Automotive Direct Mail vs. Email: Which is Best for Your Marketing Campaign?

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In the beginning, there was mail…

And the mail was good. Letter and post delivery has a centuries-long history. For much of the last 300 years, it’s been the main, and perhaps most efficient way for people to communicate with each other over long distances. Love letters, packages, bad news, catalogs, job applications, and so many other things were passed from delivery person to depot to station and back again to whomever it was addressed. For many who lived in rural and remote areas, mail was a way to reach out to the world and to get the things that weren’t readily available in the world around them.

But then came the information age.

Then, in the late 20th century, there was email. Email was first a means of electronic communication among the few, often within the same network or institution. Then came the digital age, household Internet, and free email services. Now, almost everyone has at least one email address.

Email is nearly instantaneous. It’s cheap, and for most recipients, it doesn’t cost a thing. An email to your co-worker in the next office takes just as long as to the office in London or Shanghai. 3 words or 3000, pictures, attachments, and the like can zip through space and time.

So, why would anyone still use snail mail?

Email never actually replaced snail mail.

Email can never be tangible. It can’t be glossy or satin, or brightly colored. It can’t be seen peeking out of the mailbox. It can’t be held in the hand, opened, and unfolded. It can’t contain a little gift, or a hand-signed letter. There’s nothing crisp and complete about email; unlike a letter, if there’s something to open in an email, it needs a virus scan first. No one wants to see the black-on-white text of your emails, but that letter with the cool graphics? The postal carrier, your roommate, your significant other, and whoever else can pick it up and look at it.

Email marketing hasn’t replaced direct mail, either.

In fact, direct mail marketing is seeing a quiet Renaissance. This may seem counterintuitive: after all, who reads mail anymore? Everyone who opens their mailbox reads some part of a single direct mail piece, even if it’s just the hook line the envelope before they throw it out. That is a visual-tactile sensory that will stay with the reader, an experience that email just can’t mimic.

On the other hand, does anyone actually go through their spam folder anymore? And how many times have you unsubscribed to an email list simply because you received too many emails?

Sure, email can be sent directly to someone important. If you want to reach the CEO of a company, you can email the CEO directly (if you have her email address). That doesn’t your email will be read by anyone though, or that the title of your email will make it stand it out any more than the other emails.

However, a beautiful direct mail piece may land on her desk, and even if she doesn’t open it, she sees it. She picks it up.

You may be getting less direct mail than you did 15, 20 years ago, but you’re looking at the direct mail you’re getting nowadays because it is specifically targeted to you, highly designed, and carefully planned.

Is Direct Mail always the answer to my marketing questions?

If the question is “How do I become seen by as many people as possible in the most direct way?” then the answer is yes. However, if the question is “how do I hold the attention of the customers I already have?” the answer is…

…it depends.

A good rule of thumb: quick campaign, quick method. Slow campaign, slow method.

Have a flash sale? Want to reach a core group of subscribers or members today? Use email. Are you anticipating more sales over the holiday season? Send a direct mail piece.

Or use both.

You can always send an email blast to your customer list, but if you want to reach just a few of them in certain demographics at certain times, or you want to do a favor for the most loyal customers, consider all the options that direct mail provides. Printing too has caught up with the times, and the possibilities are nearly endless. Now, you can create vivid, eye-catching direct mail packages for small campaigns without having to worry about the ROI on a niche campaign requiring no more technical know-how than desktop publishing.

You always have the option to email your customers, but don’t overlook direct mail and the power of curiosity that makes someone open an envelope.

Real-time Data Meets Direct Mail Marketing

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Despite a global transition to everything digital, direct mail marketing continues to dominate. Direct marketers continue to spend $45 billion each year in the United States. 80% of consumers engage with direct mail, and 95% of 18-29 year olds claim to have a positive response when receiving direct mail.

Given the high performance and preference for direct mail, there are still ways that marketers can use technology to ensure even better marketing success. Companies can use big data to strategically plan their direct mail campaigns, and a tailored strategy can enhance marketing effectiveness by targeting consumer behaviors.

 

Digital vs. Direct: Is There a Clear Winner?

