Digital media advocates argue that there is no point in spending your advertising budget on direct mail campaigns that no one reads when customers can be reached through their preferred channels: TV, social media, or mobile.
However, the latest data makes a strong case for direct print mail. It’s clear that social media and mobile marketing are on the rise, but that doesn’t mean customers aren’t responding to direct mail or losing effectiveness because it just isn’t.
The reality is that this is still a key ingredient for advertising. So the next time someone tells you that direct mail is history, remember this:
Direct mail does not require opt-in:
Unlike email and text messages, you don’t need to get the recipient’s permission to send direct mail. This means that you can contact a customer even if they are not subscribed to your mailing list or have unsubscribed (which is why it is also recommended to obtain the postal address of the contacts on your email list).
Direct mail never ends up in the spam folder:
“Okay, they might be filtered by third parties,” says Roger Buck, former director of marketing and new product development for The Flesh Company, “but it has a higher chance of success, and it’s also virus-free.”
Continues to work long after it reaches its recipient:
It’s just like hanging ads on your customers’ refrigerators. “Many people have told us that they’ve had our advertising on their desk for months,” observes Andre Palko, president of Technifold USA.
“Although they didn’t act right away, they kept us in the picture until they were ready to take action. That permanence the ability to capture attention is not possible with an email.
Doesn’t have to compete for the recipient’s attention:
According to Larry Bradley, owner of Proforma Sunbelt Graphics, “The overwhelming number of emails received at work is a real hurdle for email marketers, as it’s not easy to distinguish between spam and legitimate email. The result is that a high percentage of the messages sent to companies do not get read.
On the other hand, no one gets the same amount of direct mail advertising as a decade ago, which is a unique advantage of direct mail.”
Certain offers do not have an email hook:
There’s a reason a business is much more likely to receive a loan offer in the mail than by email. Business-to-business decision-makers rely more on direct mail than electronic mail, especially regarding high-value products and services.
These emails can also include a wide variety of trust-building content, which is impossible (or reasonable) in an email. Links can indeed be sent, but that content is immediately tangibly presented to the reader with direct mail.
Direct mail can reach high-level managers:
How can you make an email look important? Aside from writing a compelling subject line, any other method is tricky. Direct mail offers alternatives that, given its characteristics, manage to avoid filters: kits, three-dimensional advertising, creativity in presentation.
Palko has used everything to send letters, from metallic envelopes to lunch bags, covers for packaging lists, or bottles for medicines. According to him, “they are not only fun, but they also get the mail opened.” Although this type of advertising can be more expensive, it also achieves up to 100% open rates. This is invaluable when the goal is to get the mail to the command posts.
Direct mail drives online and social media marketing:
It is often believed that now that we have social media and mobile marketing, it is no longer necessary. But it does not consider how the contacts established by these means originate in the first place, and, often, it is thanks to the printed mail.
Saying that the only necessary channels are mobile and social media is like suggesting that a foundation isn’t necessary when buying a house. It is much more difficult to establish contacts on the internet without printed material.
Don’t let digital marketers steal from your customers under pretenses. Establish a dialogue about the advantages of this compared to digital and when it is appropriate to use it.