Four Reasons Direct-Mail Promotional Products Rock

In a sea of envelopes, invoices and postcards, direct-mail promotional products are a breath of fresh air. It’s exciting when your customers open the mailbox and spot a piece of lumpy mail with a promotional item tucked inside.

Sending your customers a promotional product via direct mail is a different, unexpected and surprisingly easy way to target a particular customer segment.

Victoria’s Secret gets it. The women’s wear and lingerie retailer recently mailed customers a custom phone case branded with the company’s signature PINK logo. Also inside the direct-mail package was a printed marketing piece with the copy “You Rock” and a QR code for recipients to scan and hear a Pandora station created by PINK models.

This direct-mail promotion was an exciting, attention-grabbing way of showing some love to VIP customers. Whether you’re targeting prospects or long-time customers, direct-mail promotional products are an interesting and welcome way to get in the hands of your audience.

Here are four reasons direct-mail promotional products rock:

1. They’re engaging. A promotional product in the mail won’t get caught in a spam filter or overlooked in an inbox. Direct mail engages your customers’ attention and invites them to take action.
2. They’re tangible. Direct-mail promotional items appeal to the senses and deliver a tactile experience that other forms of marketing can’t. The ability to touch and feel a product is a powerful way to drive your message.
3. They’re specific. You can target direct mail to a specific audience using lists and customized messages. In fact, the more targeted the message, the higher the response rate.
4. They work. When your customers receive direct mail, 70-90% will make a purchase or take action after receiving a promotional item in their mailbox, according to a study by Ball State University.

Promo know-how tip: Make sure there’s a call-to-action with your direct-mail piece, and keep it simple. Victoria’s Secret nailed it with an easy QR code and a great promo product.