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Author: Chris Nee

Preferred Direct Expands Capacity With 2 New Equipment Technologies

Preferred Direct Expands Capacity With 2 New Equipment Technologies

Preferred Direct Expands Capacity With 2 New Equipment Technologies

 

Second Generation Family-Owned Printer Invests In Their Future

 

Norfolk, VA – Preferred Direct, industry-leading print, direct mail, and digital communications partner, is proud to announce the successful installation of a new Hunkeler-Horizon roll-to-fold converting machine and a new performance upgrade to their HP 250 Digital Press. These strategic investments will further increase the quality, efficiency, and lead times of the company’s printing, finishing, and mailing services nationwide.

Purchased from Standard Finishing Systems, the addition of the Hunkeler Roll to Cut to Horizon AFV-566/T564 Folder System marks a pivotal step for Preferred Direct’s production capabilities. This advanced technology streamlines the process of converting large rolls of paper into neatly folded, ready-to-mail products. The machine’s precision and speed will provide a seamless transition from printing to finishing processes, reducing turnaround times, and increasing overall efficiency.

Furthermore, Preferred Direct has invested in a performance upgrade for their existing HP 250 Digital Press. The upgrade now allows the company to achieve an impressive speed of 800 feet per minute (fpm) for monochrome print and mail jobs. This upgrade will accelerate production while maintaining exceptional print quality for Preferred Direct’s transactional and informational print clients.

“We are thrilled to add these new technologies to our equipment line up,” said Bill Nee, President at Preferred Direct. “These investments reflect our commitment to remaining a local family-owned printer with BIG print and finishing capabilities. As a technology-forward company, we are always looking for innovative solutions to automate and streamline our processes and empower our employees. Our focus will always be our clients and our employees, and these new technologies will enable us to serve them both more effectively.”


To discover the Hunkeler-Horizon roll-to-fold system from Standard Finishing Systems, visit https://www.sdmc.com/product_stand/roll-to-fold-gen8/.

To discover the HP 250 Digital Press solution, visit https://www.hp.com/us-en/commercial-industrial-printing/pagewide/t250-hd-web-presses.html.

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10 Healthcare Marketing Ideas To Help Grow Your Practice

10 Healthcare Marketing Ideas To Help Grow Your Practice

10 Healthcare Marketing Ideas To Help Grow Your Practice

As a medical professional, the care of your patients is top priority. When operating a medical practice, however, the business side of medicine is not far behind. Whether you are facing patient retention challenges, looking to expand locations, add new talent, or simply increase the number of patients you see, healthcare marketing can help with sustainable growth of your practice. Here are ten ideas to do just that:

#1 Develop a Brand Identity

A medical practice is still very much a business, and with that comes the need for a brand. Develop a cohesive brand for your practice by choosing a logo, color scheme, and fonts. Work with a marketing professional to take the branding a step further by developing a brand tone and brand values. Combined, these visual and emotion-provoking components will become your enterprise’s brand and create a clear identity to your customers. Over time, your brand will become synonymous with the quality of care that your practice provides. At Preferred Direct, we can create the professional look and branding needed to engage customers and grow your business.

#2 Outsource Billing to a Third Party

If your office is still billing internally, you may find you can maximize your staff’s time by outsourcing your bill printing and mailing processes. After bill coding and contact verification, your team can transfer billing data through a secure data portal to a print and mail partner for fulfillment. This allows your billing staff to attend to patients, customer service and more urgent matters.

It’s important to seek out a partner with expertise in handling sensitive medical information. Be sure to verify they can uphold HIPAA standards and have appropriate data security protocols. Working with an inexperienced printer can lead to problems ranging from reputational damage to costly lawsuits. Preferred Direct is proud to be a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified commercial print and mail partner. Our state-of-the-art print technology and strict data security standards ensure our medical customers can safely outsource their billing and maximize their internal staff for other pressing financial and care-related matters.

#3 Create a Healthcare Marketing Plan

Healthcare marketing is necessary when growing your enterprise. However, your efforts may be wasted without setting specific goals. Identify measurable areas in which you wish to grow and develop a strategy around those goals.

