What are the advantages of using direct mail advertising? Direct mail can be highly effective in generating leads and sales from highly targeted lists.
Continue readingWhen should you use direct mail advertising?
The EDDM Myth
The EDDM Myth
Many businesses have come to believe that EDDM®, or Every Door Direct Mail®, is the least expensive form of direct mail. This simply isn’t the case but the perception has been perpetuated by the USPS and many mail providers looking to keep the execution of direct mail campaigns as easy as possible.
Higher Costs of EDDM vs. Saturation Mailing
EDDM Mails to Bad Addresses
Have you ever wondered why EDDM counts are higher than a normal Saturation mailing? It’s because you are sending to records that should have been removed. Vacancies, do not mails, and excessive drops have all been removed from regular occupant files. Every “extra” EDDM address–often as high as 10% of the list–is a waste of postage and printing.
EDDM Does Not Allow Removals
To qualify for Saturation rates, you only need to mail to 75% of all addresses in a CRRT or 90% of all Residential addresses–whichever count is lower. So why blanket your mailings to every address? With standard occupant data, we have all sorts of removal options that allow clients to optimize their mailings, while maintaining the best possible rates. Here are three great choices
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Saturation Record Filters:
This allows you to trim a list to the count you want. For example, if you have 11,748 records and only want to mail to 10,000 of them, you can select to remove certain types of records (trailers, apartments, PO Boxes, businesses), or you can trim by lowest income CRRTs first. This gives you a “smart” way to remove those records. -
Penetration Indexing:
By analyzing your existing customer list and looking for areas you’re already successful, we can effectively target areas that contain “look-a-like” consumers that are more likely to respond to your offers.
EDDM Has Lower Response Rates:
Time and time again, we’ve had new customers come to us because EDDM just performs poorly when compared to normal Saturation mailings.
- The postal carrier, sometimes, packages all EDDM pieces together, so EDDM mailings become less of a standalone mail piece.
- EDDM mails to extraneous addresses that normal Saturation mailings would skip thus reducing the overall results.
But What’s the ROI Difference?
With EDDM you do not need to purchase the mailing list or spend as much time processing the job, whereas with saturation mailings you can save on postage and on wasted mail piece delivery. How does this affect the overall ROI of a mailing?
Calculate the following costs:
- The average cost to address a postcard: .004
- The average cost to purchase a mailing list: .007
Consider the following savings:
- Postal savings will be .001 to 2.3 cents.
- Delivery savings will be .002 to .004, since only SCF is needed for letter Saturation mailings.
- You save 3% to 10% on wasted mail pieces: vacancies, do not mail addresses, and excessive drops (1 to 3 cents).
"Smart" Saturation Mail Costs Less Than EDDM!
All of this shows that saturation mailing generally ends up costing less than EDDM overall. Additional benefits of saturation include narrowing your list selections on a household level (through Saturation Record Filters, Penetration Indexing or Response Boosters) and Saturation mailings typically perform better.
The Key Takeaway
Less, Waste, Better Campaign ROI!
You will typically get a better ROI with our “Smart” Saturation Mailings Program. While from a pure numbers standpoint, Saturation Mailings tend to beat out EDDM even with their “free data”, but there are other reasons other mail vendors might prefer to use EDDM.
Many mail and print providers don’t have the capability to ink-jet addresses or turn around EDDM jobs rapidly making it difficult to deliver on time. Many also don’t have the knowledge, capability, or expertise to execute them properly.
So if you use EDDM often, think about whether it is the right choice for your marketing campaigns – you may be wasting resources!
Not sure? Spectrum will do a free marketing analysis to help you to determine which targeted mailing list option is best for you.
Spectrum has the data technology, expertise, and mail formats to execute higher ROI campaigns using “smart” saturation mailings.
What are the advantages of using direct mail Advertising?
What are the advantages of using direct mail advertising? Direct mail has the highest response rates, is more trusted, tangible, more memorable, unavoidable, is not blocked by privacy walls, cuts through digital fatigue, allows for more creative design, is easily targeted, and has the best ROI in marketing.
Continue readingDirect Mail Meets Consumer Coupon Demand
Direct Mail has always used coupons effectively to drive action. But in the current market, it’s more critical than ever to get them in hands of deal-hungry consumers who are demanding better deals, special savings offers, and incentives.
Continue readingDirect Mail Response Rate Report 2021
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has released its long awaited 2021 Response Rate Report (membership required) that once again reinforces direct mail ROI as the highest of all channels they studied. Once again proving direct mail is the most effective marketing solution.
Continue readingMeasuring Direct Mail ROI
Measuring the return on investment (ROI) for direct mail marketing helps you to evaluate the success of the campaign.
