Direct Mail Is Not Dead
Data driven marketers are discovering that direct mail is not dead. It has changed, adapting to the expectations of today’s consumers.
New technology has been deployed, and top marketers are utilizing direct mail as critical components of multi-channel marketing campaigns.
3 Reasons Why Direct Mail Is Thriving
The days of “spray and pray” campaigns with “Dear Resident” junk mail are numbered. The cost of mail is too high for it to be used as physical spam.
What’s changed? The landscape has shifted dramatically in the past decade. Marketers now think about direct marketing in new, innovative ways.
1.) Mail volume is down. Mail conversion rates are up.
Driven by the growth of email and social media, mail volume is off from its peak of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 155 billion pieces in 2014 [source – USPS].
The fact is, people write fewer letters to each other.
Counter-intuitively, the drop in overall volume has helped marketing mail open and conversion rates – particularly when compared to email.
As a result, each piece of direct mail is now more likely to be touched, opened, and considered. In fact, 79% of households say they read or scan direct mail ads [source].
Compare that 79% to your last email campaign open rate.
2.) Digital print creates better mail experiences
The technology used by commercial printers to create and manage direct mail marketing has changed dramatically. Offset printing – the time honored technology that involves plates, rubber blankets and significant prepress production effort, is being replaced by digital, inkjet printing.
Why? Because digital presses enable on-demand or super short turnaround time, and can create highly personalized mail using a technique called “variable data printing“.
The result – direct mailers are able to deliver precise offers to targeted audiences – quickly. Retailers can send custom mailers to up-sell and cross-sell within days of purchase. Credit card companies can mail specific card offers as soon as a credit rating changes.
The bottom line – marketers are now able to use mail to give consumers exactly what they want and need, when they need it.
3.) Direct mail + marketing automation delivers
Increasingly, recipients of direct mail advertising prefer to respond to offers online.
In fact, recent studies have shown that 78% of consumers respond online (to a web page or search) when they receive mail advertising from a brand they are interested in.
Historically, the technology used to power the data driven offers in direct mail has been disconnected from online marketing technology.
As a result, direct mail recipients that choose to respond online have been subject to disjointed and frustrating experiences. So they rarely bought anything.
More recently, marketers have been deploying solutions that merge the databases powering the direct marketing and online portions of campaigns. By using common databases, it is much easier to align personalized offers across mail, landing page and email channels.
“Message Match” is an important concept in multi-channel marketing.
When a direct mail recipient moves from the mail, to a website, to a follow up email from a brand, consistency of creative is critical. The messaging, offer, call to action, and imagery need to look & feel like a cohesive campaign.
Marketing automation platforms are evolving to enable marketers to develop consistent, clear, multi-channel campaigns. A single campaign database is now driving personalized direct mail, landing pages and email. By centralizing the creative and logic in these specialized platforms, consumers are getting great experiences that deliver campaign ROI.
The direct mail ad creative is increasingly using Personalized URLs (PURLs) and scannable QR Codes to enable easy navigation from the mail piece to the online experience.
Not only does it make sense, but the stats back up this effort. Studies are showing 19% increases in ROI when marketers add channels to their campaigns.
Direct mail is not dead. It is thriving.
Cloud based solutions are making it easier than ever to incorporate direct mail advertising into marketing campaigns.
See for yourself why direct mail is not dead. Boingnet can help you crank out a campaign that uses direct mail and online channels to boost your marketing results.
Marketing teams and agencies that want to use direct mail with a fast, easy and affordable platform are choosing Boingnet. Sign up to generate leads and sales with Direct Mail Marketing Automation. Use pURLs, Landing Pages, Microsites and the latest drip marketing advances to nurture your leads into loyal clients.
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Direct Mail Marketing Facts:
- 79% of households say they read or scan direct mail ads [source]
- 76% of consumers say they trust direct mail for purchase decisions
- 90% of Millennials prefer to receive promotions via postal delivery [source]
- Personalized URLs and QR Codes easily link direct mail ads to landing pages
- 84% surveyed say that personalization increases reading of direct mail [source]
