Why Direct Mail Marketing Is Still Alive And Well In The Digital Age

There are mixed reactions about the future of direct mail marketing, with some marketers looking at the struggles of the US and Canadian Postal Service as indicative. Indeed, postal corporations must be competitive as people shift from traditional direct mail to online options that offer massive savings in both print production costs and postage.

Despite the dire prognostications, in a recent “Response Rate Trend Report” the Direct Marketing Association claimed that response rates for direct mail have remained steady over the same period that postal business has been declining. The DMA claims that direct mail marketing continues to be a preferred advertising channel for many businesses because:

• It has a high response rate
  According to the report, letter-sized direct mail pieces had a response rate of 3.42 % for house lists and 1.38% for prospect lists.
• It is cost effective
  Findings showed that catalogues had the lowest cost per lead, ahead of inserts, email, and postcards.
• It is flexible
  Direct mail allows marketers to send different mail pieces each time, including product samples, which are a proven and effective marketing technique, or 3D packages that attract attention and entice the recipients to open them.
• Preference for tangible items
  Surveys suggest that recipients still prefer tangible packages even when the can get the exact same experience in a digital environment.
• Highly effective
  Aside from online marketing, direct mail marketing is still the most trackable means of engaging with a prospect, and the most effective way to deliver unsolicited messages into the hands of consumers, where they will open and view it even if they choose to discard it later on.
• Personal, interactive, engaging, and satisfying
  Many marketers use direct mail to gain new customers and engage with existing ones. Recipients appreciate the personal touch of direct mail pieces.
• Well-crafted communication
  Personalized mail pieces stand out from the crowd and are much more compelling compared to faceless, carbon-copied emails.

Final note

Direct mail is still alive and evolving, not dying. Business marketing strategies are changing, and marketers are increasingly integrating direct mail with social media pages, websites, and email marketing.

Marketing should not be an either-or industry. Marketers should not have to choose between direct mail and digital, or between conventional and new age methods. Instead, they need to leverage each channel’s strengths and combine them to create a multichannel mix that packs a powerful punch from every angle.

Interested in adding direct mail marketing to your advertising mix? Please call our Toronto mailing house at 1-866-486-0423. Troi spells success, one letter at a time!