There are many advantages to digital mail marketing. Digital mail uses intent data to pinpoint prospective consumers that are actively researching a product or topic online. Companies can use this data to increase relevance of a product and immediately send a message to a potential consumer regarding that product. Digital mail can also be optimized instantaneously based on consumer response rates, as well as their reaction to external factors (e.g., news or ads).

However, the instantaneousness of digital mail also means that companies risk overburdening the consumer with messages. Moreover, the ease of creation of a digital message may create a weak brand impression to a consumer that may see 10, 20, or 50 of these a day.

On the other hand, direct mail is tangible and physically brought into a consumer’s home. The consumer can hold the piece of mail and refer back to it when needed. It also allows people other than its intended recipient to see the message and companies to expand their brand awareness.

 

Shopping Cart Abandonment

There are benefits to both digital and direct mail. However, with a response rate of 5.1% for direct mail vs. 0.6% for digital, a winner begins to emerge. But this isn’t the end of the story. What if you could take the best aspects of the digital world and apply them to direct mail? Well, you can.

A great example of this is shopping cart abandonment. We’ve all been there. We’re browsing our favorite shopping site, add a product we like to the cart, then an email comes in – or the phone rings – or the kids start arguing. We abandon what was in the cart to tend to whatever lives throws at us.

According to the Baymard Institute, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is about 70%. This percentage increases even more to 85.65% for mobile phone shoppers. Unsurprisingly, the most common strategy for cart abandonment reminders are follow-up emails. And as noted above, these digital messages often wear thin on a digitally-fatigued consumer.

“This is very typical in any market, whereby there [is] a certain level of fatigue that had been reached with email. When you send something, it could be a targeted email…the conversion reaches a level which is very hard for a brand to beat or to move into a higher performance,” says Dan Dunn, CEO of the marketing company Paperplanes.Companies can overcome this fatigue by combining the efficiency of real-time data with the personalization and effectiveness of direct mail.

A recent case study by Paperplanes measured the success of such a situation. Paperplanes took the non-responders of an emailed abandoned basket campaign and followed up with programmatic direct mail within 48 hours. What they noticed was significant: a 14% increase in abandoned basket recovery and an 8% increase in average order value.

 

In a world that is going digital in virtually every facet of life, mass communications sent out via digital mail are making consumers more and more wary. The personalization and level of connection consumers feel with direct mail can help overcome their caution and overall distain for mass digital communications. By using real-time data to analyze consumer action, businesses can expand on the direct mail medium, and turn it into a practical and powerful marketing tool.

 

Significance of Engagement Marketing through Direct Mail

Rather than viewing consumers as passive receivers of information, engagement marketing is a concept that looks at consumers as active members in the marketing process. Engagement marketing seeks to engage consumers and encourage them to participate in the building of a brand. Naturally, one might expect that digital mail is the best way to reach such an active audience. However, this isn’t the always the case.

Even in this digital age, studies show that direct mail not only has a greater impact on marketing statistics, but consumers actually prefer hard-copy mail.

 

Frequency of Engagement

Digital marketing is everywhere. We’re inundated with spam messages in our email inboxes and constantly see advertisements on our favorite websites. However, even though these digital marketing platforms are constantly surrounding our digital lives, recent studies show that nearly 80% of respondent’s engage with direct mail. Conversely, only 55% say the same about their email messages.

These numbers increase among millennials, and it’s easy to see why. Most of our daily lives are centered on technology and the LCD screens that display the information. The experience of receiving an actual piece of tangible mail is highly valued and gives us a much-needed break from our screens.

The high frequency of engagement with direct mail means that consumers are taking the time to read what’s in their mailbox and interact with the content. It’s not as easy as hitting the delete button when a message pops up on your screen.

 

Duration

In addition to the frequency of engagement with direct mail, we’re also seeing that consumers spend a greater duration of time engaging with direct mail. The amount of time a consumer spends with direct mail is somewhere between 1-5 minutes. Contrast this with less than a minute for digital communication.

A recent research report by Keypoint Intelligence – InfoTrends revealed the importance of the duration of engagement with direct mail.