Utilize both print and digital marketing and seek out ways to integrate them. Examples can include using social media to promote an upcoming event, sending out a brief version of your company newsletter via email, or including a QR code on a postcard.

#4 Become a Thought Leader

Leverage your knowledge as a medical professional and find ways to share your expertise publicly. Medical blogs and publications often seek guest writers. Be sure to name drop your practice, so your expertise is attributed correctly.

For a more direct, local impact, create a printed newsletter for your practice. In one of the segments, include informative content. This can include debunking medical myths, explaining emerging medical technologies, or a list of preventative health advice.

If you want to be very hands-on, get in front of the camera. Some medical professionals have seen success on video-centric platforms like TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn etc., delivering knowledge in short, digestible formats.

#5 Set Up a Referral Program

Word-of-mouth is still among the strongest ways to grow a business. Encourage your current patients to tell friends, family, and coworkers about your practice. You can offer an incentive for them to do so, such as grocery gift cards, entries for a giveaway, or a complementary service. Use forms or comment cards, where new patients can disclose if they were referred by an existing patient and capture the ROI of your healthcare marketing campaigns.

#6 Recruit and Retain the BestHealthcare medical billing support

A medical enterprise is only as good as the people who work there, from the doctors to the front desk personnel. It is important to attract and retain the best possible staff when growing your practice.

Celebrate employee accomplishments and milestones in your newsletter, to express appreciation. Recognize the risk of burnout in the medical field and make resources available to keep your team happy and healthy, so they can keep patients happy and healthy.

Be proactive in hiring by attending job fairs, connecting with post-secondary institutions, and using recruitment resources to find the right fit for your practice.

As a bonus, recruiting within the community can double as a promotional activity, increasing brand recognition in the area.

#7 Leverage New and Existing Technology

Seek out opportunities to add new technologies to your practice that are patient-friendly. Telehealth is quickly moving from a “nice-to-have” to an expectation of care. If your practice can offer these visits, make it known!

For a busy office, scheduling can be challenging for both the office and the patient. Online scheduling can help by reducing call wait times and automating the confirmation process.

Keeping your web presence updated can impact the impression of your practice. While not a new technology, regularly updating your social media pages with relevant content shows that you care to keep patients informed where they are. Similarly, your website requires routine content updates, as the place many new and existing patents will go first for information.

#8 Solicit and Utilize Reviews

If you are unsure where to focus your time and efforts, encourage feedback from your existing patients in the form of reviews.

When you receive a five-star review, ask the reviewer for permission to share their feedback in your healthcare marketing. This feedback can also be used to get an idea of the patient’s experience. This information can highlight critical growth areas for your practice.

#9 Expand Your Reach Locally

As a medical enterprise, you will likely have multiple locations under your business umbrella. When it comes time to open a new office, develop a healthcare marketing campaign around introducing yourself to the local community. This can be done through a direct mail campaign, social media ads, or even a grand opening event! Using every door direct mail (EDDM), practitioners can target every house within a specific radius to the facility and introduce local households to their practice.

Adding additional practitioners can also bring new patients that may not have previously sought out your practice. Highlight expansions of service in your direct mail newsletter or on your website, encouraging new patients to make an appointment.

#10 Stay Connected

Make it easy for patients to stay connected to your practice. A mailing list, both for physical mail and email is a great place to start. Appointment reminders also remind people to connect with your office. Work with a healthcare marketing designer to develop an eye-catching, on-brand design that cannot be missed among other pieces of mail.

For a more hands-on approach, participate in local events as a vendor or sponsor. Health fairs, holiday festivals, and marathons are great venues for a medical enterprise to engage with the local community. Give out branded freebies, offer screenings, or host a giveaway. Be sure to include a sign-up for your mailing list at the booth!Preferred Direct Marketing

*Bonus: Leverage Preferred Direct!

Healthcare marketing takes effort and strategy. When it comes to your medical print and mail campaigns, Preferred Direct has years of experience in managing sensitive healthcare information, as well as marketing materials, with security and diligence. From designing to printing to finishing to postage, Preferred Direct has the experience, technology, and security to help you grow your medical practice. Contact us today for a print marketing estimate!

