Direct-Marketing Ideas for New Year's Eve and Day

New Year's is all about getting a fresh start, and there's no better time to launch a new direct-marketing campaign that's ripe with promise than when all of your customers have change on their minds. Here are a few New Year's direct-marketing ideas you can use to get ahead of the competition:

Ring in the New Year with new products

New Year's is prime time to add new products and services, particularly with the heavy ad campaigns leading up through the month of December. Creative marketing ideas abound here, such as holding an after-midnight special New Year's Day sale, in which you unveil your new product and offer heavy discounts on old stock. You can market such a grand party through thick, glossy postcards or flyers that look like VIP invitations to the hottest New Year's Eve soirée around. Your customers will have to bring the invitation to gain admittance, so you can easily track your campaign success.

Help your customers with their resolutions

It seems everyone has at least one New Year's resolution. Give your customers an extra resolution to follow in the New Year with your direct-marketing campaign by pointing out key areas where your company excels versus the competition. Do you offer superb customer service? Try this headline: "This year I resolve to not spend time on hold with customer service." Follow up with "I'll be buying my gear from Company XYZ, which offers real-time one-on-one support." There are many directions you can take this. Perhaps your customers should resolve to stop paying high prices, start being treated like paying customers (which they are), or stop being harassed by sales calls. Whatever you can promote about your company or exploit about your competition's flaws can become a great resolution for your customers to have in the New Year.

Advertise

No matter how you're going to approach the next New Year's celebration, you'll need to advertise to get your customers in the door. Party favors, an elderly man of the past year and a baby of the New Year are popular themes for postcards, brochures, catalogs and holiday cards to be sent via direct mail. You can also bring recent customers back in sooner by handing out free party favors when they're shopping - each with your sticker affixed to it. The competition is hot this time of year, so make sure you hire a graphic designer for your postcards, door hangers, flyers, sales letters and posters. Also, make sure your direct-marketing materials are in the mail well ahead of time. A well-rounded campaign that takes advantage of the marketing opportunities available to you ensures that you'll start the New Year off on the right foot! As with any direct-mail campaign, make sure your New Year's promotions are targeted to the right audience. A good mailing list of your current customers, or one that is refined using PsPrint's mailing list helper, is the most powerful tool you can use when planning your New Year's direct-marketing campaign.