How Direct Mail Beats E-mail in 4 Basic Ways

Despite the predominance of e-mail marketing articles, direct mail is still a key marketing tool, and mailing lists and direct mail support continue as a thriving part of AccuList USA's services. So we naturally welcome mainstream business media support from other champions of direct mail's virtues. For example, Entrepreneur magazine recently published an article by Craig Simpson, owner of Simpson Direct, Inc., titled "Four Reasons to Use Direct Mail Marketing Instead of E-mail Marketing." Simpson points out that direct mail's first advantage comes from e-mail's well-known drawback: inbox overload and the high percentage of e-mails filtered out or deleted unseen. By comparison, an Epsilon study found 77% of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as received, and USPS data shows 98% check their mail daily. Next, mail is a directly personal experience, touching consumers physically in-hand and in-home, as opposed to an e-mail subject line scrolling on the screen of a multitasking computer or mobile device user. Third, direct mail avoids the growing trust problems of digital marketing. Because of online security hacks and phishing scams, people may avoid even opening an e-mail much less clicking on links or attachments. In contrast, consumers know they can safely open and browse a direct mail piece, where bells and whistles are bonuses not red flags. Finally, direct mail has more tools for standing out in the inbox and inducing an open and response: colored or oversized envelopes, personalized messaging, intriguing dimensional mail, and even physical inclusions such as premiums. "When was the last time you got a pen in an e-mail?" Simpson asks. For the full article, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242731

In B2B Content Marketing, Message Trumps Format

In business-to-business content marketing, substance beats format, or what you say is more important than how you say it, advises a leading B2B strategist. Consider how that affects implementation of findings of the 2015 B2B Technology Content Survey by Eccolo Media. Eccolo Media's survey respondents rated the helpfulness of 10 types of content at each of four stages in the technology buying process: pre-sales, initial sales, mid-sales and final sales. The two most highly rated content types for the pre-sales phase were blogs and e-newsletters. Tech buyers tapped white papers and case studies as most useful in the initial sales phase. By the mid-sales phase, content preferences shifted to detailed tech guides and videos. And detailed tech guides and e-books were most desired in the final sales phase. That's good information for both B2B tech marketers and general B2B marketing, but, to succeed, each content type stills needs to meet some key criteria, advises B2B marketing consultant David Dodd in a recent Business2Community post. The three attributes of successful content, in descending order of importance, are right message, right length and right format, Dodd summarizes. First, comes the right message, meaning content that meets the needs of a potential buyer at the appropriate stage in the buying process. So the right message at the pre-sales stage, whether delivered in a blog or e-letter, will focus on making the prospect aware of the problem or challenge that the product or service can address, for example. Next in importance is the right length of content. Continuing with the example of the pre-sales phase: When the potential buyer may be unaware of the problem, content needs to be delivered in bite-sized pieces that engage without a big time investment. Finally, successful content marketing uses the right format to engage the buyer. Because buyers have such different preferences, the best tactic is to present the same message in multiple formats, Dodd advises. Hopefully, coupling basic content criteria with buyer preferences will set B2B marketers on the road to more sales. For the full article: http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/content-marketing-substance-matters-format-01144993