Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective?

If you feel like direct mail isn’t a hot new technology, you’re right. It’s not the latest, flashiest tool in the arsenal, but it is making a resurgence as companies try to reach their audiences in our pesky, overloaded digital marketing world. Learn 6 reasons why direct mail marketing is more effective than digital marketing and how it can boost any business’s marketing efforts.

Casper, Harry’s, Wayfair, Rover, Quip, Away, Handy, and Modcloth are just a handful of brands that send mail targeting a younger audience that doesn’t associate receiving mail as junk mail (think postcards, magazines, ads and yes, even newsletters). 

Here are 6 reasons why mail is hot again and why a direct mail campaign can boost a business’s marketing efforts even more than digital options out there today.

1) Direct mail lives longer. Email can quickly be deleted or lost in the chaos of an inbox. With email, you have a few seconds to make a good impression, while according to RetailWire, the average piece of mail can live up to 17 days. 

2) Direct mail influences big purchasing decisions: Approximately 88% of big purchasing decisions are made at home, and usually, after consulting with a spouse or partner. Direct mail is a big discussion starter and is easily shareable making it a great way to get referrals from the reader’s friends, neighbors and family.

3) Print mail is easier to understand and is more memorable: It requires more than 20% less cognitive effort to be processed when compared to digital media. This means it’s easier for the reader to process and remember according to Data Targeting Solutions.

4) Print is more trusted than digital: When 1,200 U.S. consumers were asked about which ads they trust when making a purchase decision, MarketingSherpa found that, “consumers trust traditional advertising channels more than digital channels.

5) Print gets greater response rates (and thus ROI) than digital: The Data & Marketing Association’s 2018 Response Rate Report shared that, “response rates from direct mail marketing are on the rise and were between 5-9% (depending on the type of database list) in 2018 compared to many online advertising and marketing options that are coming in at 1% or less.

6) Favored amongst Baby Boomer generation:According to a Marketing Charts study, direct mail was found to be the top purchase influencer among Baby Boomers. It even beat out recommendations from friends and family.

So, what does this mean for your marketing efforts?

These brands trying to stand out to their audiences don’t send one piece of direct mail and then call it quits. They have built direct mail into their marketing plan and any business would benefit from doing the same. Having a goal of at least two mailings a year with newsletters, postcards, or greeting cards, for example will be a great starting point and you can extend your efforts from there. Clients of ours who are seeing the best results are sending their contacts direct mail monthly or bi-monthly so that they continue to dominate and stand out against their competition.

Direct mail marketing requires an investment in yourself, your brand and your marketing efforts so that you can benefit from being remembered, trusted, and influential in big decisions made inside households. This means that it’s not a good use of your resources and efforts if you do it just once. You need to do it consistently so that your readers are seeing you and remembering you regularly and when they finally need you.

Here’s a great quote to help you remember why continuous marketing is needed in your business: “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.” When you meet a new contact or start sending a new marketing piece, you are planting seeds that can (and do) grow into business opportunities for you. Not all will bloom, but when you plant them and continuously nurture them, they will develop into so much more. But, if you stop watering them, will they continue to grow and bear fruit?

When you have a plan, you’re going to do a better job of keeping yourself accountable and meeting your goals. This means that you need a plan! If you’re ready to add direct mail marketing to your marketing efforts to nurture and grow your connections and relationships, contact us and we can answer any questions you may have (it’s kind of a specialty of ours 😉

>> If you’ve wanted to print and mail your newsletters and have a contact list of 200-300 addresses, click here to learn more about our Club 200 Program! <<

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