Print, Packing, Promotion, and the Pandemic:
Print, Packing, Promotion, and the Pandemic:
Why Branding is Basic for Business Awareness
The pandemic has forced everyone to cut costs in order to stay afloat and when budget cuts come around, marketing is one of the first things to get slashed. Yet, research shows that utilizing marketing during hard times–like recessions or pandemics–keeps businesses afloat. Two, in particular, can help keep your business strong: direct mail and signage.
Direct Mail
More people are stuck at home, mere steps from their mailbox: this is a great opportunity for mail-based marketing. Direct mail is a personal way to communicate with individuals and businesses, providing a respite from background noise of digital and television advertising.
Using analog methods of communication, doesn’t limit you to analog ways of measuring its success. Three methods can improve and measure your direct mail campaign: the National Change of Address (NCOA) database, vanity URLs, and online call tracking/recording.
NCOA: If you have a digital list of clients, double check it against the database to avoid return to sender charges.
Vanity URLs: Using a specific landing page with its own URL as a constant method–rather than your website’s home page–can help track the effectiveness of its lead generation.
Online Call Tracking: Meanwhile, using online call tracking with a unique phone number associated with your campaign, like the vanity URL, can help measure lead generation while collecting demographic data,and catch where staff could improve their inbound call taking.
Signage
If your business is still open, you can capitalize on drive-by traffic by using signage. Roughly 35% of passersby wouldn’t know your business was there without a sign. That is why well placed, well designed signage outside your business is so important. 60% of businesses reported an average increase of 10% on sales simply by enhancing the visibility or changing the design of their signs. Some design suggestions for outdoor signs include: legibility, keep it brief, the bigger the better, and to be hands on.
Legibility: It is important to choose a font that is readable from a distance and on the move. There are innumerable fonts out there to choose from; so be sure you are using a large, bolded san serif font that contrasts against its background.
Keep It Brief: Short, sweet messages are more attention-grabbing and easier to understand, especially when your viewers are in motion.
The Bigger the Better: The larger your font, the easier it is to read, and the longer viewers have to understand what you’ve written.
Be Hands On: If you can afford to, hire a sign twirler. Signs held and moved by a person have a 6% increased engagement rate.
If you need help with the graphic design for your direct mail campaign and signage to communicate with current and potential customers, reach out to Fine Print Plus. Mention this article and receive 500 free business cards with a purchase of $100 or more for new customers.
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