Recently, MindValley’s innovation team has been trying out something new. We’re already amazingly successful online so we thought of applying what we know about Internet marketing to the offline world. So we’re getting our hands dirty with the good old direct response marketing. Yes, I’m talking about mailers, magazines, catalogs and postcards. We’re talking Hybrid Marketing – mixing direct response marketing (DRM), and the Internet.

We’re now looking to launch direct mail campaigns for some of our businesses. Some initial ideas that we’re testing out are “Thank you for purchasing” postcards and “Happy Holiday” mailers for special promotions.

Why are we going back to a decade-old technique when the Internet is the place to be?

1. Covering all bases We’re not relying on DRM to generate sales, we’re using it to strengthen and energize our Internet marketing and sales. Depending on your target clientele, using DRM in addition to the Internet can help you expand your customer base beyond the technologically savvy.
2. Relationship Building DRM can help you build REAL-lationships. When a customer conducts an online purchase, sending a simple thank you letter or postcard to your buyer is a pleasant surprise. They think, “Wow, these people go the extra mile and seem to really care!”
3. Increasing deliverability Emailing and sending them direct mail might seem like overkill. But it really is not. Instead, what you’re doing is increasing the chances of them receiving your offer. The post office is no Google. “Taboo” words such as “FREE!”, “SALE!”, “$$$” and “ACT FAST” won’t be blacklisted as spam. As such, there is a 98% chance of your offer landing in someone’s hands!
4. 100% profits The wonders of the offline world is that it’s all Do-It-Yourself. While you may have to invest a bit of time in studying and structuring your action plan initially, the profits are 100% yours because you don’t have offline affiliates waiting for you to pay them.

There are probably even more awesome things that we’ll discover about hybrid marketing once it’s completely up and running. Many businesses have been amazingly successful using either online marketing, or direct-response marketing alone. So it will be really exciting to see what happens when you integrate the two.