Continue readingDirect Mail Marketing Strategies & Statistics for Black Friday Promotions
Direct Mail Marketing Strategies for Black Friday Promotions
One of the Biggest Shopping Days of the Year
The day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday, kicks off one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season.
Between the coronavirus, increased adoption in online shopping, supply chain woes and several retail giants choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving, retailers didn’t know what to expect during the five major online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. While the Cyber 5 period looked much different than previous years, thankfully, that didn’t put a damper on spending. According to Adobe Analytics, online sales totaled a record $34.36 billion, up from $28.49 billion for the same period in 2019. ***
November and December make up 20% to 40% of annual sales for small to medium-sized businesses so make sure you are optimizing your ad spend. If you choose not to run a cohesive Black Friday direct mail marketing campaign, you could miss a large percentage of annual sales.
Put Your Best Offers in Customers Hands!
Create Even More Impact with One of Spectrum’s Eye-Catching Black Friday Direct Mail Solutions!
Deliver your Black Friday direct mail campaign before the competition so it stands out from the crowd. Leverage one of Spectrum’s unique direct mail formats that include multiple sizes, folds, die-cuts and more to capture your audience’s attention. Of people who received a direct mail campaign, 87% were influenced to make a purchase.**
Leverage Spectrum’s Cross-Media Direct Marketing Solutions to Lift Your Campaign’s Response!
While consumers are opening their direct mail this November, make sure you’re integrating your Black Friday direct mail campaign with digital strategies. Extending your campaign to email, social media and/or IP targeted web banner ads has potential for increased response, engagement, and ultimately more sales. Some companies think they can rely on only digital or email advertising.
Consumers start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails they receive on Black Friday. As a result, a little over half of the emails (51%) were deleted within two seconds. The other half are viewed and certainly can be effective – and Spectrum offers the following solutions for extending your direct mail campaigns to digital. It’s important to try and make multiple impressions across all channels for your campaign. After all, multiple touches yield greater RESULTS.
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Spectrum MailPlus Direct to Digital Solutions: Increase marketing response 23-46% with direct mail to digital omni-channel advertising
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Email Marketing: Our designers will convert your Black Friday direct mail piece to a responsive email that will capture the attention it deserves.
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IP Targeting/Banner Ads: Target Black Friday customers and prospects before, during, and even after your Black Friday direct mail campaign drops. Direct them to your website or landing page and present your offer(s).
- Social Media Advertising: Gain even more traction by engaging with your target audience on Facebook and Twitter.
Start Planning Your Black Friday Promotion Today
Don’t hesitate! Let’s plan your direct mail campaign now to ensure your campaign hits at just the right time this November. Contact Spectrum to learn more about our award-winning creative services and proven direct mail products so your campaign stands out from the crowd.
Top 7 Reasons Direct Mail Wins More Customers
Top 7 Reasons Direct Mail Wins More Customers
Going into 2018 the DMA stated the following in their Statistical Fact Book.
“For those of you who are already on the direct mail bandwagon – because you really should be in this day and age – here’s what you should know about 2018: It’s going to be irresistibly amazing!”
This prediction has certainly proven to be the case.
1) Better Response Than Other Channels
The 2018 ANA/DMA Response Rate book defined direct mail as having the best response rate among all other marketing channels. Direct mail crushes the other channels with a 9% response rate for house lists and a 5% rate for prospect lists. Combined, the other channels only manage 3.3% across both house and prospect lists.
With email and social media marketing on the rise, consumers have become exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, some more intrusive than others. In doing so, consumers have become numb to digital media advertising and have even taken measures to remove the ads from their reach. Coincidentally, even as email continues to be the most used tool for advertising, it is hardly the most effective with a 1% response rate by prospect list (a 0.8% increase from 2017).
2) Effective Targeting
Direct mail, when implemented properly into a marketing campaign, has the ability to target very specific demographics. When you tailor your campaign to appeal to your ideal audience, you increase the potential for response by cutting out the customers who are less likely to respond to your marketing efforts.
3) More Trusted By Consumers
There’s something about a tangible piece of collateral that tells consumers that you’re trustworthy. Consumers are more likely to trust your business if you send them a physical piece of mail rather than send digital communication.
4) It’s More Persuasive
Direct mail has a similar effect over consumers in persuasion as it does trustworthiness. Sensory stimulation is a proven tactic in retail; a consumer’s likelihood to purchase is in fact correlated with the number of items they touch.
5) Direct Mail Is More Memorable
When you receive a direct mail piece, it touches more of your senses than digital marketing does. When you allow consumers to touch, see, and smell your direct mail piece, they’re more likely to remember your business. Direct mail, when saved, also serves as a constant reminder more so than digital channels.