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Why Now is the Perfect Time for Print Newsletter Marketing

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Why Now is the Perfect Time for Print Newsletter Marketing

When was the last time you received a newsletter…that was not sent to your email? Keeping your clients, customers or patients consistently informed is a big key for brand engagement. And it simply makes sense to reach them where they are… online, right? Not exactly. Due to changing standards in online privacy, a large influx of email marketing, and increased competition in the digital marketing space, a printed newsletter may be the best medium to attract and engage your true audience base.

As a provider of commercial printing and mailing solutions for over 35 years, the team at Preferred Direct knows a thing or two about the consumer landscape. Although direct mail has been around for centuries, there are many reasons why now is the best time is to invest in printed newsletter marketing campaigns for your business.

Get Out the Cluttered Email Inbox

We’d like to think that customers eagerly await our emails for the latest promotions and news. Realistically, their email inbox looks just like ours— cluttered, with hundreds of unopened e-newsletters dying a slow death in the automated “Promotions” folder. With email providers implementing changes effecting deliverability rates and SPAM categorization, it’s likely that your audience isn’t receiving your emails in the first place, wasting the time and effort of your marketing team.

What makes print different? Printed newsletters offer a tangible experience using a marketing medium that has statistically become much less cluttered than the average email inbox. As many companies shift their marketing to online channels, the opportunity to be noticed in the mailbox has grown tremendously. However, there’s still a possibility of your newsletter going directly into the trashcan. That is where brand recognition, quality print materials and professional design come into play. Treating print newsletters like a tangible extension of your company’s product or service quality will differentiate your print marketing in a way that cannot be captured in a short email headline.

To cut through the email clutter even further, reference your most recent digital campaign in your print newsletter (or reference your newsletter in an email!) with a special incentive. You do not need to abandon one method for another, but rather, have them work together for best results. For customers and prospects that you simply are struggling to reach via email, printed newsletters through Preferred Direct may be the way to go!

Reach Clients in a New Way

With most of our daily communication taking place digitally, there is something refreshingly different about receiving mail that speaks directly to our wants and needs. A printed newsletter can be a unique space that elaborates and highlights your company story like no other. Whether through special print promotions or coupons, exclusive insider stories, or unique event incentives, there are plenty of opportunities to surprise and delight your newsletter subscribers in a way they are not accustomed to.

Are your competitors using a printed newsletter to reach their customers? If not, then this is a perfect time to reach your shared audiences in a way that your competitors do not. Your loyal customers will be pleased to see your direct communication and your competitor’s audience may be intrigued by this new touchpoint and the effort you put into the campaign. Though we may not think of the mailbox as “new”, we should. Print marketing is in a modern-day renaissance and this old medium could be the new way to communicate to your audience, effectively.

Forgo Online Privacy Barriers

Online privacy protection laws are actively being passed on national and local levels, highlighting the growing scrutiny on how personal information is found and used. Companies, such as Apple, Google and Microsoft, have responded by introducing various privacy features, that ultimately limit many marketers’ ability to effectively target audience segments. With these changing privacy laws, it may become harder for businesses to collect accurate email information. This has also impacted the number of bogus emails created for the sole purpose of downloading digital content through lead forms, without giving true, personal information.

On the other hand, It is much less common for your audience to set up P.O. boxes for junk mail. Therefore, when you deliver to a given address, you’re most likely reaching a real person and not a junk email bot. Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) campaigns can also help you target an audience by location. At Preferred Direct, we work with our local USPS office to designate the best geographic location for your campaign and pull accurate mailing lists on your behalf.

Here’s a common EDDM newsletter example:

Local veterinarian contacts Preferred Direct to send a print marketing newsletter to its 200+ existing customers and to every residential home within a 5 mile radius of their office using EDDM.

Customer – Jane opens her mailbox and sees the familiar logo of her local veterinarian’s office. The front page features a photo of two dogs posed in front of a holiday display, inviting readers to come in for a special pet photo event. Jane places the newsletter in her “keep” file and quickly texts her friend about the pet photo event. Later that evening, Jane reads the newsletter, adds “Make Fluffy a Vet appointment” to her to-do list, and clips a coupon for dog food.

