The XIC Blog

Spice up your direct mail campaign.

Posted on February 14, 2012 by XIC

This week we are divulging some tips on how to maximise effectiveness of your direct mail campaign.

Planning

First off, in order to get the most out of your direct mail campaign there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

•Is it clear what you’re actually promoting?

•Is your offer or message relevant to the recipient?

•Is there a mechanism for the recipient to respond?

•Is there a resource in place to deal with the response?

Setting some simple objectives will help make your campaign more effective.

Creating

This is the really fun bit and the part where you have the opportunity to spice things up a little with different techniques. Try these out for size:

• Human Touch: Write as though you are communicating with an individual directly. You want to be as human as possible which will help you build stronger client relationships.

• Catchy Tagline: Get creative and brainstorm some catchy taglines that will encourage recipients to open and read your mailer, take inspiration from bigger brands or parody a popular tagline for maximum effect.

• QR Codes: Take advantage of the increase in popularity and use of smartphones and integrate a QR code into your piece. If done well and placed correctly with an appropriate landing page, you can really increase conversion rates.

If you would like to know more about or simply want a chat, please leave a comment here or check us out on Twitter @xicdotcom or at Facebook.com/XICsocial

Mix it up multichannel style…

Posted on February 1, 2012 by XIC

After discussing the benefits of both email marketing and direct mail individually on The XIC Blog, it seems only natural to discuss the powerhouse that is both online and offline modes of direct marketing working harmoniously together…multichannel style, ‘pimp my response rate’ if you will!

Why use both?

Well, combining the two has the power to double your response rates. Maintaining consistency in theme and message in both mediums will only strengthen your brand and message.

It’s not always likely that a recipient will respond to a direct mail piece but once they receive the follow up email it will remind them of you and your offer, and of course give them an opportunity to directly click on your respective links to your website, offer or landing page, it’s entirely up to you.

Integrate with Social Media too?

It would be rude not too! Don’t forget you can easily run your campaign on your social media platforms, whether it’s creating a corresponding tab on your Facebook, or just simply repeating the same message and offer in order to further your message and reach.

…And here’s one we made earlier: just to give you an example, we ran an email campaign to advertise a marketing Lunch & Learn and in conjunction we built a Facebook landing page for people outside our customer database list to use & interact with too. You can check it out here: http://on.fb.me/ykyWIO

28.5% of recipients responded through our landing page and increased our reach on the existing email-campaign, a winner all round.

Get in touch

If you would like to know some more please leave a comment here on The XIC Blog, or if you have a swatch to the right there, you can follow us on Twittter (@xicdotcom) or ‘Like’ us on Facebook we’d be happy to chat.

E-mail marketing: 2 seconds to dazzle

Posted on January 20, 2012 by XIC

So, we hope you found last week’s blog entry on direct mail useful as this week we are going to talk you through some benefits of e-mail marketing, another of our marvellous direct marketing services, oh we are a modest bunch aren’t we, ! And then there’s the tips, tricks and trade secrets…

Of course we know e-mail marketing is under a lot of scrutiny, it almost seems fashionable to slate its dwindling relevance, nevertheless, aside from the sweeping generalisations about the shortcomings of e-mail marketing, we are going to share with you the still very relevant and powerful benefits it has to offer, IF executed correctly.

Firstly, let’s run through some of the benefits:

• Low cost: Although a tremendous benefit, it can often lead to bad examples of spam type e-mails, however this is your chance to use it to your advantage, get as much bang for your buck as you can!

• Immediate action: Probably one of the greatest benefits, as email encourages immediate clickthroughs to your website and an immediate response you may not achieve elsewhere.

• Return on investment: Digital marketing allows you to measure exact responses, bounces & clickthroughs so you can gain the most out of your email campaign.

The tips, tricks and trade secrets to improve your email marketing response:

• You’ve got 2 seconds: Current trends show an average of 2 seconds to grab your targets attention then you’re out, so make your message count.

• Tuesdays or Wednesdays: Mondays are generally best avoided, for obvious reasons. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are considered good days for increased response.

• Be consistent: Once you have decided on design/concept/branding, stick to that theme with all your communications, this will help maintain and strengthen your brand.

