Direct Mail: Unlocking the Untapped Potential
5/3/2024 April Masters
In an increasingly digital age, direct mail remains a relevant way to target, reach, and influence shoppers. Certain aspects of direct mail resonate with individuals on a personal level.
Below are five common questions that marketers ask about direct mail, followed by suggestions for addressing each. By utilizing a variety of direct-mail formats to enhance the effectiveness of existing campaigns, marketers can achieve win-win results for their brands as well as for consumers.
Q: How should brands view direct mail in a digitally dominated communication landscape, specifically in the context of their digital campaigns? How can they achieve symbiosis?
A: The key to success is leveraging both to build a successful campaign. Direct mail, however, is even more critical today for a variety of reasons. Recent RRD studies found that 82% of direct mail readers look at ads at least once a week, while more than half (55%) say they pay more attention to direct-mail ads, versus the 39% who say they take a closer look at digital ads. In addition:
- 58% of consumers find direct mail trustworthy
- People spend an average of 1.6 minutes with a direct mail ad
- 50% are likely to buy after seeing a direct mail ad
- 61% of consumers are likely to use direct mail ads to research products to buy and/or plan their purchases ahead of time
Q: How can direct mail remain affordable for marketers? What are the recommendations for achieving the best return on investment despite rising postage costs?
A: As costs increase and postage takes an increasingly larger piece of your budget, it’s important to take every opportunity to improve efficiency. The first step is making sure you’re mailing to the right audience while balancing postal costs. Keep in mind that there are times it makes sense to saturate a market — just as there are times when it’s best to only send to specific households. Companies should source a strategic partner to help ensure their dollars are not being wasted.
Q: How can advertisers improve their targeting to deliver to the households/people that best match their offering?
A: Turning prospects into customers starts with identifying the right audience and delivering messages that will resonate with them. Understanding who comprises your target audience is one of the most critical steps — if not the most critical — in building a successful marketing strategy. The partner your organization chooses to work with should have the ability to test, measure, and apply learnings and do so with speed.
Q: How can brands satisfy expectations for personalized messages while being mindful of people’s privacy?
A: Privacy should be top of mind for every marketer today. Brands require that partners be committed to consumer privacy and to staying updated on technology and policies amid industry changes. However, that doesn’t mean a marketer should not personalize messages — in fact, research reinforces that consumers want and expect personalized messaging. More than 80% of customers say they prefer companies that offer a personalized experience, and 70% say a personalized experience in which the company knows who they are and their history with the company (past purchases, buying patterns, support calls and more) is important, according to a recent “State of Customer Service and CX” study. So, make sure to incorporate elements of personalization in your next direct-mail campaign.
Q: What about performance? How should direct-mail campaign efforts be optimized?
A: If you’re not measuring the effectiveness of your campaign, you need to begin doing so. This will help gauge the success of the campaign, where you might need to make tweaks to future campaigns, and to learn what is working and what is not. For instance, by implementing methods such as unique phone numbers, trackable URLs, coupon codes, and QR codes, a client can gain valuable insight into the effectiveness of a direct-mail campaign. Test, measure, and apply learnings to future campaigns for continuous improvement — this is critical to help you understand the results you’re driving with your direct-mail investment.