Wildix Blog

Why direct mail marketing is returning, and how you can use it to your advantage

They say that everything old is new again, and that applies to marketing trends now more than ever. Direct mail is making a huge comeback after spending years looking outdated, out of touch and well, old. This shift in marketing strategy isn’t without good reason, but it may not be for all the reasons you think.

Direct Mail vs. Direct Mail

In the last 15 years, direct mail has largely fallen out of favor as a marketing tool. In fact, most physical mail has fallen out of favor due to the boom in digital communications, advertising and social media. The United States Postal Service (USPS) reports that since 2006 the number of parcels they handle has decreased by 33%, dropping from 213 billion units to 143 billion units in 2019.

So how does this help you? With less competition in people’s mailboxes, you’re much more likely to get your message to stick.

Email vs. Direct Mail

In a time when almost all communication, commercial or not, is digital, it’s hard to stand out in an inbox. The average office employee receives over 120 emails per day: just think about how many emails you delete without opening from companies you’ve never heard of.

Compared to their inbox, the average person’s mailbox only receives two pieces of physical mail per day. When your odds of standing out are 50/50 instead of 1 out of 120, it’s a whole lot easier to make an impression on your prospects.

Direct Mail vs. Digital

In addition to email, the average consumer sees over 60 digital ads per day. With ad blockers essentially the default on computers these days, it’s critical that nothing stands in the way of your messaging.

While the average digital ad has a lifetime of only seconds, one report states that physical mail has a lifetime of up to 17 days. In addition, 54% of consumers report that they’ll discuss a piece of physical mail if they’ve already heard of a brand but never purchased from them. With over half of the recipients actively talking about your company over the course of 17 days, it’s a great opportunity to make an impression!

Getting Started

At this point, you might be wondering how you should get your own mailing campaign off the ground. Although the specifics will be different from business to business, there are some important points to remember.

It’s important to remember that direct mail should be used in conjunction with your other marketing campaigns, not in place of them. Supplementing digital and email marketing with physical mail can really drive home your value to potential customers. While you can always send something robust like a catalog or magazine, you can also send something as simple as a letter or a postcard. The important part here isn’t so much what you send but the fact that you’re getting your messaging into the hands of potential customers.

With both recognition and the impact of a message you can hold on your side, you’ll start to see your marketing returns take on an entirely new dimension of growth.

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For today’s UCaaS customers, bigger does mean better

The tech world is changing every day — but if you look at the priorities of some MSPs, you may not realize that. Many of them are refusing to keep up with these changes and, as a result, are on their way to going out of business.

Plenty of systems integrators, especially those who’ve been in the market for years or even decades, still believe they hold some special power just because they’re a small, local business. These MSPs will say that they won deals because they earned customers’ trust and confidence; they’ll say that their business value comes from how end-users rely on them to keep phones and PBXs up and running every day.

Not only is this expectation wrong but it hasn’t been right for years!

The truth is that these days, people have changed where they look for trust. For most, small businesses mean very little when investing in reliable technology. What matters to customers far more now is buying from a reliable multinational brand.

Think about this yourself. When a business wants to have a web server up and running, who do they trust for that service: Joe’s Web Solutions from down the street or a giant like AWS?

When a business wants to have their computers repaired, who do they want to cover their warranty: the local PC repair shop, or the computer’s manufacturer, like Dell or Apple?

In almost all cases, businesses will select big brands to maintain their technology because they see those big brands as more powerful and reliable. Telephony is far more than cabling and PoE switches. Now, it’s all about a reliable service, which, thanks to brand positioning, customers think only the biggest brands can provide.

I know this is not a pleasant picture for most MSPs. But you shouldn’t file for bankruptcy just yet: even with this change in customers’ minds, you as a small business have a role to play that can win you deals and money.

That role is local presence, specialized expertise and reliable service — but always backed by the power and reliability of a good brand. And, if your brand is a good one, they will help your business to succeed in this role with technical support and sales assistance.

