7 Retail Marketing Ideas to Attract More Prospects and Improve Your ROI
Starting a retail store takes a lot of investment, time, and effort. And once you are ready, you need a solid retail marketing strategy to get customers to walk through your doors and purchase products.
The UK retail industry already has over 300,000 businesses! A well-drafted marketing program that fits your brand’s goals and needs can help you stand out.
Luckily, you have many marketing channels and tools at your disposal. But selecting the best platforms where you can find and engage with your target customers is vital.
This blog explores what is retail marketing while discussing many ideas, examples, and use cases to get you started!
Let us dive in!
What Is a Retail Marketing Strategy, and How Is It Beneficial?
Retail marketing comprises all the steps businesses take to invite customers to their stores and improve profitability.
It is a marketing mix of the four Ps- product, price, place, and promotion! Retailers must focus on these aspects to repeatedly prompt customers to buy their products over time!
Thus, a retail marketing strategy covers short-term and long-term goals and revenue! It helps you create brand awareness, push customers to choose your brand and retain them.
In-store marketing tactics include layout, signage, window displays, posters, and more! Though this retail marketing strategy allows you to make the shopping experience memorable for customers, it poses a challenge.
The challenge is to bring customers to your store!
How will they know about what you sell?
Do they have your store address?
Why should they choose you over your competitors?
Retail marketing answers these questions, allowing you to inform customers about your brand and give them an undeniable reason to visit you!
More benefits include:
- It helps improve your brand image and create trustworthy relationships.
- It allows people to learn about your brand and visit you.
- It drives repeat customers and brand loyalty.
A thoughtful and effective retail marketing strategy allows businesses to push buyers ahead of their sales funnel and become brand promoters in the long run!
You can draft a retail marketing strategy for your business and list the objectives. But it would be best to have adequate tools to bridge the gap between you and your customers.
Direct mail is an excellent choice for retailers to connect with their buyer personas with tailored messages. They can draft relevant postcards, business letters, or other formats and ship them to a segmented address list!
It allows them to speak 1:1 with the decision-makers without waiting for them to open an email or visit your social media pages.
Which Channels to Use for a Retail Marketing Strategy?
Retail marketing includes store-based, online, and offline marketing channels.
You may create a marketing mix that best suits your needs and budget!
A store-based retail marketing strategy is essential because almost all retailers optimise their stores to advertise products. They also instruct their floor staff to help customers find items and cross-sell simultaneously.
When you treat your customers well and fulfil their expectations, there are high chances they will return. Also, they might spread the word to their family, friends, and neighbours, helping you get more footfall.
You can include direct mail in this retail marketing strategy for higher results! For instance, you may print and mail marketing postcards to your prospects to grab their attention.
Add an offer and prompt them to visit you—to spread visibility and grow sales!
The good news is that you can combine mail marketing with other channels, like email, Google ads, and more!
PostGrid’s direct mail API integrates with your favourite marketing tools, like Salesforce, Zapier, Hubspot, and others. Thus, you may conduct an integrated retail marketing strategy to reach more customers and boost your ROI!
At PostGrid, we discuss with many clients- What is retail marketing and how to start without investing a lot of time and money?
Our long-term client, a leading electronics retailer, discussed this question with us a year ago.
They were already using word-of-mouth publicity with emails to get buyers to their offline stores.
But they needed to add a personal touch and personalisation, making an offline retail marketing strategy essential. It is when they started using our direct mail services to establish emotional bonds and leave an everlasting impression on their audience.
How Can Direct Mail Change The Retail Marketing Landscape?
Direct mail has been around for a long time! But more businesses are recognising its benefits recently as a way to break through the digital clutter.
Marketing mail produces a £14 ROI on every £1 you spend! Also, 60% of direct mail recipients open their mailers, and 40% read the message.
These direct mail statistics highlight how mailing can add value to your retail marketing strategy and help you directly contact your prospects!
Online-only retailers can gain their audience’s trust by sending an offline message. It helps tell people you are a legitimate business serving a huge customer base!
Offline stores can add direct mail to their retail marketing strategy to send coupons, promo cards, postcards, and other items. They can ask customers to carry the mailer to the store for a discount.
This retail marketing strategy is one of the best ways to convince people to visit your store, drive sales, and improve brand awareness—all in one!
PostGrid’s direct mail services break down common traditional mailing myths!
Myth: Using direct mail for your retail marketing strategy is expensive.
Fact: Our pricing plans help companies send mailers affordably in the UK and worldwide.
Myth: Businesses cannot track direct mail.