“Beyond engagement frequency, the duration of engagement says a lot about the value and meaningfulness of a communication. Our research confirms that the overall engagement duration is longer for direct mail pieces than it is for e-mail marketing messages, even among Millennials . . . Defying assumptions about their nature as digital natives, Millennials spend more time engaging with print than they do with digital messaging—direct mail actually gets noticed in today’s digital age!”

 

Preference

“The Mail Moment”, as McCann CEO Harris Diamond puts it, is that flutter you get in your stomach when you open a piece of mail. According to Diamond, “It’s an important moment in people’s lives and one that presents great marketing opportunities.” This is especially true of millennials.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 95% of 18-29 year olds have a positive response receiving personal mail. Moreover, the United States Postal Service found that, on average, 50% of millennials consider scanning their mail time well spent.

There is a misconception among many marketers that to connect with millennials a digital program is needed. Jeff Hayes, managing director of InfoTrends, recently shared data regarding a survey on use of direct mail.

According to Hayes, “Our research indicates that millennials react more favorably to relevant and creative direct mail pieces than boomers or Gen Xers, particularly when it is part of a multi-channel campaign.”

This generation of consumer will wield an estimated $1.4 trillion in spending power over the next 3 years. Direct mail provides a marketing tool that offers consumers a break from technology and does so in a format that they enjoy engaging with. When it comes to engagement marketing, digital mail is still at the forefront for most successful businesses.

Direct Mail: Still the Lowest Cost-Per-Lead and Highest Conversion Rate

At first glance, it may be difficult to imagine how direct mail can generate a lower cost-per-lead than email. Postage costs continue to rise, and not to mention the costs of designing and printing, it starts to sound like direct mail campaigns are pretty expensive.

However, when we hear phrases such as “lowest cost-per-lead” and “highest conversion rate”, we usually expect to hear “Return on Investment”, or ROI, as well. Believe it or not, direct mail can offer a higher ROI and businesses can maximize their marketing results while minimizing costs with direct mail. In fact, according to the Direct Mail Association, the cost-per-lead of direct mail is $51.40/order. Contrast that with $55.24/order via email or $190.49/order via telemarketing. This article offers some tips on how to generate a lower cost-per-lead and higher conversion rate with direct mail.

Choose the Best Format

With a higher conversion rate of any other marketing medium, direct mail can be even further optimized when the correct format is used. For example, many people think of direct mail having to be large and expensive to be effective. This isn’t the case. The United States Postal Service recently found that postcards are the most likely form of mail that is read or scanned by consumers.

Like an online ad, by focusing on grabbing the reader’s attention with calls to action, graphics, etc. you can ensure that the reader will notice your content. And with 98% of consumers bringing their mail in the day it’s delivered, you can ensure its read quickly. Stay away from formats such as a No. 10 envelope. We usually see this format from a credit agency or when we receive a ticket in the mail. Nobody likes this, and accordingly, it won’t garner much attention from your audience.

Keep it Personal

As has long been the case, personal communications out-do generic and cold pitches. Go beyond simply adding a person’s name to the communication, find something that will stand out to them on a more personal level. Do some research and determine how to focus your content. A generic message that tries to cover issues for all platforms comes across as cumbersome, boring and not personal. You’ll find that it’s well worth a little extra time and small expense to ensure that your communication not only says the right thing, but also reaches the right people.

Timing is Everything

In the world of communication, timing is everything. And in this day and age, gone are the days of direct mail campaigns taking weeks to execute due to developing concepts, printing, etc. Today, marketers can take advantage of digital print-on-demand and have their products and ideas delivered to consumers in a matter of days. This allows you to be much more flexible in how you use direct mail.

For example, salespeople who complete a sales call can drop a postcard in the mail that day, thanking them for their time or even offering a special discount on a product they may not have otherwise had. This also provides a great opportunity to leverage the point above: keep it personal. Also, consider the time of year in which you are trying to reach your customers. Of course, sending out promotions for swimming pool supplies in November may just upset a customer and remind them of the enduring winter ahead.  

