Contrary to popular belief, direct mail is not dead nor is it going anywhere. Direct mail is a valuable way to connect with prospects, leads, and clients in a personal way that’ll make a lasting impact. It demands their attention and it’s something physical that they can hold in their hands.
What is Direct Mail Marketing?
A type of direct marketing strategy to engage with prospects by sending them something physical in the mail. This is done by either the United States Postal Service or another delivery service. Some popular examples are postcards, flyers, coupons, corporate promotional items, newsletters, and perishable items.
1. Direct Mail Marketing Pairs Well with Digital Marketing
The two go hand-in-hand, like cookies and milk or snow days and hot chocolate. A good marketer knows to run multiple campaigns to broaden their reach such as Facebook ads, Instagram ads, or use SEO (search engine optimization) to increase web traffic. But marketing doesn’t just stop with the internet.
Use direct mail to reach out to your target audience, the more creative the better. You can get their attention by a multitude of ways such as: using oversized and colorful envelopes, making it textured or lumpy, and ensuring it’s easy to read with short and concise statements. Think of what makes you reach out to a piece of mail to open and emulate that with your design.
In order to make the connection from direct to digital, add a coupon code for a web purchase or add a QR code that takes them to a video about your service/landing page on your website. A week after your prospects receive your mailer, follow-up with an email.
Following up your direct mailers with an email yields a 25% higher response rate than direct mail alone. Compare that to the average 5-9% response rate of direct mail alone or the 1% response rate of just an email. The results are staggering.
2. Direct Mail is Tangible
Take a look at your kitchen counter, your fridge, or even your wallet. If you’re anything like me, there are probably coupons sitting and waiting to be used among other pieces of postcards or newsletters.
It can be weeks, months before you do anything with that piece of mail, but it’s an everyday subtle reminder taking up space in your corner of the world. It’s tangible and it clutters your space – much different than an email that you glance at for a second or two before it’s completely forgotten and deleted.
And then the day comes. You need a new pair of pants for work and remember there’s a coupon on the table for $10 off at a store you’ve never tried. Chances are, this store is going to have what you’re looking for and you get to save $10 in the process. In addition to saving money, the store just gained a new customer (that will probably repeatedly visit).
You can do this with any kind of business, people love knowing they got a deal on something or finding a bargain.
3. Direct Mail has Less Competition
The great thing about direct mail is that people think it isn’t effective or it’s too difficult to execute (both myths) – thus creating less competition. There’s beauty in something uncommon and you should be taking advantage of direct mail while other marketers are focused on Facebook or LinkedIn.
When fewer marketers are sending out direct mail, that gives your piece a higher chance to stand out and make an impression.
Our email inboxes have been cluttered with hundreds, upon thousands of emails that have never been opened. When a prospect receives a handful of direct mailers a week versus hundreds of emails a week, what do you think they’re going to pay more attention to?
4. Direct Mail has a High Response Rate
Did you know direct mail marketing yields a response rate that’s 5-9% higher than an email blast alone? For comparison, email yields a response rate of 1%. To get the biggest bang for your buck, oversized envelopes yield the highest response rate at 5%. There’s something compelling about receiving a large piece of mail, it sticks out from the typical #10 envelope and commands your attention.
When it comes to ROI (return of investment), direct mail has a median of 29%. Comparing that to social media’s 30% ROI, direct mail performs nearly as well. As a result, direct mail clearly has a concrete place in the marketing world.
5. Direct Mail Makes an Impression with Millennials
There’s something special about getting a piece of mail that’s directed solely to you in the digital-heavy world that we live in. While a lot of us have gone paperless in an attempt to be eco-friendly, research shows that millennials enjoy getting mail.
82% of millennials view print advertisements as more trustworthy and reliable than their digital counterpart. They prefer getting promotions directly rather than digitally, and they’re more likely to spread the word to their peers if the mailer is something that resonates with them.
It makes sense – millennials have grown up in an age where ads and promotions were thrown at them from every direction they looked. There’s a bit of a thrill to open up an engaging piece of mail that was catered and personalized to you, and marketers are always looking to make a one-on-one connection. It’s a win-win for everyone.
Conclusion
Pair your direct mailer with a follow-up email for maximum results.
Get creative, ensure your mailer stands out for the prospect to open it (the bigger envelope, the better). If not, the brand exposure and recognition is a win in itself. You want to familiarize people with your brand.
With less competition than digital marketing, there’s a higher chance for your mailer to standout and gain someone’s attention.
Direct mail marketing is alive and well. If you were wondering if direct mail would be worth the extra effort and cost, I hope that everything above was enough to convince you.
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Interested in starting your own direct mail marketing piece? You can email us at info@graphicimage.net or contact us here.
