Marketing
How QSRs can find success using direct mail
To balance out increasing operational costs and consumers’ hesitancy to spend, restaurants must know the impact of every dollar spent on advertising and how it drives revenue. By featuring a value message with incentives through direct mail, brands can customize offers and deliver ads at a targeted, neighborhood level.
April 11, 2022 by Matt Lukosavich — Strategy Director, Vericast
Restaurants are facing increasing costs in every facet of business, from labor and supply chain to technology and necessary remodels. These increased costs are putting even more pressure on marketing budgets to perform.
Consumers are feeling the pinch of rising prices, as well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, restaurant menu prices increased at their highest rate in 40 years at the beginning of 2022. As we move into the third year of the pandemic, restaurant operators are continuing to have to pivot their operations and find more creative ways to reach consumers.
In an era of rapid technological innovation, direct mail might seem like an unlikely strategy to gain new customers and build loyalty with current ones. However, direct mail campaigns have proven to build brand awareness, boost engagement and drive increased foot traffic from new or lapsed guests.
Direct mail has measurable impact
As inflation and costs (for virtually everything) continue to rise, consumers are becoming more price-conscious and deal-centric. According to research findings from Vericast, 82% of people anticipate their saving behaviors to continue over the next year, with 60% looking for more coupons, discounts and deals to offset higher prices.
To balance out increasing operational costs and consumers' hesitancy to spend, restaurants must know the impact of every dollar spent on advertising and how it drives revenue. By featuring a value message with incentives through direct mail, brands can customize offers and deliver ads at a targeted, neighborhood level.
In a recent case study, a direct mail campaign for a national QSR increased overall visits by 36% and visits from new/ lapsed guests (guests who had not visited in the past 60 days) by 63%. Overall foot traffic, which was tracked via mobile location, also increased. The campaign projected a strong average return on investment of over five dollars.
Deals can often be the defining factor of where consumers choose to eat. During tough financial times, there is an undoubted correlation between impact incentives, traffic and profitable sales.
Traditional marketing as part of the omnichannel experience
Even with a rapid shift to digital campaigns and online deliveries, traditional restaurant marketing continues to play an important role in an omnichannel strategy. In fact, when consumers receive signals from multiple channels, they are more likely to act on a deal. Vericast found that 38% of fast-food consumers say seeing an ad both in print and online motivates them to make a purchase and 52% say they are more likely to notice an ad that they see both in print and online. Further, after seeing a print ad, 72% of Gen Z and 74% of millennials will take to the internet to review a menu or download an app.
The truth is that not everyone engages with a given brand the same way and direct mail is a tool that does something few other marketing strategies can manage — it puts something in your audience's hand. It's personal, memorable and shareable, without being invasive. Beyond the potential value and savings direct mail can provide, it is a tangible call to action that is likely to stand out to consumers.
Additionally, direct mail can put a brand in touch with consumers whose privacy concerns might make them more resistant to digital channels. By pairing direct mail with digital marketing strategies, brands give their audience multiple engagement options and allow them to choose the one they are most comfortable with.
And finally, with remote work at an all-time high, consumers' experience with direct mail has shifted entirely; now, individuals look forward to receiving mail and are more likely to retain it. A Vericast survey found that 86% of consumers retain direct mail ads and 59% will make a purchase as a result of this type of ad.
In 2022, restaurants should focus on giving consumers a full, omnichannel experience with direct mail being a core piece of that experience. Direct mail remains an indispensable way to connect and build loyalty with consumers as part of a holistic campaign strategy.
About Matt Lukosavich
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