Email alternative – Jane opened your email, forwarded to her friend’s email (where it hit the junk box) and forgot to follow up for a vet appointment since the email wasn’t consistently visible in the real world.

Prospect ­– Bob is new in town and has been researching veterinarians for his 8-year old Lab mix. Though he had his eye on another practice, he received a quality newsletter in the mail from this local veterinarian. This prompted him to check their online reviews and prices. After reading through their website and newsletter, which features more customer testimonials, health tips and a local dog park guide, he decides to call and set an appointment using his “FREE consultation” coupon clipped from the mail.

Email alternative – Your email went directly to junk mail because Bob does not have you on his email contact list.

In our example, the local veterinarian was able to engage different types of audiences, more than once from one newsletter. They may not have had the same return on investment if they sent out an email newsletter only. In our 35 years of experience with direct mail campaigns, it is not unheard of that a recipient might share a physically printed mail piece with a friend or family member – extending a campaign’s ROI.

Though you may be hesitant, we can confidently say NOW is the time to invest in print marketing and overcome the privacy barriers found in the digital marketplace. With a name and address, you can send professional, informative newsletters with 100% deliverability rates. No cookies, trackers, bots or privacy policies in sight!

Benefits of Newsletter Marketing

Not every printed marketing newsletter will yield the same results as our hypothetical veterinarian’s office example. But for those who work with a professional Print & Mail shop, the odds are in your favor. Here are a few advantages print marketing has over other forms of digital marketing:

  • More Qualified Leads – Client addresses are updated regularly to send invoices and charge payments, so you know your print newsletters are sending to the right address. Through our partnership with USPS, you can verify mailing addresses and even target an audience you do not currently have access to, using EDDM.
  • Longer Engagement Rates – The average ad is viewed for mere seconds. The simple act of holding a newsletter outlasts these digital methods exponentially. On average, a print piece will have a more lasting engagement than a digital marketing ad. Customers interested in your content may save it to read later, use as a bookmark, clip it on a fridge magnet etc. to keep it top of mind. You can increase the likelihood of this by choosing specialty bindings, paper sizes, and finishing options.
  • Reaches a Broader Audience – Not all customers are online, and for those that are, the digital landscape is constantly changing (and so are their email addresses). Through printed newsletter marketing, you can reach a larger audience than just those with working emails. You can also target new audiences by locations relevant to your business, casting a wider net for future clientele.
  • Direct Ways to Measure Impact – Whether it’s through a coupon, event/sale, or connecting print and digital efforts through a campaign-specific landing page, there are multiple ways to measure the success of your printed newsletter without relying on third-party metrics. Work with your print & mail provider to discuss the best way to track campaign ROI.

There has never been a more perfect time to add print newsletter marketing to your company’s mix. With all the clutter and privacy concerns occurring in the digital marketing realm, the mailbox is a very attractive marketing channel that has already been proven to engage, communicate, and inform your audience. Start NOW and solidify your spot in the mailbox before your competitors begin flocking to the post office. Keep in mind, every business has unique marketing goals and abilities. Therefore, it is important to partner with a knowledgeable print provider to discover the right newsletter marketing option to meet your goals.

As a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified printer, Preferred Direct has invested in top print and fulfillment technology and follows the strictest data security standards to ensure the safety of your data. Partner with Preferred Direct today to get started on your company’s next marketing newsletter campaign today!

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Preferred Direct Named Top Printing Service in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com

Preferred Direct Named Top Printing Service in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com

Preferred Direct Named Top Printing Service in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com

June 24, 2022 Norfolk, VAPreferred Direct, industry-leading print, direct mail, and digital communications partner, is honored to be selected as one of the Top 7 Best Printing Services in Virginia Beach by Expertise.com, a market research leader dedicated to researching and presenting the top service providers in over 200 industries across the U.S.

Expertise.com uses selection categories that include availability, qualifications, reputation, expertise, and professionalism to assess over 60,000 businesses monthly and present the highest rated professionals in each industry.

In Virginia Beach, Expertise.com reviewed 97 printing companies, including Preferred Direct and scored each business on more than 25 variables across the five selection categories, resulting in a handpicked list of the best printers in Virginia Beach.

