We recently had a client experience an increase in traffic by 31 percent versus the previous year. Why? We made a concentrated effort to deliver our client’s message straight to the consumer in the comfort of his or her home.
Marketing messages bombard today’s consumers in so many ways every day to the point that a lot of these messages just become noise. This is the nature of today’s online and mobile marketplace. It may seem overwhelming (because it is!), but we don’t need to manage every aspect of this reality. What we should focus on is how and when our consumer will hear the noise, and how we can make our message stand out.
Let’s look at a common advertising medium: outdoor billboards. Billboards have become digital advertisements that rotate messages no differently than an online banner or TV commercial. How many cars/people are you potentially missing? In today’s fast-paced world it is almost too easy to overlook these types of marketing messages. Can this medium truly give you a direct channel to the consumer?
How do you define a “direct channel”? It can be anything the consumer has to consciously do on his or her own time. He or she could turn on the TV while preparing breakfast or check their email before leaving the house to run errands. They check the mailbox first after a long day at work or they update their social media outlets directly from a smart phone. These devices and mediums all revolve around personal space. They are advertising vehicles with which consumers will receive your message through their own free will.
To help you increase your direct channel marketing, give these ideas a chance:
- Utilize the Every Door Direct Mail program and send out targeted mailers over a four-week period. Include an additional mobile opt-in feature for a text special or have them scan a QR code.
- Utilize pay-per-click advertising to drive potential furniture searches toward a dynamic online landing page and give the shopper an additional bonus offer. Added bonus: You have just directed them to your best promotional vehicle—your website.
- Send out email marketing campaigns that talk about a store-wide offer while featuring various clearance items that are only available to your email subscribers.
- Have a “Gas Card Giveaway” sweepstakes on Facebook, while utilizing Twitter and Pinterest to drive activity to your Facebook page.
Purchase decision-making no longer happens in the car while deciding to shop. It happens long before that. It starts through searches on the web, information gathered through direct, targeted mediums and through online conversations. Consumers are speaking up and telling us how and where to reach them. Are you willing to listen?
