You've Got Mail! A Guide to Wowing Your Customers At Home

The shelter in place mandates that have spread across the world in recent months has pushed the boundaries of the promotional products industry in ways many of us ever imagined possible. Whether it be producing PPE, managing a new working from home routine, or the increased need to proactively approach and sell to your client, the industry has been called on to be adaptable and dynamic in this time of crisis. 

It has become increasingly apparent in recent months that direct mail kits are a great way to surprise and delight your customers and prospects while keeping your business top of mind. It’s a nice bonus that direct mail kits allow you to flex your creative muscles, and prove to your client your value as a trusted consultant and advisor for their promotional product needs. 

But curating a direct mail kit can be an overwhelming task when you start to consider where to begin, and further, how to make the most of your efforts. In today’s climate, this is compounded by the burden of presenting a delivery to the recipient that is personal and worthy of a spot in their home or on their desk. 

In this blog post, we’ll be covering how to conceptualize a successful direct mail kit campaign as well as highlighting some great examples we’ve seen from the skummunity of direct mail done right!

Find Your Purpose 

Ensuring your campaign has a clear purpose will not only make it easier to tell a story but also ensure the product is kept and cherished by the recipients. 

Repeat after me: start with your purpose, not your product. Great! Let’s continue. 

Your who, what and where should take you no time at all to layout, but challenge yourself to spend some time on the why of the campaign. You can pull from your own brand values, or those of your client, and select one that’s of particular focus this quarter or analyze what you’ve done as a brand in the last year that you’re truly proud of and wish your clients knew about. These are great places to start. 

Here’s an example we put together with our friends at Numo. At commonsku, we’re always jazzed about our events, and making them the best they can be for our attendees….what we’re not so jazzed about is waste and the environmental impact of these events. So, with the help of the product maestros at Numo, we recycled our old event banners into beautiful totes bags, and sent them to skummunity members as ‘Mystery Boxes’. Our purpose was simple, give our clients a piece of the skummunity magic of our events while we’re apart, while recycling the materials we had. 

Select Kit Products Around Your Purpose/Consult Your Supplier Partners 

Now that we have a solid purpose as our foundation, it’s now time to select products that serve that purpose. What’s important to note here is that focusing on quality over quantity is critical to ensure you’re putting forth the best image. Look at each product through the lens of your purpose, and if it doesn’t fit, leave it out. 

Now is the time to engage your supplier partners and harness their knowledge to your full advantage. Set up a 30-minute call to discuss what would be required in terms of packaging and shipping logistics, and to gather their opinion on what products best fit your needs. They’re the experts, use them. 

Here’s a great example of selecting products around a purpose from our outstandingly creative friends at Chameleon Like Inc. and Packed. Earlier this year, they followed up with attendees of skucon 2020 to communicate a message they’re passionate about; the war on plastic. Each item in their direct mail kit was 100% recyclable and domestic, right down to the box itself! 

Explain and Connect 

Now that the idea for your direct mail kit has been developed from a purpose and product perspective, it’s important to ensure that your message is going to land when it arrives at the door of your client. Is the purpose of your kit slapping your client in the face? If not, you may want to create an information sheet that’s included along with your box. 

Present the concept of your kit to someone removed from your campaign and even the promotional products industry in general (your spouse, hairdresser, etc.) to gauge their honest opinion on if the kit is telling the story you intend. 

Here’s an example from our first virtual conference, skucon At Home! When putting this kit together, with our supplier partner Numo, the items were selected to be functional during the conference while also being a beautiful addition to their home.

Make It Personal 

While you may have big plans for your kit to be shipped all over the globe, it’s important to consider how each individual will feel opening the gift. Don’t sleep on the unboxing experience, get creative with your messaging to illustrate the time and thought you’ve put into the delivery.

While it may be unrealistic to hand-write each card (although, if you can, it’s a serious WOW factor) there are other small ways to incorporate a personal touch for each box. Consider drafting a note and signing it from the team, add a name tag to the box with the recipients’ name on it, personalize an item in the box, or simply sign your name on the card. 

Here’s an example of a holiday kit put together by our friends at Brand+Aid of how to get personal. They created a postcard to be included with each kit with a sign off from the entire team, but to punch up the personalization factor, they signed the front of each envelope and included a personal anecdote. 

Looking for more information on how to fulfill the kit of your dreams? 

Check out a tactical conversation we had with Matty Toomb on skucast here, where we dive into budgeting, freight, and how to price these complex projects. He shares his experience of putting countless campaigns into action from conception to delivery, and you don’t want to miss it! 

Do you have a kitting project you’re proud of? We want to hear about it. Drop us an email at news@commonsku.com  or on social @commonsku.