RIP Every Door Direct Marketing
By Chris Rockwell, PGA
Director of Marketing
Golf Life Navigators
The Irony Is Out Of Control!
Even USPS is getting on board with Display Marketing. What you see here is an Instagram Ad for USPS. So my questions is, if it was better and cheaper to send this off as direct mail postcard, why did they use display advertising? So before I get into the top 3 reasons why you need to be using digital advertising, I just wanted you to see this.
I’ve heard that EDDM is like to shooting fish in a barrel, just because you know it’s a “wealthy” part of town. I’d say it is more accurately depicted as using a rubber band gun, and 90% of the fish in the barrel, are not the type of fish you are looking for!
1. You CAN’T Track It!
Plain and simple. Think about it … when was the last time the United States Postal Service called and asked how many people looked at your ad and how many people took the time to search for your website? Doesn’t happen.
What about the number of people in the home who actually are golfers? According to statistics, only 8.28% of people between 50-65 actually play golf, so there goes half of your budget wasted.
With Digital Advertising you can make changes to your demographic to see who is interested in your ad or club. You can also increase conversions by a simple click of the button.
2. Barely Any Information!
A 5×7 card doesn’t exactly leave a lot of room to tell about your club. Not to mention it doesn’t automatically pull up your website for more information. You either write a novel about your club and sacrifice imagery, or you showcase your new multi-million dollar renovation with a tag line that screams “Unlike any other (of the 200 clubs within 20 miles here)” that everyone else uses.
Are you able to fit all of your amenities available for the club, let alone show the amenities? Less can be more, but in this situation, you have a split second to make an impact on these individuals with enough information so they’ll want to know more.
With Digital Advertising, you can show them everything you offer at the club and capture their data along the way. It is even simpler if the ad appears on their phones, because your phone number is right there. I’ve never seen anyone make a phone call on a postcard before.
3. Cost
Lets say you did the postcard artwork in house so it didn’t cost you anything, your club is still spending at least $500 on these every door direct mail pieces between print and postage. Did you know you could easily get over 250,000 impressions to any location you wanted for the same price, through digital marketing? Think of every post card you send as one impression, could you send out 250,000 postcards for $500?
I know this may be difficult to convince your Board Members that sending mailers is a thing of the past, but let’s be honest, it’s 2018 and there are so many better ways to spend your marketing dollars. Each of your Board members has been/was successful in their careers or else they wouldn’t be at the club. But times have changed.
Below, find a few items that were invented around the time your board members became successful:
The Walkman
The Mobile Phone
Camcorders
Disposable Cameras
The personal computer
And in 1990… THE INTERNET.
Change can be good, especially in the way you market your clubs.
So, go digital, and let the paper fly!