Over 80% of marketers plan to maintain or increase their investment in direct marketing this year.
Not bad for a channel that’s closing in on the 200-year mark. Since 1835, companies have been using direct mail as a way to connect, and in 2021, direct mail is as effective as ever.
While a lot of the noise around marketing trends focuses on digital marketing, direct mail has proven effective over time. Smart marketers are neatly creating complementary, omnichannel strategies that combine direct mail with digital channels for a fully orchestrated, strategic approach to marketing.
Here are seven reasons why direct mail should remain a key part of your strategy:
- Direct mail offers an impressive return on investment of 29%. Later, you’ll find out some easy strategies for tracking responses associated with your investment.
- Among Americans, 41% look forward to checking their mail. You know they’re not looking for a long-anticipated love letter; they’re excited to hear from you.
- Millennials may be even more pumped about direct mail than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts; 65% say they pay attention to what they receive in the mail.
- You’re in good company because 58% of mail received is marketing mail. Why is this a good thing? Well, you just heard that 41% of Americans look forward to receiving their mail so that marketing mail is keeping their attention.
- You’re getting a good look. Over 40% of direct mail recipients say they read or scan what you send through direct mail.
- It’s a way to cut through the digital noise. The average worker receives 121 emails per day.
- Direct mail’s open rate impressively outperforms email. While 90% of direct mail pieces get opened, only 20-30% of emails are opened.
But won’t my direct mail marketing just end up in the trash?
This is the question on every marketer’s mind as they weigh how much investment should go to direct mail versus digital formats. You already know that your direct mail will be scanned, so how can you use this moment to the best of your advantage to make a connection with your audience.
If your direct mail piece ends up in the trash, you’re missing something. Here are a few steps for ensuring your direct mail marketing is effective:
Start with Reliable Data
Your direct mail strategy is only as good as the data. Wrong names, incomplete addresses, and spotty demographic information can all negatively impact your investment. It's important to know who you want to target and optimize your list so that your marketing is more efficient.
Use Personalization
With good data, you can target specific segments of your market with specific promotions. Address your mail to their name with a message that’s tailored to their interests and you’ll connect more easily with leads. If you can get on the customer's level and deliver a specific benefit tailored to their needs, you'll win the business 100% of the time.
Include Direct Mail in an Omnichannel Strategy
When you have an omnichannel approach, you aren’t relying on any one marketing channel to carry the load. That means that your direct mail is using the same messaging, images, and promotions that you’ve communicated on social media, email newsletters, and your website.
Track That Mail
The United States Post Office provides a service called "Informed Visibility" that allows you full transparency into the delivery of your mail. You can also add "Informed Delivery" to any direct mail campaign allowing consumers that are signed up to get a trackable email notification that their mail is about to arrive. These tools are very easy to implement if you know how to use them and create better conversions and incredible insight into your marketing. (see how the work here)
Need Help Getting Started?
Creating the right direct mail campaign can be overwhelming...but with over 2,000,000 campaigns under our belt, we're confident we can provide you some insight and help you execute the best strategy that will put you in a position to be successful. If you want to have a quick discussion or learn more about the our all-in-one marketing software and the services we provide, simply click here and let us know how we can help. Go to "get started" fill out the info and a team consultant will contact you immediately.
