, contractors and many other businesspeople are on their feet or out of the office all day. While more and more professionals are gaining access to their email on-the-go via mobile devices like PDAs and cell phones, this is still a growing trend...not the norm.

A special case…be sure to work around the presidential election clutter between now and November. Both physical and electronic mailboxes are going to be clogged with political messages. Consider delaying a really important introduction until the new year, and then do it right, with a healthy print component to augment that electronic blast.

Yes, our world is turning digital. But we’re still in transition. It’s not time to abandon print yet...and it may never be. When it comes to direct marketing, it’s important to find a good balance. Making the most of both mediums should optimize your impact and results.

Don