Fact: We help businesses track their retail marketing strategy results with custom QR codes, links, and coupon codes. They can also see their campaign progress in real-time.
Myth: You may need weeks or months to plan a direct mail campaign.
Fact: PostGrid offers industry-best SLAs to launch a mailing campaign on your behalf whenever required!
We can go on and on about how direct mail is now affordable, speedy, and result-driving!
Initially, our client was sceptical about sending mailers under their retail marketing strategy because they believed it didn’t produce any results. But they wanted to give it a try!
Their first campaign generated a 22% response rate with over 10% conversions. It was a massive hit in driving sales and helped them gain more social media followers, proving direct mail is not dead.
Click here to contact us for more information on how we help businesses send effective mailers.
Top 7 Direct Mail Ideas for Your Retail Marketing Strategy’s Success
You can print and mail items to prospects and customers during every stage of their buying journeys. Understanding and fulfilling their needs at the correct time helps you create relevance and authority.
Here are the top seven ideas for your retail marketing strategy:
Introduce Your Business.
Most prospects are not sure of your company at the top of the sales funnel! They need clarification about who you are and which products you sell.
You can use your retail marketing strategy to connect with them at this stage and create brand awareness. It lets you list their problems or needs and inform them about your solutions!
Retailers can send an introductory business letter. Address the reader by their first name and use a format yet friendly tone. It helps break the ice and start a conversation!
Guarantee responses for your retail marketing strategy by adding compelling offers. Even a tiny 5% discount announcement enables retailers to get new customers to their stores.
Create Personal Connections With Marketing Postcards.
Send custom postcards to your audience to evoke nostalgia and establish emotional bonds.
Use a short and sweet message that resonates with them and motivates readers to complete the CTA. It is the best retail marketing strategy that works at all stages of the advertising and selling processes.
Here are some examples:
- Holiday greeting postcards
- Birthday and anniversary wishes
- Event announcements
- Offer promotions
- Appreciation postcards
PostGrid’s direct mail API lets you send eye-catching postcards for your retail marketing strategy on every customer milestone. You may use our pre-built templates to create your postcards within minutes.
Our automated direct mail solutions assist you throughout the campaign, saving you time, effort, and money!
Redirect Customers to Your Online Stores.
Linking your offline retail marketing strategy with online channels allows you to
- Reach a broader audience
- Boost visibility and brand recognition
- Maintain consistency across all platforms, and
- Drive higher sales
It helps you increase the number of touchpoints, enabling customers to engage with you on a platform they choose.
For example, you can initiate a multi-channel retail marketing strategy with direct mail and email.
Send your marketing emails after recipients get your customised direct mail item! Please use the same headings, offers, and CTAs to help readers remember you and respond!
Send Triggered Mail to Build Relevance.
Triggered mailings for a retail marketing strategy are impactful because you can grab opportunities and send relevant mail pieces.
For instance, you may send a well-curated mail item to all prospects who
- Visit your website for the first time
- Purchase items
- Add things to their cart but didn’t complete checkout, or
- Complete another year of shopping with your company
Improve your retail marketing strategy’s response rate by connecting with customers when your brand is fresh on their minds. It increases your chances of converting prospects and generating repeat business.
Your existing customers also appreciate triggered mailings at ideal times, like their first-year anniversaries or when their subscriptions are about to expire.
Use the Ideal Direct Mail Format
Businesses can use several direct mail types for their retail marketing strategy according to their campaign’s purpose and message.
Short messages only need a small space, making postcards an apt choice. And you can use letters to explain your products in more detail.
Aside from the space, many factors decide which format to use for your retail marketing strategy, like
- Your target audience
- Promotional offers
- Campaign type
For example, you can print and mail educational newsletters to prospects who are yet to acquaint with your brand. It allows them to read up about your product range, paving the way to creating more conversions!
Postcards are your best choice if you are still determining which mailer type to use! They are personal, memorable, and effective! Also, they cost less, keeping your retail marketing strategy prices in control.
Letters are ideal for interacting with a more educated audience that knows about your company and is in the decision-making phase.
Create a Response Mechanism
It is vital to add trackable features to your mailers to guide prospects about what to do next! Try including QR codes, links, coupon codes, or custom contact numbers to tie responses to your retail marketing strategy and measure results.
PostGrid simplifies adding these features to your mail items without extra effort. And you can view the campaign insights through your dashboard.
Engage Old and Existing Customers
Your retail marketing strategy must pay equal attention to existing customers and prospects.