As you can see, direct mail can still yield the lowest cost-per-lead while offering a high conversion rate. Using less expensive tools doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice impact on consumers. Make sure to choose the best format, keep it personal and consider the timing of the communication and you will see your cost-per-lead drop and your conversion rate increase.

5 Reasons Why Direct Mail Is an Effective Business Tool

It’s no longer accurate to say that readers are moving toward a digital preference to receive their content. Readers aren’t moving that way, they’re already there. So, then, why is this article titled “5 Reasons Why Direct Mail is an Effective Business Tool”? Short answer: Statistics, science and physical connection. Long answer: see below.

 

 

  1. Science – Neuroscience to be Exact
    A recent study from Temple University consumer neuroscience researchers found significant differences in the way our brains process digital services and direct mail. Among their findings, while digital ads are processed faster, consumers engage with paper ads for a longer period of time, and the physical ads often cause more activity in parts of the brain associated with value and desire. Moreover, the study showed that physical ads cause greater activation of the ventral striatum – the brain structure whose activity is most predictive of future purchasing.

  2. Physical Mail Stands Out
    Although logic may dictate that as we move into a digital world more people want to separate from physical mail, studies show that actually isn’t the case—especially with millennials. Largely this is because millennials are inundated with digital media. Physical mail stands out in the otherwise electronic world. This generation is also geared toward visual content, and direct mail caters to the physical senses. Plus, who doesn’t like getting mail

  3. Tangibility + Activity = Increased Purchases
    Here’s a couple interesting statistics: 98% of consumers bring their mail in the day it’s delivered, and according to a recent survey by the USPS, 84% have purchased an item after seeing it in a direct mail catalog. A large reason for this is because direct mail is active – it’s concrete and tangible. Unlike digital ads, which are often scrolled over, direct mail demands action by the recipient.

  4. Connect Your Digital & Physical Worlds
    Consumers react well to physical mail. They enjoy engaging with the story of the product and appreciate the convenience of being able to flip through pages until something catches their eye. However, ordering a product may prove slightly more challenging as you have to call a number and, yes, actually speak to someone. Direct mail can bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds by showing customers how they can make purchases online. Moreover, 70% of Americans say mail is more personal than the internet.
  5. Reach and Re-engage
    In a recent survey of millennials asking them which form of marketing is more effective at getting them to take action, 30% said direct mail; only 24% said email. With a 70% opening rate, direct mail continues to dominate among the marketing tools employed by companies. By sending out direct mail, companies can reach a mass amount of people, and once inside, consumers feel a sense of personal connection with the products that cannot be duplicated online. Companies can also reach new customers by sending out direct mail, and re-engaging with existing customers by creating a follow-up mailing after an initial purchase.

 

In our current society dominated by digital content, direct mail is still an effective business tool. By utilizing the strengths of direct mail, companies can ensure consumers are exposed to their product through a medium they enjoy, but also point them to their online presence. With direct mail expected to grow 5.4% for B2B Direct Sales, its effectiveness won’t be shrinking any time soon. Contact Pel Hughes today to discuss what direct mail can do for you!

What is a self mailer?

You probably find self-mailers in your mailbox almost every day, but you may not realize what a powerful and cost-effective marketing tool they can be.

A self-mailer is promotional material that’s mailed without an envelope. It can be anything from a simple postcard to an elaborate brochure or catalog. You might think of self-mailers as “junk mail,” but with their simple design and eye-catching presence, self-mailers can command attention and ensure that your message is read and shared.

Most self-mailers are created from a single piece of durable paper or cardstock, which is folded into panels and secured with adhesive tabs or glue spots to keep it tightly closed during transit. Common folding configurations for a self-mailer include the bi-fold, tri-fold, and four-panel fold.

 

Types of Self-Mailers

Most of what’s sent as direct mail falls into one of two categories. The first is the classic sales letter. It’s addressed directly to the recipient, and it may include additional information like brochures, catalogs or response cards. As you’d expect, the letters are placed into envelopes for mailing.

The other type of direct mail is the self-mailer. A self-mailer can be any of the following:

  • A postcard
  • A sheet of paper or cardstock that is folded and sealed at the edge
  • A booklet
  • A catalog

Self-mailers can be folded in a variety of ways, and they can be sealed with glue or wafer seals. They can be printed on paper or cardstock, and cardstock self-mailers can include a tear-off response card.