As a result, Preferred Direct was chosen as one of the top 7 printing companies in the region. The company received an A rating for reputation, a criterion scored on publicly available information such as average review scores, professional database reviews, and volatility of ratings. Preferred Direct also received an A+ for professionalism, based on interaction with a mystery shopper who posed as a potential customer and scored the company’s knowledge, friendliness, and professionalism.

A family-owned company, Preferred Direct was founded in 1987 and recently celebrated 35 years in business. Located in a 50,000 square foot facility in Norfolk, Virginia, Preferred Direct owns 25+ print, bindery and fulfillment assets, including an HP T250 digital printer, a Xerox Impika inkjet printer, a Canon 710 printer, Kern roll inserter, a Horizon binder and more. Specializing in high volume direct mail and print solutions, Preferred Direct services clients in the insurance, healthcare, finance, nonprofit, utility and other direct marketing industries, nationwide.

“We take pride, not only in the quality and efficiency of our print services, but in the level of professionalism and customer satisfaction we provide,” says Bill Nee, president. “For 35 years, we have built a name as a technology-first, data-secure, family-owned print partner in the Hampton Roads region and we are incredibly honored to be named one of the top printing services in the area. Thank you to Expertise.com for recognizing the dedication and outstanding work our staff puts in every day to serve and support our customers.”

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Infographic: 22 Direct Marketing Trends in 2022

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22 Direct Marketing Trends in 2022 

Direct marketing is the discipline of communicating directly with your audience through one-to-one mediums such as email, direct mail, social media, and text. Contrary to mass media, direct marketing can be personalized on an individual level, and is much easier to track a return on investment.

At Preferred Direct, we assist customers around the nation with direct mail and direct digital communications to achieve their goals. Whether your direct marketing is for transactional, informational, educational, or promotional purposes, Preferred Direct is the preferred provider of secure, successful direct mail and print communications.  

 

22 Direct Mail Trends from Preferred Direct 

As we close out the first quarter of 2022, our team has noticed some direct marketing trends among our client’s projects and within the national market. In honor of it being the 22nd year of the millennium, here are 22 direct marketing trends to pay attention to this year:  

#1. Personalization: This has been a consistent trend since the beginning of 2020. With variable data printing technology, commercial printers can now customize names, images, colors, and more on each print piece.  

#2. Strong Brands: Consumers want to feel a personal connection to your brand. We’ve seen companies increase the success of their direct mail campaigns when they include information about who they are and the impact their brand wants to make in the world.  

#3. Omnichannel Marketing: Direct marketing is very successful when reinforced among multiple communication channels. Clients who follow up direct mail campaigns with direct emails or texts, and vice versa, can further their brand message and improve customer recall.sustainable direct mail advertising

#4. Sustainability: Sustainability has been a trend among consumers for years and it’s important to show that you value the future of this earth too. Include sustainability statements or links to your social responsibility pages in your direct marketing promotions and show you care!  

#5. Reusable Print: When clients and customers receive high-quality print pieces, many will re-use the print for other purposes – keeping your brand top of mind. Preferred Direct can help with generating ideas like using perforations to make bookmarks or mini table games from postcards to keep your brand front and center.   

#6. The Digital-Print Shift: As digital marketing becomes harder to track and customers request more privacy online, many customers are open to receiving more promotional communications in the mail. With email as the new “junk mail”, the ol’ mailbox has much less competition and a higher impact.  

#7. User Intent: Conducting research to understand how your audience approaches and consumes your content can effectively improve the impact of your marketing campaigns. Understanding if your recipients intend to buy, research, share, or save your content, helps you create an engaging campaign designed around what your customer REALLY wants. Knowing what prospects expect from a company like yours, and the intention behind their actions will help build focused content for your direct mail campaigns that achieves your goals and theirs.  

#8. FOMO: The “Fear Of Missing Out” is a natural curiosity that can be a successful tool to engage your audience. Include just enough information in your direct mail to peak your reader’s curiosity and they just must learn more to satisfy the knowledge gap you’ve created.   

#9. Two-Factor Authentication: For transactional direct marketing campaigns, it’s important to safeguard your customer’s information. Sending a letter with changes made in a customer’s digital account can help reduce fraud and identity theft for customers that may have had their digital passwords hacked. Creating “two-factor authentication” through digital and print mediums protects your company and your customers, but only if processed through a secure printer like Preferred Direct.  