• Plan for response: Those of your database who click-through are telling you they are more interested in your content, take the opportunity to follow up with a more personal targeted mailer.

Right, now you should be well equipped to get on with your email marketing and if you want to know more about any aspect just give us a shout here on the Blog or you can find us tweeting @xicdotcom or networking at facebook.com/XICsocial

Target, create, personalise, response…Just mail it!

Posted on January 13, 2012 by XIC

This one’s a heads up about our direct mail service, because we know some of you might not have heard. This suited and booted little blog entry comes complete with what direct mail can do for your business, the benefits and some tips, because we’re generous like that

Now to the good bit, in an environment where we are all bombarded with email spam, there is less businesses utilising good old fashioned direct mail, meaning there are opportunities for your business to be seen and heard with a bespoke piece that connects and communicates the right message to your clients or prospects.

Here is a list of benefits:

• Personalised: This offers the chance for you to speak to your clients or prospects individually, allowing for engagement and ultimately increased response.

• Targeted: This allows for your message to reach the right person and cuts out all the wastage.

• Measurable: One of the best benefits is being able to measure response, which means every time you send out a direct mailer you can refine your reach.

However, if you’re going it alone and need some tips, tricks or trade secrets, look no further, we have a few we can share :

• Tease your audience: whether it’s a catchy tagline or an intriguing statement you want to encourage your recipient to read on and respond.

• Be human: people spot buzz words a mile off, try to connect to your targets by being yourself.

• Be creative: Don’t be afraid to show your personality and be bold with design, it could be the difference in colour or graphics that gets your mail piece noticed.

• Split testing: split your mailers by making a change in either copy, design or the call to action. This is an easy way of testing responses and will give you feedback on how to communicate going forward.

And that’s it folks! If you want any further info about direct mail, just give us a shout here on the blog, or you can find us tweeting @xicdotcom or facebook.com/XICsocial

Granite Expo, get your free Haribo’s here!

Posted on October 25, 2011 by XIC

Thursday 27^th from 9-6 at the Hilton Treetops marks this year’s Granite Expo http://www.granitepr.co.uk/, exhibiting and celebrating SMEs across the North East, including our fantastic selves, ! We are all excited for the event and have been busy organising freebies, case studies, products, and a FREE prize draw for our stand to show off & give to all you lucky attendees!

We have lots to show and giveaway including four banner stands boasting our services from branded products to our bespoke marketing services.As for the freebies, you will just have to come pay us a visit at Stand 67 to get your hands on them, but we can tell you that there are some of our famous Haribo giveaways on the uptake if you come and chat to us, we’re a friendly bunch, honest!

This year we are co-promoting with Simpsons http://www.simpsonshotel.co.uk/ and showcasing our first X-media Case Study on the popular West End hotel! Calum and Jason will be on hand to discuss the Case Study after working closely on the project as well as talking you through our customised golf products, who wouldn’t want their own branded balls?Moreover, we will have our own in-house Social Media ‘Butterfly’ Cheryl on hand to discuss all things Twitter and Facebook, there were rumours of hiring the Blue Twitter bird outfit for the exhibition but they were swiftly thwarted, much to Cheryl’s relief!

But, the focus isn’t just on us, Granite Expo is showcasing over 100 exhibitors, 12 must see seminars and plenty of crucial local SME networking, you really can’t afford to miss this. So please come down and pay us a visit, partake in some conversation and of course indulge in our giveaways, they are pretty great if we do say so ourselves!

We love Blogging, and here is why you should too!

Posted on October 19, 2011 by XIC

There aren’t enough words to describe how much we love Blogging and writing content that we are passionate about. It is an extremely cleansing and powerful way to convey your knowledge and even better, your opinions, we all have them! Our passion is sparked by articles all the time that are relevant and topical to XIC and it is also a chance for us to praise and raise awareness of other people/companies whose content we love also… interactivity is the aim of the game!

In order to promote our Blog, we try to keep our content fresh by updating it once/twice a week with topics from print to social media, marketing to cakes! Then we link it up to blogs/articles/influencers who have spurred our creativity and @mention them on Twitter and tag them on Facebook…it’s a reciprocal thing folks!

