Well summer is officially ending, now that pumpkin spice coffee is on the shelves at my local Acme supermarket. It’s also back-to-school season, which provides a great opportunity to reach customers with direct mail.
Back-to-school shopping is one of the biggest retail seasons of the year. According to the National Retail Federation, families with K-12 students are expected to spend nearly $39 billion this season, averaging about $875 per household. More than half of shoppers have already started buying, but I’d bet most still have plenty left on their lists. Besides, are you ever really done?
Many of the big national retailers, drugstores, supermarkets, and supermarkets will be in the mail soon, if they’re not already, with offers that at least make a passing school reference to grab the attention of shoppers.
If you have clients who are local or regional businesses, there are lots of ways to remind customers that they’re close by.
A simple postcard or a shared mailer like Valpak or Clipper are two examples. Parents are already driving around town dropping kids off for sports, music lessons, doctor appointments, and shopping for school supplies. Give them one more reason to stop at your business while they’re already out.
For them, back-to-school means a lot of things. Routines, early mornings, late nights, busy weekends, and deadlines. Lots of coordinating schedules.
You don’t need a complicated direct mail campaign. Keep it clean. Keep it visual. Keep the copy short. Include an offer that’s easy to understand.
Read this full article on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