#10. Large Postcards: As consumers become more open to promotional mail, some clients are seeing success with oversized postcards. Sizes such as 11 x 6, 8 x 17, etc. stick out from other mail pieces and won’t get lost in the stack.   

#11. Catalogs: To cut through the digital clutter, DTC and eCommerce brands are going back to the future of sending full catalogs in the mail. They recognize print is not dead and online shopping doesn’t necessarily have to start online. Others have even gone a step further adding print coupons to their catalogs to increase online sales.  

#12. Emotional Connection: Using less corporate verbiage and more natural conversation text, Companies can make a more personal, emotional connection with consumers. Customers deal with “fake news” and “fake profiles” all day long. They want real, honest companies and your print text can communicate that.  

#13. Designer Envelopes: Who said professional print needs to be plain? Using a full-color envelope design, insurance carriers, finance institutions, billing companies, and many high-volume direct billing companies are seeing greater engagement on their transactional and promotional direct mail campaigns. Work with a Preferred Direct designer to create the perfect full-color envelope for your customer mailings today!  

#14. Privacy/User Consent: To appease to growing concerns around data privacy and user consent, try sending a direct mail campaign to consumers requesting opt-ins for your digital direct marketing. Skip the firewalls and SPAM folders and connect with visitors directly in a non-invasive medium.  direct marketing QR code

#15. QR Codes: QR Codes have made one heck of a comeback due to COVID-19. Now that many people know how they work, marketers are seeing success in converting print interest into digital conversions using scannable QR Codes. To be scannable, QR codes must be at least .8” x .8”.  

#16. Tip-On Giveaways: Whether a gift card, a mock bank card, or other card giveaways, adding a rigid piece of cardstock to your direct mail campaigns can increase its premium feel and entice the receiver to open.  

#17. Specialty Fold Options: Create a big reveal with your direct mail campaigns through designs with specialty folds. Asymmetrical folds, accordion folds, and gate folds are just a few direct mail folding options that allow more space for your content to delight with every unfold.  At Preferred Direct, we offer finishing services such as folding, scoring, collating, ect.. Take a look here. 

#18. Retargeting Print: You may have heard about retargeting digital ads, but have you considered retargeting ads using print? Creating a process to automate print campaigns for abandoned carts or product upselling can help nudge customers, that have digitally “checked out” of your company, to reconsider a purchase. 

#19. Print Security: Customers want to know their data is safe with your company. That’s why more and more businesses are partnering with print providers who are HITRUST-certified, HIPAA-compliant, and have shown they follow strict data security standards. If a company says they are secure, they must ensure their vendors are too. Business magazine printing services

#20. Company Magazines: As more companies are creating content for digital, marketing-savvy businesses are maximizing this content and distributing it offline in a company magazine. Once your company has 5-10+ educational blogs, you can create a company magazine to distribute to your customers, periodically. This trend can increase your customer retention and referral rates.  

#21. Concise Copy: Keep it simple! Customers are already overloaded with marketing messages all day long. A concise, well-thought-out slogan and supporting text are more memorable than a full paragraph. Direct marketing campaigns with a clear, simple message can be all you need to tip the scales in your direction.  

#22. Contact Preferred Direct! We would like to think it’s a trend that more and more companies are choosing Preferred Direct for their print and mail needs. Popular reasons businesses have moved to Preferred are: their printer is struggling to meet deadlines, their printer isn’t investing in security technology or their printer has limited options. Working with a more connected, technology-focused printer is a trend that can make a big difference in your marketing.  

  

Before You Dive All In, Contact Preferred Direct

Not all trends will work for your audience, so it’s important to partner with a print provider to discover the right campaign for your goals.

At Preferred Direct, we have a team of designers and print experts to help you create the perfect direct marketing pieces that engage your audience. As a HIPAA-compliant and HITRUST-certified printer, we have invested in top print and fulfillment technology and follow the strictest data security standards to ensure the safety of your data. Partner with Preferred Direct today and implement one or more of these direct marketing trends for your most engaging direct marketing campaign yet! 

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