With all the buzz focused around social media, it's easy to get caught up in trying to learn how to maximize free Web resources, and cast aside developing another snail-mail campaign. This is especially true for marketers. We love what's new and what's trendy, and easily become bored with what we've done time and time again—even if it has shown great results.
This is our biggest challenge as marketers.
Recent research shows that 76% of Internet shoppers purchased an item or service that they first learned about from a direct mailer. Most retailers agree that it's the printed circular that drives people into their stores. And, most schools will tell you it's the printed catalog that filled their campus tour schedules to the brim.
However, 46% of Americans belong to social networking sites, and this percentage grows everyday. Retailers that have fan pages on Facebook, or who have invested time and resources into developing micro-blogs and online recommendations, will agree that these have helped to maintain their existing clients, as well as helped to grow their bottom-lines.
This enforces what cutting-edge marketers have been saying for years—the most productive marketing is integrated marketing. You have to balance and spread out your marketing to reach your ultimate goals.