For Wildix Partners, this is exactly the role we emphasize: acting as the local sales team and tech force driving the Wildix brand. What each and every Wildix Partner does is, on the one hand, provide customers with the reliability they expect, given through a global brand. The sale of each Wildix installation is carried out by Partners in this way to ensure you have the offering that end-users can feel secure in purchasing.

However, this is not to say Wildix Partners are mere agents who pass along the value Wildix initially designs. Actually, it’s the opposite: all Wildix Partners are the reliability that customers want to see in a worldwide brand.

Because Partners handle sales, installations and repairs directly, they create the security end-users believe they can find only in big tech names. The entire system of support that runs Wildix comes entirely from this Partnership.

This is why I keep urging you all to say “I AM WILDIX”: you, our Partners, are the sales, the tech, the direct forces that ensure Wildix runs worldwide. Without your hard work, Wildix could not exist.

Of course, there is another side to this that not all Partners have decided to embrace. Because Partners are so much of the value in Wildix, it’s critical that they use the Wildix brand in sales and marketing — even more than they use the brand of their own business.

I know this isn’t a pleasant thought. Your business is something you built, something you put enormous time and effort into creating. It’s only natural for you to want to put this branding first.

But remember what your customers think they need to be successful: they want a big technology brand, not a small business. They want the reliability they see in technology with global reach and modern capabilities.

If you’re not leaning into the brand of the technology you’re selling, you can’t give customers what they want. Try as you might to sell your small business, end-users will feel more comfortable buying the protection they see in a global technology brand. To them, the days of finding value in just some small business are over.

Plenty of Partners realize this fact. For example, years ago, many MSPs would ask that their instance of Wildix be rebranded to show their business’s logo. But nowadays, this never happens anymore, because MSPs know their customers would rather see the name of a global technology brand!

So for your own success, it’s critical you set aside the ego of promoting your own small business and put the winning strategy first. Yes, you spent a lot of sweat creating your business — but haven’t you also invested a lot in joining Wildix? Hasn’t Wildix invested in you?

When you proudly declare to your customers “I AM WILDIX,” all you’re doing is reaping the rewards of your contributions to the Wildix brand.

These are earnings you deserve as a Wildix Partner, but you can only earn them if you learn to start putting Wildix first. As you know, the easiest way to win sales is by giving customers the solution that already exists in their mind; when it comes to technology nowadays, that solution will almost certainly be a specialized global brand, not the logo of the nearby general store.

For success to come your way, the best thing you can do for your business is to show your customers that exactly this kind of global brand is not just what you’re selling, but who you are.

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Any MSP’s top priority must be earning repeat clients through the right services and attitude

Today’s savvy business owners understand that a faithful customer base is the lifeblood of their business. After all, customer loyalty increases profits, improves sales success, and allows for sustainable growth. This is on top of the fact that acquiring a new customer is much more expensive than retaining existing ones (in fact, some studies indicate that it costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one).

However, anyone who’s sought out loyalty knows it’s no walk in the park to earn. Conventional thinking suggests that winning lasting customers is just about having the latest technology at a very low price — along with good installation services. However, earning customer loyalty is much more complex.

In truth, loyalty takes intense dedication from the seller’s side to earn; more than high-quality services and especially more than low prices, it requires a consistent understanding of the customer’s business issues and challenges. What builds loyalty better than anything else is a clear demonstration of this understanding, and earnest work in addressing those issues. Customers need to know you’re invested in their growth and success, and when it comes to UC&C, that typically comes from more than selling a one-off telephone system.

For proof of this, we just have to look at how other companies build loyalty with their customers. It never happens overnight, or just through slashed prices, or through placating their feelings. Rather, it happens over time, and always as a result of the seller addressing the issue at the root of the customer’s business situation. This in turn builds trust, giving the customer a solid foundation to rely upon you as a strategic advisor for business needs.

Think about your own case a second: what brands are you loyal to? Because I’ll bet your first choice for anything you need is not just the brand with quality service or low prices, but the one that you know understands you and attends to your issues.