Benefits of Self- Mailers

Creative, eye catching designs – since a self-mailer doesn’t use an envelope, you can pick a splashy design and really go for it. Self-mailers are good for displaying photos and graphics. And you don’t have to worry about carrying your design theme through to multiple sheets of paper and envelopes. This is why self-mailers are so popular for promotional purposes, such as announcing sales and events, or marketing products and services with a brief yet compelling offer.

Saves money – Self-mailers can be less expensive to print because there’s just one sheet of paper – not multiple items and envelopes.

Help people remember events, sales and coupons – If you’ve ever stuck a coupon, a notice of a sale, or an event invitation on the refrigerator or left it out as a reminder, then you understand how the bold graphics of a self-mailer can help people remember a message long after it’s been sent.

A good way to send special offers, event and product notifications to your loyal customers –  By targeting people who have done business with you before, you increase your response rate because you are sending your self-mailer only to people who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

If a Self-Mailer sounds like something you would like to incorporate into your marketing plan, get in touch with Pel Hughes!

Use Political Postcard Mailer to Get More Voters

It’s the homestretch to the voting booth and if you’re on a political campaign or running for office, then you’ve got to start leveraging every channel to get your message out there. You should certainly focus efforts on building a robust, smart, targeted digital campaign, but even today there’s room for getting attention with a political flyer.

Political postcards are a great addition to your campaign. They are affordable, can leverage the US Postal Office special Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) service to reach people in a local area and they can easily connect the dots between physical and digital marketing.

 

Tips for Making the Best Political Postcard Campaign

 

Use a Graphic that Stands Out

If you can afford a graphic designer with your campaign funds, don’t hesitate to hire one. They are worth the money, helping you design a catchy image, logo, or general design that will get your message out there.

On a political mailer, use a striking, memorable image. That doesn’t mean gaudy or cheap. Political designs are moving toward more modern looks – all the major candidates in the last decade have been using simple, flat designs. Your political mailer should heavily feature your branding and logo.

 

When to Use a Photograph of the Candidate

It isn’t always a great idea to use the candidate’s actual photograph. If you aren’t getting on television, or already featuring your actual image in billboards and commercials then you don’t gain a lot by putting your face on a political mailer – you aren’t reinforcing any ideas. Spend that space on your message.

On the other hand, if you’ve a look that is unique and resonates with your voters – why not play it up? Managing your personal image is something best left to campaign managers but know that it’s OK to not include your face – voters care about message more.

 

Make Your Message Stand Out

Reduce your message to the primary components that make you the best choice. Depending on your area, that may mean you launch an attack on your opponent or you stick to your own ideas. Whatever you choose to do, make sure your message is short, actionable, and easy to read on the postcard. Tell them why you want their vote. Make the messaging about them, not you.

Avoid putting text over complex images. Don’t use colors that hide the copy – make it bold and easy to read. Make it short – postcards can almost guarantee they’ll be read but the message has to be concise

 

Voting Information

Great political mailers always include info about when voting starts. This is valuable information for the voter, and if you can be useful in a postcard you’re likely to keep their attention.

 

Plan for the Label and Stamp

Don’t forget to plan for the label and stamp! Your message won’t work if it’s under an address label. Use a great blank postcard template for Word to design your card properly.

 

Give Them A Call to Action

Usually the call to action is to get out and vote – but that may be months away! Give your reader a chance to participate in your campaign today. Give them a call to action that drives them to your website, to your phone lines, or somewhere else where they can take real action to help you. Postcards are great because they can deliver a call to action boldly and without any interference. Use it! Why not drive them to your website to add them to your digital marketing and outreach efforts?

 

Don’t Forget Your Disclaimer

Political postcards need disclaimers. Check with your local ordinances, campaign legal counsel or others to figure out exactly what you need to say, but don’t forget to account for disclaimers in your design.

 

At Pel Hughes, we’ve been helping local elections for years. When you’re ready, contact us and our print professionals can help you design, deliver and win.

