Why Your Marketing Might Be Missing a Beat
Print marketing is not just another marketing channel. Either on its own or as an integral part of a multi-faceted marketing campaign, print has been proven time and again to be an extremely effective marketing channel. And print marketing works regardless of audience. From seniors to those hard-to-target millennials, research shows us that every generation responds better to marketing materials they can see, read, and hold in their hands.
What is it that makes print marketing such a valuable tool? Well, it’s not one thing—it’s several. We will expand on them individually in the next few posts, but here is a quick look:
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Print Adds Diversification
It is indisputable that today’s audiences are scattered across an increasingly broad landscape of media and entertainment options. They have more choices in traditional media, more ways to access information electronically and new options appearing on the scene regularly. The days when you could concentrate your marketing in one channel and hope to reach a large percentage of your targets are long gone. Simply, if print isn’t a part of your marketing efforts, many of your best prospects won’t be, either.
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Millennials Love Print
As I hinted above, millennials are notoriously difficult to reach with marketing efforts. Further, most people would quickly assume that social media and other digital options would offer the best chance. But while they spend a lot of time on digital, millennials don’t make their purchases that way. In fact, millennials rely upon print materials just like other generations do to complete their decisions. In fact, 82 percent of them read printed direct mail, and 75 percent use retail circulars. More than half look forward to receiving hard-copy catalogs.
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Print Marketing Stands Out
Many companies have reduced or eliminated print marketing in favor of digital media, thinking “that’s how to reach people today.” As mentioned above, that doesn’t generate much in the way of sales. What it does is bury prospects in an avalanche of what they consider spam. Unwanted intrusions in their personal email and digital media channels. They don’t buy. They delete.
Print marketing provides something real, that you can read, hold in your hand and save. It can be a creative and memorable part of your marketing that reaches far beyond the confines of a small laptop or smartphone screen; where everything looks the same. Print has substance that helps your Brand stand out, and actually communicate your desired messaging.
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Print is Engaging
As I mentioned in a recent post, the creativity of print marketing is enjoying a growth spurt. Recent print ads incorporated technology that measures your pulse as you read about an exciting new car, helps you monitor your kids at the beach, or even helps confirm that you are pregnant. Let’s see a text or email accomplish anything like that. Consumers today react to experiences, not one-sided selling messages. Print marketing delivers those experiences like no other marketing tool.
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Print is Memorable
This one is pretty easy. People remember things they see in print better and longer than they do fleeting images on a screen. More senses are involved when prospects engage with a print ad or direct mail piece. They smell the paper, feel it in their hands, and see the graphics that tend to look more attractive printed on paper than they do on a monitor or miniature screen. I think this article captures the benefits of using print (and using it in concert with your social media to multiply its effects).
For Print Marketing Success, Just Add Expertise
I hope you will begin to appreciate the value of print marketing from the series we are kicking off with today’s post. But remember that how well it works depends on the skills and experience of your print marketing partner. We’ve been helping businesses for nearly 100 years and our ISO certification virtually ensures that our processes deliver the best possible results every time.
It’s not about us selling you something. It’s about us helping you sell a lot more.
Recently, our customers voted us among the “Best of Print and Digital” for the second consecutive year. Personally, I think that’s the best “proof of performance” you can get. So contact Superior today for a free print marketing consultation.