Generating repeat business from existing customers is more straightforward than acquiring new leads. Sending timely mail items to them helps turn them into loyal buyers and brand promoters over time!
Use your retail marketing strategy to appreciate people who purchase from you often and make them feel special. You may send a handwritten note inside a custom envelope they can store and cherish forever.
These small steps enable you to create a valuable network. Hence, if you introduce a new product line or participate in a trade show, you already have customers, attendees, and brand ambassadors to support you!
Direct Mail Use Cases for Your Retail Marketing Strategy
You can print and ship direct mailers in many ways to improve engagement and bring your audience closer to your brand.
Here are the use cases you can refer to for your campaigns:
Cross-Selling or Upselling Offers
Target high-ticket customers with personalised and cross-category promotions. It helps you keep in touch and motivate them to buy more items from your store.
You can use a customer-centric retail marketing strategy to consider their preferences and draft relevant offers.
Cross-sell and upsell campaigns allow you to produce recurring business from your existing customer base. It is the highest revenue source for all retailers and lets retailers cultivate brand loyalty.
Our client wanted to do something similar for their upcoming campaigns. They had already converted thousands of customers and decided to cross-sell other items.
PostGrid allowed them to print and mail square-shaped postcards with high-resolution graphics to do something unique. These postcards for their retail marketing strategy performed very well, with many recipients sharing pictures on social media!
Reactivation
You can use your customer base to learn who hasn’t purchased from you in a specific period, say six months. Then, you may launch a reactivation retail marketing strategy to promote discounted rates and win your customers back!
Web Targeting
Retailers can integrate our print and mail API into their website to launch web targeting campaigns. Send custom mailers to website visitors, shoppers, and customers who abandon shopping carts.
You may also use your retail marketing strategy to get back to prospects who fill out the contact form. Replying with a mail item makes an excellent first impression and helps you convert potential customers faster!
Location Targeting
Advertise offers and products to everyone within a radius of your store’s location. Send personalised mailers to create an impact and encourage readers to visit you.
Location-based marketing is the best retail marketing strategy to target people living closest to your store.
PostGrid allows you to send Royal Mail door-too-door items. This campaign lets you ship your marketing mailers to every household in specific postcodes or neighbourhoods.
Latest Edition Offers
Contacting your customers to announce your latest offers is another retail marketing strategy to help you grow! It allows you to create more conversion opportunities and increase sales.
Examples of Global Retail Brands Using Direct Mail
Many worldwide brands use direct mail for their retail marketing strategy to connect with their target audience. Here is an example of IKEA and how it incorporated traditional mailing:
It is a Swedish company selling homewares and furniture. IKEA has often integrated direct mail with its online marketing channels to get successful results.
This company sends mailers with multiple discounts, promotions, and offers to raise awareness and encourage people to buy their products.
Though its digital marketing plans perform well, this company generates more results with direct mailing. Hence, many people have noticed IKEA using traditional channels more often for their retail marketing strategy and other purposes.
IKEA also sent magazine-style catalogues featuring its products in an appealing and attention-grabbing manner!
PostGrid works with many commercial printers that prepare several direct mail formats. They can assist you in sending catalogues to your targeted audience! Drop an email at sales@postgrid.co.uk to discuss this further!
More Details About Using PostGrid’s Direct Mail Services to Send Personalised and Targeted Mailers
PostGrid’s direct mail and address verification services enable you to prepare and ship mailers to the correct addresses. They assist you in fulfilling your retail marketing strategy goals and driving new and repeat business!
Here is what our client shared with one of our account specialists during our recent monthly meeting—
“PostGrid helped our retail business to skyrocket its sales when we didn’t expect it to, with its incredible mailing solutions. More than a year ago, we didn’t understand how direct mail could be a valuable addition to your marketing efforts. Now, we send custom mail items monthly that significantly add to our revenue.”
Below are our most helpful features that add value to our client’s business:
- Address validation: Companies can improve their retail marketing strategy by sending mailers to the correct destinations. PostGrid allows them to autocomplete, standardise, and verify delivery addresses to reduce mail returns and reshipping.
- Bulk mailing: You may send on-demand or bulk mailers based on your needs and campaign goals. Our scalable solutions can help launch your small-scale or large-scale retail marketing strategy at the same speed and efficiency.
- Campaign reports: You may view your retail marketing strategy’s performance reports via your dashboard. PostGrid lets you stay updated and improve your upcoming campaigns based on detailed insights and analytics.
Sign up to learn more about sending automated direct mail under your retail marketing strategy with PostGrid!
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