Direct Mail Marketing: Is It Right For Your Business?

When people think of direct mail marketing, a lot of people think of junk mail that is maybe scanned but almost always deposited straight in the bin.

Think again, though! Direct mail marketing is a woefully misunderstood form of marketing. While digital marketing gets all the attention these days, direct mail marketing is still a marketing workhorse for brands everywhere.

From coupons to flyers to catalogs, it’s versatile, it’s impactful, it’s affordable, and most importantly, it’s effective.

Considering adding a direct mail element to your marketing plan in 2020? Here’s what you need to know before making your decision.

Rise of direct mail response rates

Although postal mail reached its peak in 2006, it has dropped by 33% since then. Despite the decline, though, direct mail has actually seen an increase in response rates during this period. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) analyzed Bizo and Epsilon data and found that direct mail has a 4.4% response rate, compared to 0.12% for email.

Why the increased rates? There are lots of reasons, but one interesting point to consider is that direct mail is a humanizing way to connect with consumers. A recent United States Postal Service (USPS) study found the heart rate and respiration of people opening physical mail experienced “heightened excitement” that made them desire the product more. On the other hand, people have more stress associated with their email inbox.

You’ve got (direct) mail!

Okay, so you’ve decided that direct mail is a good option for you. You’d be hard-pressed to find a marketing professional who’d recommend abandoning digital in favor of strictly print, but the benefit of incorporating print into your digital plan is in the hefty ROI. Brands that combine print with their digital campaigns see at 118% lift in response.

That’s worth considering, isn’t it?

Flexibility is the name of the game

What’s great about direct mail marketing is that it comes in lots of formats with plenty of branding options. It’s tangible, it’s visually engaging, and the shelf life of print is actually longer than digital. Print media also has that elusive quality that digital lacks – tangibility.

Direct mail also has a notable benefit for the consumer – timeliness. Read it whenever! This feature shines particularly when you have a longer-form piece of content such as a catalog. The print format makes it a snap to pick up and down at the consumer’s convenience

Lasting benefits

In marketing, it’s all about finding the most effective way to get people to notice you, remember you, and connect with you. Print media does an excellent job of doing all these things. In a 2015 study by the USPS, researchers observed that participants spent more time with print materials than digital ones, but more importantly, when polled several weeks later, they retained more information from the print media!

Even more importantly, participants stated they would be 46% more likely to act after getting information from a print source rather than a digital one.

Ready to stand out from the digital crowd? Contact us to learn more about direct mail marketing!