6) Creative Options Allows For Unique Engagement
Direct mail can create a better response by engaging with consumers in a more memorable way. Use custom folds and die-cuts to create an interactive piece that is a more engaging experience for customers.
7) Able To Reach All Demographic Groups
If there’s a demographic group that is part of your ideal audience, direct mail can target it. Our team can segment your mailing list with many demographic and geographic filters including age, housing, financial interests, hobbies, geography, and more.
81%
of survey respondents plan to maintain or increase usage of direct mail in the next 12 months.
Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
Direct Mail Has Explosive Response
Direct Mail Records the Highest Response Since Being Tracked!
Direct mail’s performance is the highest it’s been since the DMA / ANA (Data & Marketing Association / Association of National Advertisers) has been tracking it and here’s why so many marketers are finding a historic level of success.
The increased level of direct mail response in the last 3 years represents a remarkable reversal of the previous trend and underlines the fact that something truly amazing is happening in this traditional channel. Based on the DMA’s “Direct Mail Response Rates 2003-2018”, House List (customer) response rose 125% from its 2015 levels and Prospect Lists (acquisition) rose 400% for the same period.
The contributing factors to Direct Mail’s recent success:
It's More Trusted
Print-based media including publications, catalogs and promotional materials received in the mail are the MOST TRUSTED by consumers when making a purchasing decision (based on surveys conducted by MarketingSherpa*). This comes at a time when other major channels like digital are being viewed with increased skepticism due to data breaches, spam, questionable content and elevated privacy concerns.
Better Data & Lists
Companies have made it a priority to maintain their customer data to a higher standard than in previous years. They are now using this data more effectively than ever to influence the purchase behaviors of their existing customers (higher frequency of purchase / increased level of purchase) and model prospect data to more effectively find “look-alike” customers to acquire.
Better Pieces & Offers
With the implementation of improved testing methodologies, marketers are able to optimize their efforts by testing mail formats, offers and a range of other variables to achieve the best overall approach. With POS systems supporting features like scannable coupon codes and other tracking, marketers are able to use data captured by previous campaigns to improve results in the future.
84%
of Millennials take the time to look through their mail and 64% would rather scan for useful information in the mail than e-mail. In addition, this generation even believes paper mail is a more reliable and viable source of communication (USPS Mail Moments Review).
Mobile Shift
The shift to a “mobile first” mindset and consumers interacting on mobile devices at a higher rate than desktops has changed the impact various digital advertising formats have. What was previously viewed on large desktop screens is now either much smaller on a mobile device, limited in its “rich media nature” or requires drilling down further to see any of the content in the case of email.
Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)
*Reference to survey on “Which advertising channels consumers trust most and least when making purchases” (Source: Marketing Sherpa)
Direct Mail Response Rates for 2018
Direct Mail Response Rates Rose Significantly In 2018!
Direct mail still remains one of the most effective ways to market to your consumers due to its ability to create a lasting impression on consumers and return a high value for businesses.
There was significant growth in direct mail response rates from 2017 to 2018! House rates rose to 9% (3.9% increase) while prospect response rates rose to 5% (2.1% increase). This is the highest number for house lists since the report started.
With email and social media marketing on the rise, consumers have become exposed to hundreds of advertisements on a daily basis, some more intrusive than others. In doing so, consumers have become numb to digital media advertising and have even taken measures to remove the ads from their reach. Coincidentally, even as email continues to be the most used tool for advertising, it is hardly the most effective with a 1% response rate by prospect list (a 0.8% increase from 2017).
The difference we’re seeing in email marketing compared to direct mail marketing is that the ROI numbers for email marketing are high, but, that’s only due to its incredibly low cost.
Quantitatively email marketing is great, however, quality engagements and customer acquisitions come from direct mail.
Ignoring direct mail is more difficult than ignoring email.
Direct mail shines among consumers as your physical mailbox now harbors unique and effective pieces that catch the eye. It is much easier to breeze through your email account, or ignore large numbers of emails in your cluttered inbox. There is something special about holding a eye-catching creative mail piece in your hand and experiencing the special offer as it was meant to be.
Direct mail response rates are growing faster than other media.
Online display, email, and social media response rates have all rose as well though not as much, which, stands to reason that direct mail still has strong pulling power for business in attracting new customers while also keeping long-term customers coming back.
Looking to increase response rates for your company?
If your company is interested in increasing your campaign response rates, Spectrum has the proven strategies and solutions to get you there. If you are interested in increased ROI, deliverable brand awareness, and most importantly better marketing RESULTS; consider direct mail from Spectrum as your one-way ticket to more successful advertising campaigns.
Direct Mail Response Rate Continued From Blog
*All relevant data has been pulled from this year’s 2018 Direct Marketing Association response rate report, publishing important data regarding direct mail relative to digital channels. (Source: ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018)