I’m no different, of course. As a constant traveler, my personal example is Marriott Hotels. Anytime I travel, I book at a Marriott, not just because I like their rooms — it’s also because, no matter my travel situation, I trust Marriott to listen to me and solve my problem right away. Frankly, thanks to that sense of value, when I travel, I don’t bother looking at anywhere but a Marriott.

This didn’t happen because of their prices or even the added perks of a loyalty program. Actually, it happened for the simple reason that Marriott has consistently shown me they’re ready and eager to address my business need, which is getting a quiet room right away. When I’m traveling and I call a Marriott location, I know they’ll tailor the experience to my needs: I’ll arrive without having to waste time checking in at the front desk, and the hotel will have a nice, quiet room ready for me.

In so few words, I trust this brand because they’ve shown me that, no matter where I go or when I call them, they’ll address my specific needs. They take the complications out of my business issue and all the while make me feel that my trust in them is well placed.

In thinking about how to earn loyalty, we ought to think in terms of care and reliability. When a customer is deciding on whether to stick with a business, most likely they’re thinking, “Can I communicate with them easily? Can I count on them, and what is the business value that I am receiving from this relationship?”

All told, we might go so far as to conceive of loyalty as a two-way street between buyer and seller. Sure, to exist at all there has to be that customer returning to you, the business owner. But earning those repeat visits takes care, attention and full commitment to their success and business needs.

So, as we weigh all these points, we come to the big question: How is an MSP supposed to win loyalty?

There’s no single answer here, of course, just as there wouldn’t be a single answer for any other business vertical. But in general, there are some key points that are valuable to explore.

First off, yes — winning loyalty will take excellent products and services. It’s just a fact that customers are only going to buy from a business that brings them a positive business outcome, and you’ll need to deliver that to keep them satisfied.

The counterpoint, however, is that plenty of other businesses can provide excellent products and services. To stand out, you need more than just the newest technology and services.

To do so, it’s critical to embrace not so much the tangible points or rewards of a loyalty program, but the principle that a loyalty program represents. You have to give them a sense of belonging and exclusivity if you want to see any belonging given back.

Communication is indispensable here. There are two principles to follow here: being frequent and just as importantly, forthright. Any customers that you haven’t been in contact with for a while are ones you should check up on, because frankly, they need to get more from you before they’ll give anything on their end. If you’re providing them software or hardware as a service, you’ll have a far and away easier time of this, since you’re bringing them what they need on a regular rollout to begin with.

As for being forthright, this comes down to honesty in your communications. As you talk to your customer, ask yourself: Are you acting as the expert, or are you buckling to the customer’s limited industry knowledge? Are you recommending something that solves their core business issue, or are you just following what they think is right? The challenge here is not just telling them what they should do but making sure you’re invested in the outcome that you create.

What never, ever builds loyalty in this market, however, is boiling everything down to price. If all a customer cares about is the lowest possible number, they aren’t looking for someone to stay with; they’ll be fine shopping around on every system they buy. Odds are, they’ll find someone willing to dip lower than the cost you present. As an MSP, will your business really gain any value from these kinds of customers? Are you winning a sale, but losing revenue in the process?

Really, despite the channel’s obsession with cutting prices and margins, boiling everything down to a lower monthly fee isn’t what keeps customers coming back. Loyalty, when it comes down to it, only happens when you strike a particular balance of personal and practical value. Crafting that kind of relationship certainly takes effort, but it’s effort that pays off exponentially over time.

If you want to succeed, remember that the people who’ve bought from you before are a potential goldmine waiting to be tapped. The only way they’ll open up, though, is if you give them enough reason to — both when it comes to tangible outcomes and the less tangible sense of relationship.

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To stand out to your prospects, take your value statement from general to specific

Before you can truly make an impact on potential customers, those prospects must have a clear idea of the value you can provide.

