From Mailbox to Inbox: A Hybrid Approach to Reaching Your Customers

It’s easy to weigh the pros and cons of an email marketing strategy versus a direct mail one. Email marketing delivers your message to customers instantly wherever they are, while direct mail gives them a tangible reminder to bring their business to you.

While many dealerships focus heavily on the digital world, there’s something to be said about a marketing strategy that combines both physical and digital messaging into one cohesive plan. If your print and email marketing worked together, seamlessly aligned in style and message, imagine what it could mean for your dealership.

Integrating direct mail with digital marketing is proven to boost response rates by an impressive 63 percent. How many additional ROs, renewed leases, or trade ins could that 63 percent mean for you? Let’s dive into how taking advantage of this strategy could improve your dealership’s success.

Create a Cohesive Brand

Every brand has a core identity customers connect with, and your dealership is no exception. Marketing is the primary outlet used to communicate your brand to customers, and if your marketing materials are inconsistent in style (or they’re just generic), you’ll have a harder time standing out from nearby competition and being remembered by your customers.

When your print and email communications work together to convey a consistent message, it’s easier for your brand to resonate with customers. Consistency fosters a sense of trust and familiarity in the long term, meaning the next time your customer needs repair work or a new set of tires, it will be easy for them to remember you as an option.

Capture a Wider Audience

You know your brand, but do your customers and prospects? Establish your brand by leveraging both print and email together in your marketing strategy and significantly increase your exposure to existing and potential customers. While some may prefer the speed and simplicity of an email, others enjoy holding a physical reminder of your dealership, and it’s important to accommodate both in your marketing to capture a wider audience.

Email links customers directly to your website and encourages instant action. Direct mail offers a lasting presence with a tendency to stick around for a while – 17 days on average in your customer’s home. Imagine your message staying top-of-mind for this long and consider the potential leads and engagement this could generate.

By combining the immediacy of email with the lasting presence of direct mail, you create a marketing powerhouse that maximizes your reach and influence.

Boost Visibility Despite Outdated Customer Information 

Utilizing both print and email can help avoid a customer missing your message due to outdated contact details.

Say you sent your customer a direct mail piece, but they recently moved, and their new address is not in your database. Without that new address, you lose the opportunity to engage with them. By incorporating email marketing into your strategy, you improve the chance of your customer seeing your message, despite potentially having outdated mailing information.

On the flip side, if you send an email to a customer’s unused or invalid email address, supplementing a direct mail piece increases the chance of a customer interaction and hopefully future response.

By incorporating both print and email into your marketing toolkit, you boost visibility of your brand and message, even if you hit the roadblock of having outdated customer information.

While email and direct mail are useful tools on their own, combining them can make your marketing unstoppable.  Communicating through multiple channels with the same goal in mind makes it easier for customers to connect with you and ultimately choose you when they need service or are interested in a newer vehicle.

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