Digital Marketing Could Use Print for Better Targeting

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Digital Marketing Could Use Print for Better Targeting," highlights the challenges many firms are experiencing when it comes to digital marketing and the fact that many users do not see relevant ads.  No doubt the pandemic has altered consumer behavior concerning the considerable shift in online purchasing confidence, which as a result, has been a boon for digital communications.  Various issues surround the reasons why many users are not seeing or engaging with relevant digital content.  For one, the internet is an overcrowded content station, replete with the need to continuously scroll on computers and mobile devices for relevant, targeted information.  And, with the recent bevy of data intrusions, many consumers are showing evidence of limiting their online activities.  There will likely be even more issues that will most likely rise to the surface in the days and months ahead.  At any rate, as consumer behavior continues to evolve relative to the ongoing state of the pandemic, rest assure that the digital environment needs marketing help from a content marketing perspective, coupled with the ability to reach digital users better. 



Our Quote of the Day:  "The buyer journey is nothing more than a series of questions that must be answered." — Michael Brenner

Digital Alone Misses Many 



We have known for some years that digital marketing strategies are a significant contributor to better reach and engage consumers for many organizations and marketing teams.  That process is here to stay and is climbing the importance ladder of marketing solutions.  It's relatively straightforward.   If a brand is interested in reaching consumers where they are, then digital marketing is a must.

Nevertheless, the question arises as to where are the consumers are today?  As of today, as a result of fewer pandemic restrictions, we can see hundreds of thousands if not millions taking to outdoor activities to make up for any lost time during lockdowns.  To that end, even though these consumers are on the move again, complete with their mobile digital devices in tow, another question arises, which gets to the real point.  How attentive are these consumers when engaging with the digital ads they see when they are so focused on living again?  At least to the extent that they feel that they can engage and communicate with others in the real world.  Some will engage, and others will miss those digital ads.   No doubt, there are other considerations for the ongoing evolution of consumer behavior.  Botton line, how many digital ad investments can an organization make before the ad spend delivers an ROI that makes sense?  Let's try to answer that question.

Print Targets Consumers Where They Live



We have covered the value of print and its documented results as it relates to direct mail marketing.  The inherent value in the digital printing process reaffirms why this form of marketing provides benefits and uplifts engagement rates for all digital destinations.  For example, consumers have a choice to sort through hundreds of daily email solicitations versus reading their mail.  Frankly, they are more likely to read all of their mail.  Their physical mailboxes are never full, nor will mail ever reach the number of emails users must sort through.  No doubt, the average number of daily mail is less than 20 per consumer.  In addition, direct mail pieces can be read at the consumer's leisure, at their own pace, in the comfort of their home or office.  Add to that; there are no competing digital popups, online distractions, or other invasive digital marketing moves to contend with.  And most importantly, direct mail pieces can direct consumers to digital destinations where they can engage with more information, calls to action, competitive presentations, or special offers to be redeemed online.  Finally, everyone has to come home at some point, and that is where marketing messages will be perused without digital distractions.

Print Marketing Benefits in a Disruptive Market

Due to many disruptions, the worst of which may have been the pandemic, marketers can enhance and strengthen their marketing with print.  The printing industry is quietly evolving with technological advancements that may have gone unnoticed in the age of all things digital.  However, it would help if you realized that while most brands suffered in 2020, the brands that did utilize print to strengthen digital response rates performed better than those that did not.

Better Engagement Using Direct Mail & Digital



Brands can use direct mail marketing to improve engagement, increase response rates, and retarget consumers based on their initial responses.  When marketing includes social media, programmatic ad campaigns, and automated email response-based campaigns, digital and direct mail together are much more effective.  Targeting and retargeting using direct mail is also commonly referred to as automated direct mail.  The automated direct mail process includes variable digital printing, or the newer term, variable data printing, a digital application.  This process could be a mainstay for most advertisers, marketing teams, and brand efforts to reach more targets with tangible results.

Print and Digital Improve Healthcare Marketing 



Healthcare marketing tactics and strategies are evolving amid the pandemic and will continue to progress.  This marketing evolution represents a shift in the healthcare industry, that many healthcare marketers now realize the benefits of a two-pronged print and digital strategy.   As recent trends indicate, the duo strategy offers an optimal marketing ideology for vastly improving personalized content that drives higher participation and engagement numbers for various industries.  Healthcare providers looking to attract more customers face a much more complicated scenario as healthcare options continue to evolve, both from a federal and local perspective.  Combine the marketplace challenges with the pandemic, and you realize that healthcare providers will also need to adapt their communication strategies and marketing campaigns.

Financial Marketing is Evolving

TransPromotional marketing strategies are an essential part of the financial marketing mix.  The current recovering economy and the lingering effects of the pandemic spur discussions that focus on the challenges and opportunities for sectors that employ direct mail marketing.  As we have learned in recent years, direct mail marketing requires relevancy coupled with cost-savings solutions to be effective.  TransPromo communications represent intelligent leveraging of transactional documents that can influence customer behavior and grow incremental sales.  Of course, the financial sector is also looking at more effective engagement and responsive interactions.

Furthermore, as of recent weeks, private and public sector organizations must beef up their security infrastructures, which of course, are digitally based.  Direct mail marketing, in a sense, alleviates a part of the challenge since print collateral is a physical piece of mail.  As long as the data storage is secure and the content is clean, no one can alter the printed collateral that's in the mail!


The Net-Net



When you consider everything, especially when it comes to the rapidly changing consumer behavior patterns we have seen throughout the pandemic, direct mail marketing now appears to be an even more valuable marketing tool.  While consumer behavior continues to evolve, consumers crave a heightened level of personalized communication, and most importantly, the inclusion of a seamless CX (Customer Experience).  Digital printing now goes hand in hand with digital advertising and marketing, and therefore print should be a valued marketing tactic in your marketing plans for the back half of the year. Thanks for reading "Digital Marketing Could Use Print for Better Targeting."

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