 

Why non profits should use direct mail for fundraising

A solid development plan used to rise and set around direct mail, and while there are many new fundraising channels available today, direct mail can and should still be an important part of your plan

 

Why is direct mail important for non-profits?

  • Direct mail marketing helps you find potential donors. Targeted mailing lists can help your nonprofit to find new donors that fit your organization’s ideal demographics. Mailing lists can target by location, gender, income, etc.
  • Direct mail marketing keeps you in contact with your current donors. When you send out direct mail, you are reminding them of your organization and keeping it in the forefront of their mind. This also helps you to keep up-to-date database information on your donors, so you are aware if they have a change of address.
  • You can let your donors know what your organization’s current needs are. Is there something specific your organization needs to purchase? Is there something that needs immediate financial attention? Let your donors know your needs in a visually and emotionally appealing way.

 

Tips on creating direct mail marketing pieces for fundraising:

  • Suggest donation amounts on your mail piece (i.e. $100 _______ $50 ________ $25 _______ Other: _________). You can list benefits of each to make it more effective. (i.e. $100 will allow an underprivileged child to attend summer camp. $50 will provide an underprivileged child a tutor for a month.)
  • Thank your donor for their last gift and tell them why their next gift will help your organization.
  • Create multiple options for giving. Can they give online? Over the phone? Include this information on your mailing.
  • Include the reminder that their donation is tax deductible.
  • Drive an emotional connection by personal stories of how their donations benefit real people.
  • Make sure to include the option of updating their mailing address, adding an email address, etc.
  • Be sure your mailing is appealing to the eye, and don’t forget to always include your organization’s logo and information.

Do you need help creating an effective direct mail fundraising piece? At Pel Hughes, our team of expert graphic designers can help!

4 tips to increase ROI on direct mail

Direct mail is pretty cool.

Haven’t heard anyone bust that one out in a while?

Well, we just did.

Direct mail, while not as popular as it once was, is still a powerful tool to get a message into the hands of your audience. In fact, the Direct Marketing Association found direct mail response rates can actually be 10 to 30 times higher than that of digital.  

 

So how can you capitalize on that statistic?

Do direct marketing better.

Keep reading to discover our top 4 techniques to increase your ROI on direct mail.

 

 

  • Make a good list

 

You’ve heard it countless times, but we’ll go ahead and say it again: no matter how good your message is, it’s worthless if it doesn’t find its way to the right people.

That’s why mailing lists matter. Paying attention to demographics like age, income, gender, etc all contribute to building a list full of people likely to respond to your call to action, so never skimp on this.

Also, keep in mind that lists need to constantly be updated and monitored.

Don’t have a mail list? Ask us how to purchase a list that will work for you, and help you build your customer base.

 

 

  • Make your call to action obvious

 

Ah, another fun piece of marketing jargon – the ever important “call to action,” or CTA as they say in the biz. This is what you want your reader to do. For direct mail, the call to action is incredibly important. If you’re sending a piece of mail into someone’s home, you better be giving them some specific instructions, or you’re just wasting your money.

To make the CTA obvious, it’s also important to make the language on your direct mail clear, descriptive, and straight to the point. If you want someone to visit your website, don’t just list the URL – tell them to visit your website. Same goes for phone numbers. Tell people exactly what their next step should be.

 

 

  • Align the direct mail piece with your brand

 

Grabbing your customers’ attention should never mean sacrificing brand consistency.

It is massively important to infuse your direct mail piece with your unique value proposition and the essence of your brand. That means choosing the right type of mailing medium and sticking with the tone, energy, and general style used in any of your other marketing communications.

For example, if you’re selling a product or service that comes with a high price tag, you might consider higher quality paper and packaging to communicate this distinction. American Express mailers (and most credit card mailings) serve as fantastic examples of high quality direct mail. They send their “invitations” to new card membership in sleek, heavy weight paper envelopes. No “SIGN UP TODAY” or “LOW RATES HERE” messages adorn the envelopes, and it’s not hard to figure out why…

Tacky is not their angle – subtlety is. Exclusivity.

Nuts that paper can communicate all that, right? Think about it the next time you put together a DM campaign.