We can almost guarantee that if you haven’t started Blogging yet you will fall head over heels for it when you do, and for those avid Bloggers already out there, you will know exactly what we are talking about J

Since we are waxing lyrical about Blogging, here are some of the benefits and some tips that we personally have found particularly valuable:

· Brand Building: Blogging is an excellent way to build your brand with real communication and knowledge, proving what’s important and great about your brand. We have received cross-Atlantic recognition with some of our content through networking we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, nothing like a bit of self-promotion!

· Social Media: An excellent tool for marketing your Blog, enabling you to tag and mention all sorts of relevant influencers and businesses local or global and if you’re really lucky you might even get your Blog re-tweeted or shared as we have managed through specific networking.

· Search Engine Optimisation: This is one of the benefits that we have only become aware of recently, but it is in fact possible for you to blog your way to the top of Google. You can do this by regularly updating your content, keeping your blog fresh, including relevant links and using key words specific to your company.

We also would recommend this here site: http://www.thelinkmedic.com/ for useful tips on Blogging, tools and promotion, you can also follow them @TheLinkMedic on Twitter for up to the minute information!

So whether a Blogging virgin, a new start or a keen bean, please feel free to leave your comments, questions and feedback about Blogging, we would love to hear from you!

Integrating traditional and digital, print is not dead!

Posted on October 10, 2011 by XIC

So having watched a fantastic webinar this week that went into detail about the power of combining both traditional print with digital tools we coincidently then found a few interesting blogs from Ussery Print: http://bit.ly/4hvMsN and Golden Parachute: http://bit.ly/oqpkhh who were all communicating the same ideas. As a print, reprographics and marketing service provider we are always looking for new, changing and innovative ways to combine our well established print services with our creative marketing endeavours.

The webinar focused on understanding the need to co-ordinate all efforts including email marketing, print, web, SMS and QR codes to name a few. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly important to measure our own metrics and analytics in order to prove return on investment as well as offering it as a service. A good marketing provider will analyse and utilise these metrics thoroughly in order to gain the most out of said ROI.

As a result, combining traditional print with digital tools, we can now tailor campaigns to suit our clients and prospects through direct interaction using print with QR codes leading to landing pages, for example, which means we collect data from customers who are genuinely interested. We are moving towards a much more interactive world due to consumers being better informed than ever before! It has never been more important to be reactive to these changes and that is something we at XIC pride ourselves on.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

Posted on September 30, 2011 by XIC

After being inspired by an article expressing the on-going and topical debate about the differences between outbound and inbound marketing (http://bit.ly/bRRtOC ), we thought we would get creative and write an entry for the XIC blog.

Traditionally, marketers would push a company message through various channels such as cold calling, advertising, outsourced telemarketing, and promotion for example, to try and communicate with that one in a million prospect, and these are still very prominent activities for companies across industries. This kind of outbound marketing is still heavy practised but the debate points out that much outbound marketing should be replaced by inbound marketing. We are now living in an age where consumers are much more sophisticated at ‘dodging’ and filtering out information that they don’t perceive as valuable, in fact we would go as far as to say that techniques such as cold calling marks you as human spam, and in your face advertising can make you a pest or worse, be muted!

As a result of this shift in consumer awareness, inbound marketing presents much more effective opportunities to be found by consumers who actually want to be a part of your community and expertise. Be it through your website, social media presence or relationship marketing, it is now possible for you to interact directly with your existing and prospect client base. We at XIC are inclined to agree with the article that a sustainable ratio of inbound versus outbound marketing is much heavier on the former and only backed up by the latter. However, it is also important to do what’s right for your company and tailoring to what suits your products and services. No one size fits all!

It seems that we are all playing catch up with developments regarding the web and how we harness it to build our brands, but either way it is essential to become a part it. There are many positive outcomes in adopting inbound marketing techniques, whether it’s to increase customer loyalty, generate leads, educate your fans on company specific issues or just simple communication, inbound marketing should now, if it isn’t already, play a much heftier role in your marketing strategy.