While it may seem that the majority of today’s marketing is focused online, the truth is that direct marketing is still a great way to set your brand apart and provide your potential customers with something real and tangible. This is especially true in the travel hospitality industry, where the online market is already over-saturated with some less-than-reputable sites. When you choose to send direct mail for your travel or hospitality brand, you can increase your brand’s reputation and your potential customers’ sense of trust.
Still, as you prepare to create your direct mail campaign, there are some important tips and guidelines worth following that can help you achieve travel industry growth and success.
Personalize Your Mail
For starters, understand that your customers and potential customers like receiving mail that feels like it was personalized and created exactly for them. If it looks and feels like something that was generated and sent out to every customer in-bulk, it’s more likely to be viewed as junk mail. With that in mind, you may want to consider personalizing your mail by using previous purchasing habits (if available) as a means of driving recommendations. For example, if you know a previous customer has stayed in a certain resort in the past, you might send them tailored direct mail on special summer vacation deals for that resort or similar properties.
Speaking of personalization, also keep in mind that adding your customer’s name in color to your direct mail can boost your response rate by up to 135%.
Experiment With Finishes
One of the biggest strengths of using direct mail marketing is its ability to appeal to various senses in ways that digital marketing simply cannot, so don’t be shy about experimenting with different finishes and textures to appeal to your audience’s senses. For example, if you’re sending out a direct mailing about a summer beach vacation deal, why not add a grit coating to your direct mailing that will give it more dimension and remind readers of beach sand? You might be surprised at what a difference these small touches can make without blowing up your budget in the process, so don’t be afraid to get a little creative and experimental here.
Some other fun ways to appeal to the various senses and make your mailing stand out include embedding a sound clip or using a “scratch and sniff” feature.
Vary Formats
One of the most important marketing travel industry tips to keep in mind from a direct mail standpoint is to vary your formats often. The ability to send out information in a seemingly endless array of formats is another one of the strengths of this type of marketing. While postcards may seem like a practical and fitting way to reach your travel and hospitality audience, you also don’t want to become too predictable. Switch things up a little bit from time to time by changing formats; you might consider trying out a catalogue or brochure instead. The options are more-or-less endless, and your clients will appreciate the variety of formats each time they grab a piece of your company’s mail from their mailbox.
Overall, creating a strong direct mailing campaign for your travel or hospitality business is mostly about getting creative and personalizing your message to each customer. Specifically, remember to:
- custom-tailor your mail
- try out different finishes and textures
- switch up your formats on occasion
With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to a successful direct mailing campaign in no time! Looking for more assistance with your direct mail or other marketing campaigns? Our team of marketing professionals at Ballantine is here to help. Contact us today to get started!
I'm the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a family-owned and operated direct mail & digital marketing company based in New Jersey. and started in 1966 by my great uncle!