This is more or less the idea behind the concept of positioning or aligning your business with a specific need that customers already have. But, what does that mean specifically for MSPs who are competing in a crowded market?

The problem small MSPs face here is exactly what positioning aims to solve: currently, end-users already have an idea of what UC&C “should” be, and thus to market themselves small IT businesses must specify their unique value beyond the general concept of Unified Communications.

Yes, you can tell your prospects that you can upgrade their phone systems or provide video calls — but why should they go with you instead of the leading brand for VoIP and video, a company they already associate with high value and performance?

The answer will not come down to a matter of general benefits your business can provide, but rather, down to the specific value you’ve already marketed yourself as being experts in.

Moving Away from the Generalist

To explain why, consider the alternative of being an expert, being a generalist: this would mean you do a little bit of everything, trying to tell your prospects that your company is good for any value they could ask for in UC&C.

Although this might seem like the approach to catch the attention of the most customers possible, the truth is it will only hurt you from a marketing perspective. Remember, there are already big names out there that promise total value in UC&C. Not only are they more powerful in their marketing capabilities, they’ve already claimed space in the public’s mind as the preferred solution for general digital communications.

If you try to compete with this point, you simply won’t succeed, because you’ll be trying to dislodge beliefs that massive spending campaigns created.

In this way, being a generalist is not helpful for branding. Not only will it mean you’ll struggle to claim a spot in your customer’s mind, but consider that it also makes satisfying buyers more difficult due to the simple fact that delivering on a general value statement is both difficult and less memorable overall.

Embracing the Specialist’s Role

The alternative, acting as a specialist, solves both of these problems. For one, being a specialized expert makes it far easier to be memorable to customers.

This is because specialization creates a firmer identity for you. Instead of being a general UC&C provider, you become the business that connects multiple office sites, or enables smart working, or brings on international calling capabilities. This pinpoints your value and builds your brand; it emphasizes that you bring measurable value in a way the public can easily remember.

Positioning in this way is essential because it’s the primary method open to you in finding room in your customer’s mind. Although they are likely already decided on who provides value in UC&C, you can still claim a spot when it comes to who provides value on specific parts of UC&C.

This, not being a generalist, is the way to market yourself in a memorable fashion.

Building Your Base

However, a concern you may have with this approach to marketing is that it will leave you with too small of a base of prospects. What if the value you advertise doesn’t reach enough people?

This is in fact a necessary tradeoff when specializing your value proposition: your pool of likely customers will almost certainly shrink. A general value statement, after all, will appeal to more people than a niche one.

While it’s natural to be concerned about missing out on potential buyers, this is not anything near a deathblow to your business. Remember that, from a marketing perspective, reaching more people isn’t worth the investment if most of them won’t respond well anyway. If you act as a generalist, most of your leads will have little reason to respond to you; your business isn’t one they recognize as a provider of general UC&C value.

On the other hand, building a base of customers that need your niche value is an approach with enormous ROI. A loyal customer base, even if they’re small, will bring you constant income as a result of consistently going to you for value and support.

Also, these earnings will be measured against the expenses of advertising to a smaller group of in-target leads, reducing the money and effort spent on this process. This in short means more money earned versus less spent in total when compared to marketing to fair-weather generalist buyers.

How to Specialize

All this said, the question then becomes: how do you actually complete the process of specializing?

The answer will come down to what your business does well. What are you already experts in? What value are you most capable of providing? Whatever the answer is, it’s important that you invest not just in delivering it, but in telling in-target leads it’s your specialty.

This process is key to winning over prospects because, again, it’s the best way to be memorable. The generalist is a role that’s already been taken up by big names; the fact is, reclaiming it will usually take more investment than its worth.

Specializing, meanwhile, ensures you can achieve the most targeted positioning possible. On top of reaching customers who are more in need of your services, you’ll simplify the process of pitching your services, because your prospects will already have a strong sense of your value.

Finding the specifics of your value in this way will generate greater success, through the simple foundation of greater understanding — and greater appreciation — from your customers.

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