 

 

  • Don’t insult your audience’s intelligence

 

Think of direct mail as a back and forth between your brand and someone else. Don’t knock them over the head with cringeworthy claims like “HOTTEST NIGHT CLUB IN TOWN” or a double whammy bold and italic message with exclamation points!!!

It just looks like you’re desperate, and desperate is not cute on anyone.

No one is impressed by the bold claims and the aggressive text, so stick with a message that derives its power from relevance and value rather than sheer force.

Easy enough, right?

The key to a successful direct mail campaign might not be as elusive as you think. With the right mix of research, sophistication, and creativity, you’ll be well on your way to bringing in some major ROI.

Myths about direct mail

Let’s talk about Direct Mail.

You might have some notions about the age old promotional method, but today we’re going to do some truth telling and clear up any of those misgivings. By the end of this blog post, we hope  you see Direct Mail’s crazy potential to help your business grow.

Here we go…

First of all, there are a ton of myths around Direct Mail. People love to say that Direct Mail is too hard, too expensive, totally dead as a method of reaching out to consumers, and that Digital Marketing is the only way to go.

But we just don’t agree, and we’ll tell you why.

 

Myth 1: Direct Mail is too hard

Actually, Direct Mail is easy. Especially when someone else is doing the heavy lifting (i.e. us!)

Here’s how we make it easy:

We’ll set up the program.

You supply the artwork, or we’ll set it up using your creative assets and data. Then we’ll create a marketing automation, CRM (customer relationship management) report, or outbound object that contains the personalization data for your segment. The team here at Pel Hughes will then set up an automated process to move the data to Pel Hughes’ network.

Next?

We run the data, generate an address list, and mail your pieces!

 

Myth 2: Direct Mail is too expensive

To that we say: focus on the ROI on your marketing investment. Don’t just look at costs.  

The bottom line is that the ROI on Direct Mail outperforms every medium except emailing to an engaged list.

According to Target Marketing’s 2013 Annual Media Usage Forecast, Direct Mail yields higher ROI than email and all other individual media in B2C channels. Specifically, Direct Mail results in a 31% return on investment in B2C channels while email only results in 17% return on investment.

 

Myth 3: Direct Mail is Dead

While it’s true that Direct Mail has declined in the last decade, marketers are keeping it in the mix with their other forms of targeted marketing.

Why?

Because it takes a lot of touchpoints to make a sale, and people are overloaded with information every day. Research shows that print is the best way to get your message across.

Why? Print provides..

  • QUALITY experience.
  • Works in MULTI-CHANNEL marketing campaigns and programs
  • Highly TARGETED.
  • PERSONALIZABLE and RELEVANT.
  • Has a LONG SHELF LIFE.
  • 65% of consumers have made a PURCHASE as a result of Direct Mail.
  • PROVEN EFFECTIVE for LEAD GENERATION and customer RETENTION.
  • Integrated Campaigns with Direct Mail
  • Studies consistently show that Direct Mail is effective, particularly when combined with other channels.

 

Myth 4: Digital Marketing is the only way to go

The common perception is that digital marketing outperforms traditional marketing. However, digital marketing effectiveness is based on providing a highly relevant message at the right time.

After all, the main challenge with marketing these days is the sheer amount of clutter in an average person’s life, and digital variable data printing enables personalization that provides a targeted, highly relevant message.

 

Final Thoughts and Interesting Stats:  

  • 78% of people consider Direct Mail valuable or interesting, mail related to retail and 40% of valued mailings combined information and advertising
  • 60% of people say that mail kept product/service top of mind
  • 60% of people say that Direct Mail reminded them about a brand or company
  • Only 28% of people consider receiving Direct Mail ads of promotion extremely negative, compared with the 76% for telemarketing calls, 63% for pop up online advertisement and 48% for auto-playing online video advertisements.
  • Advertising mail is kept for 17 days on average
  • 54% of people engaged with social media as a direct result of receiving Direct Mail
  • The average mail response increase to 25% if it is combined with email

 

Still think direct mail is a waste of time? Contact us and we’ll talk about how to integrate Direct Mail into your next campaign.