Connor BrookeThe world of Direct Mail is rapidly changing and where once it was universally regarded as a dying marketing medium, today it seems that today this medium is bigger, better and more innovative than ever before. Yet all too many businesses continue to overlook what can be an invaluable part of their marketing campaign, so in this blog article we look at why direct mail is seeing a resurgence, and what this may mean for the modern business.
The reason behind direct mail’s resurgence
- It offers a more innovative range of options than previously
Previously direct mail options consisted of nothing more than a few design options and a choice between paper and card. However today there exists more options than ever before, where marketers can includes coupons, brochures and integrated technology (such as is seen with QR codes).
- It can convey emotion
Direct mail affords the marketer a rarity: and that is the commodity of time. Time to communicate your message, convey an emotion and convert your customer. This is in comparison, once more, to other mediums that are particularly time critical and what’s more they make for materials that can be read at your receiver’s leisure. Here are some tips on how to energise your direct mail with emotion.
- It provides physical items that can serve a range of purposes
Marketing materials such as email and mediums such as television adverts can be considered as fleeting opportunities to achieve your goal, and if you don’t manage to convert your customer there and then, then chances are that all your efforts have gone to waste. In comparison direct mail can produce physical items that are kept by the consumer, such as brochures, guides or calendars (to name but a few) that can serve as a continual subconscious reinforcement of your brand and your marketing message.
- It offers a better immediate response rate than that of email
According to the infographic below on ‘The Resurgence of Direct Mail’, when compared to email marketing direct mail receives a significantly better response rate and where the latter sees 45% of users taking some form of immediate action, direct mail has a rate of 79%.
- It garners a better customer generation rate than email
Direct mail also outperforms email in others areas too, such as when generating new customers; this difference equates to 10% more customers (accounting for direct mail’s 34% and email’s 24% rate of customer generation.
- It is particularly perfect for rewarding consumer loyalty
Direct Mail makes for a medium that is as suited to new product launches as it is for sale promotions, however one area where it has been known to be apart aryl successful is when rewarding existing customers, with 70% of people actively welcoming mail that rewards their loyalty (Central Mailing 2013).
- It provides an excellent ROI
When direct mail is based upon solid market research, professional design and a carefully crafted message direct mail provides for an excellent return on investment.
- It makes people feel more valued
When compared to other marketing options Direct Mail has the ability to make consumers feel more valued (Central Mailing Services Ltd 2014).
- It can meet the needs of even the most targeted of campaigns
Direct mail campaigns are by their very nature, incredibly targeted. You can leverage customer data and build a comprehensive sales funnel that includes both direct mail, as well as messages delivered via other means with the same data (such as via email, where your efforts can be built upon with time critical messages, such as 24 hour flash sales that are known for their high conversion rates).
- There’s less mail to contend with
As companies continually shift over to paperless billing and other marketing mediums there continues to be ever decreasing amount of mail that lands upon the average household’s matt. This means that your potential consumers are more ready, willing and time rich to listen to the message that you’re delivering through direct mail.
- It can be measured, analysed and improved
As any marketing manager knows the ability to measure marketing efforts, their successes and failures, is essential in continually improving campaigns, customer conversions and, ultimately, that bottom line. Thankfully direct mail also lends itself to being easily measured, providing for a medium that returns data upon costs per lead, overall results and, in some instances, the demographics that have been subject to conversion.
- It builds up your brand message
As with any form of marketing direct mail helps to build your brand’s message.
- It’s tried, tested and trusted by marketers the world over
Despite a dip in popularity in recent years it’s true to say that direct mail has always remained a relative firm favourite for companies of all shapes and sizes the world over. What’s more with success yields that are improving year on year it seems that the resurgence of the popularity of direct mail is well and truly cemented (Media Horizons 2013).
The landscape ahead for direct mail
It then seems, with so much to offer, that direct mail is seeing a significant resurgence within today’s world of marketing. What’s more as technology evolves and the way in which marketers merge online and offline worlds it seems that this is a marketing medium that has never looked so fluid, promising, or so exciting.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.
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Having mailed labeled bricks, tubes of M&Ms and 2×4″s, I seriously doubt that Direct Mail is any more varied than the 80’s. Nevertheless – great information. Thanks for proving what what we’ve suspected all along. Tactile generates encounters that virtual can only dream about.