The Graze Way

Graze delivers healthy snack boxes in eco-friendly boxes to their customers by post, the majority of whom are busy office workers. With over 100 healthy snacks to choose from, its success has been driven by a four-channel marketing approach, with direct mail as the focal point.

1. Direct mail

Graze’s DM offer taps into the “bargain” culture that’s prevalent in difficult times by offering free and discounted boxes. However, to get the free nibbles, Grazers have to register online. The DM offers tear off coupons, so friends and colleagues can also benefit from the offer.

2. Network marketing

By offering freebies to the prospect and their friends, Graze generates interest around the office and gets people talking. Just like the pyramid selling of old, each customer gets new ones on board.

3. Social media marketing

By providing tasty nibbles and great offers, Graze has incentivised its customers to also get online and talk about it to friends and colleagues beyond the office walls. Each customer gets a unique promotional code (which is generated on the website) to talk directly to their Twitter or Facebook profile. Every time the code gets used, the customer gets £1 off another box. There are cards with their code on in every box so customers can keep giving them out to their friends and colleagues and let social media do the rest.

4. Email marketing

Once customers are on board, Graze keeps them engaged with friendly and informative emails that make it easy to change their settings and take part in activities that earn them discounts on future boxes. Graze’s personalised, humorous email marketing has been held up as exemplary by marketing businesses such as ClickZ.

How to do the same thing

Obviously you can’t replicate the Graze product, but there are some simple steps to take to make sure the DM you create gets your customers talking online:

  • Include all of your social media contacts in the DM design and incentivise customers to get sharing
  • Get personal and use the data you’ve got on your customers to create really relevant offers they can’t resist taking up or talking about
  • Use PURLs (Personalised URLs) to make your prospects’ online experience extremely targeted
  • Use QR codes to make it easier for customers to respond to offers online.

You can get more information on how to combine social media with your direct marketing strategy here: How to integrate direct marketing and social media.

It’s all part of the plan

Creating personalized DM campaigns like this can really make you stand out. But the long-term value will only come from your customers going online to engage with your brand there, spreading the news in their social networks.

So despite its physical presence, B2B direct mail should actually be part of your email, online and social media marketing strategy to:

  • Raise brand awareness
  • Generate leads
  • Create brand advocates
  • Grow social media followers and content shares.

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