If your clientele or geographic market make up is predominantly baby boomers(Prior to 1965) or Gen X’ers(1965-1980) customers and/or your targeted geographic trade area is more rural or suburban locations,, direct mail marketing can still be an effective form of advertising through 2020. Five (5) years ago, we would have declared direct mail marketing dead because most consumers began receiving the bulk of their mail virtually(online). Companies now offer incentives, retainer credits, and bill reductions if consumers agree to “go paperless” and receive their statements, policies, bills and correspondence online. Now, realizing we receive less and less printed mail in our mail slots or boxes, effective direct mail marketing is making a come back.
Consumers and customers alike are looking forward to going to the mailbox and actually receiving hard copy mail each day. Designing a great direct mail marketing asset such as a postcard is now showing an increase of 5%-20% conversion improvement over the last 5 years. Companies like Direct Mail Marketing because it cuts out the advertising middle wo(man) and talks directly to their customer. Direct Mail Marketing is one of the most preferred methods of advertising for smaller, local businesses which can help distribute their messages, ads or fliers at a fraction of the cost of making a commercial or advertise via the radio.
Direct Mail Marketing Services & Facts
When considering Direct Mail Marketing Services as a component of your marketing program review the following facts:
- Direct mail recipients purchase 28% more items and spend 28% more money than people that did not get the same piece of direct mail.
- 73% of American consumers say they prefer being contacted by brands via Direct Mail because they can read it when they want to.
- Direct mail is kept inside the home for an average of 17 days.
- 39% of new customers try a business because of Direct Mail.
- 60% of Direct Mail recipients were influenced to visit a promoted website.
Direct Mail Marketing is a highly effective way to reach your clients in their homes. When we think of other forms of marketing such as radio and television marketing, those interruptive forms of marketing can disrupt someone’s day, but Direct Mail Marketing allows the consumer to review the material on their schedule. They can place your advertisement on their refrigerator or with their other “To Do” pieces of mail communication. Examples of direct mail campaigns are seasonal promotion announcements, holiday promotional announcements, loyalty program ads, restaurant menus, service provider specials, and giveaways just to name a few.
Benefits From a Successful Campaign
Any business that offers regular specials, promotions, giveaways or updates can benefit from a successful Direct Mail Marketing campaign. Conversely, if your business has a special announcement, you are offering a new product or service line, Direct Mail Marketing is a great tool to brand your new product or service within your trade area and customer demographic. By nature, Direct Mail Marketing is also easier for businesses to determine its effectiveness. Posting posts via social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram are more difficult to quantify in terms of effectiveness, but with Direct Mail, you can easily determine if the user utilized the promotion code you provided via their postcard or used the unique identifier to purchase a promoted product or service pitched via your mailed brochure.
With Direct Mail Marketing, customer targeting can be either very specific or very broad. You have the option of choosing every door direct mail (EDDM) as a broad and more cost effective approach or by purchasing a contact list mailing specific potential customers through more refined demographics targeting( ie Income, gender, behavior, homeowner, etc). Postcards, letters bi-fold and tri-fold brochures are the most popular and common pieces of Direct Mail assets sent to clients but there are many more options available. Direct Mail Marketing comes in a variety of shapes & sizes and performs best when there is a strong call to action and value added for the consumer. Schedule a consultation with one of our growth experts to help you build your most successful direct mail marketing campaign.
Key Direct Mail Marketing Takeaways
- Direct marketing relies on distribution to individual consumers rather than advertising in mass media and is a preferred method of marketing for local businesses.
- The call to action and the offer(announcement) are the most common factors in much of direct marketing.
- The effectiveness of direct marketing is easier to measure than other forms of media advertising
