Why Choose Direct Mail?

Why Choose Direct Mail

Will It Work? Is Direct Mail Marketing Still A Viable Medium? Is It Cost Effective?

It is common to question the effectiveness of direct mail pieces in today’s digital world. Surprisingly to some, the answer to these questions is a resounding, “yes!” and for many reasons. Learn more about the top reasons why direct mail advertising is still a great marketing solution.

Direct Mail Has Higher Than Average Response Rates

Any direct marketing endeavor that you invest in needs to have a positive and quantifiable return on your investments. The “will it work?” question is most important. In survey after survey, study after study, from those commissioned by the US Postal Service to those commissioned by the Direct Marketing Association, the efficiency and cost effectiveness of direct mail is validated and affirmed with high response rates. In fact, the acquisition cost of a new customer via direct mail is actually lower than that from email, and other forms of electronic media.

Here’s The Top Reasons Why It’s Still A Great Marketing Solution.

Direct mail works for businesses large and small.

Direct mail can be very successful for both small business and larger companies and franchise organizations. By nature, direct mail uses highly targeted customer and prospect lists that reach more people in a particular geographic and demographic area. Learn more about targeted lists here >.

Quantifiable Return On Investment

Return-on-investment: Direct mail, when accompanied with a viable and trackable offer, allows you to know how much revenue you generated from it and how many new customers you earned. You can then compare that to the lifetime value of a customer, or the annual value of a customer, and come up with a very sophisticated analysis. Unlike display ads and most digital ads, direct mail success or failure is easy to track. The math is easy to do. In many cases, customer acquisition mail yields a 10X or greater ROI, and when sent to your customer base can yield 20X or better. This means that an investment of $4000 should yield you $40,000 or more in business that you otherwise would not have earned.

Customer and Prospect Targeting is Truly 1 to 1

The US postal service reaches every home in America six days a week. One offshoot of the electronic age is that the companies who provide mailing lists know so much about every home in America, that direct mail (combined with IP Targeting) is the most targeted 1:1 marketing channel available today. A message can be sent to only those people whom you want to receive your message. Whether it is an entire street or neighborhood, or only households with children under twelve or homes with certain incomes, you can obtain a mailing list so that you can send mail with the right message to that audience.

Direct Mail Has a Shelf Life

Mail is tangible and has a shelf life or retention factor. Unlike a digital or electronic message that requires recall on the part of target audience and disappears from the ether instantly, a direct mail piece is tangible. It can be read and re-read. Coupons can be clipped off once or multiple times. It can be hung on the refrigerator or placed near the phone.

People respond to direct mail solicitations days, weeks or even months after a piece was mailed. Your well-designed mail piece can carry several offers that show value on multiple products or services that you offer. You can discount your best sellers or your worst sellers, or both, depending upon your marketing objectives.

Mail is intrusive and can’t be totally ignored.

Mail is intrusive. Every day, someone from every home in America has an opportunity to get the mail and interact with it. Unsolicited mail pieces are expected, and even sought by the majority of mail recipients. For reaching and sending a message to your own customers, direct mail is expected and frequently received. While email fatigue is a real trend and people delete advertising messages at the push of a button, tangible direct mail pieces are read and often evoke an immediate desire to respond or save the piece for future use.

And Millennials Like Receiving Direct Mail

Young people like to get mail as much as anyone. Check out this article to learn more.

Customize a Winning Direct Mail Campaign for Your Business

How will you know if mail will work for you? Ask us to help you develop a plan, and we can help make your mail exceed your expectations! Our direct marketing specialists are experienced in your industry and market. Leverage a proven campaign strategy to successfully grow your business.

LEARN ABOUT OUR DIRECT MAIL SERVICES

direct mail

Resurgence of the Printed Newsletter

Technology has played a major role in both the reduction of printed newsletters and their current comeback.

With the initial adoption of email marketing as a cost-effective alternative to mailing physical newsletters, the traditional newsletter was thought to have become almost extinct. While marketers had always recognized the ability of the hardcopy versions to deliver their messages effectively, the cost reductions by delivering via email were just too attractive to pass up.

So, what changed?

Basically, it was technology

Ironically another technological evolution has all but eliminated the viability of electronic newsletters and their reliance on email delivery. Forget the accepted challenges of SPAM filtering, cluttered inboxes and the fact that the average user pages through emails faster than ever before, the new obstacle was simply a knockout punch.

With the rapid adoption of mobile devices, email communications moved from the desktop to what is now primarily a mobile device-centric interaction. While continuing to evolve, it is estimated that as much as 70% of emails are opened on a mobile device. Regardless of the format, which can include a PDF attachment or the latest responsive email design, a content rich newsletter is simply not going to get consumed in a mobile environment.

Increase your engagement

Tangible marketing is always more engaging if done right

As marketers have seen the ROI of electronic versions slide, the printed versions have reemerged along with the advantages they’ve always had. The physical nature of a printed piece along with its ability to engage, involve and communicate more extensive content has given new life back to the printed newsletter and all it delivers.

direct mail

Optimize Your Mail…

Optimize your mailing lists and reduce your postage costs

The US Postal Service, despite what some people want to say, is actually very efficient. However, there are rules which have to be followed in order to make your USPS experience as satisfactory as possible.

There are classifications of mail that are useful to know and ways to minimize your postal costs while being assured of reliable delivery.

Before you consider your next mailing, here are a few tips to help you choose which way to mail.

Or contact a Spectrum direct marketing expert and we’ll assist you every step of the way.

Traditional stamped mail

Find savings where you can

The most expensive but also fastest and easiest form of mail is a good old 49 cent letter with a stamp. However, if your list features more than 500 pieces, there is a category called “presorted first class,” which drops that 49 cent rate down to 41 cents or maybe even less. This savings is available if we barcode the pieces and sort them in a manner that the PO can save time when processing the mail. Your mail still gets the benefit of one-to-three day delivery anywhere in the US, and offers free forwarding and return service.

Standard mail

Compromise on your delivery time, but, save more money

Next comes standard mail, which drops that postage down by half or even more off the single piece first class rate. You compromise on time of delivery. However, this mail can take 5-7 days if it’s local, but if you have the time and plan accordingly, this is a viable option. This can be used on any mailing that’s more than 200 pieces, and it must include a bar code and other sorting steps, but the postage savings are in almost all cases greater than the cost of preparing the mail. There are no return or forwarding services on this type of mail, except in specific cases which do incur an additional fee.

Smart saturation mail

Save the most and move quickly through the postal system

Finally, the least expensive way to mail is called “saturation” mail, and it requires you to mail every household on a particular postal route. This classification of mail is even less expensive than basic standard mail rates. It also moves very quickly through the postal system, and usually takes between one and four days for in-home delivery. Spectrum takes Saturation Mail Programs to another level with Smart Saturation Mailings which more specifically and effectively targets just the customers and prospects you want to reach by defining you current customers, your competitors, and how you can penetrate the market you want to dominate. We can also filter out dropped addresses from your list resulting in reduced waste and increased ROI.

Whichever type of mailing program you choose depends on the size and weight of the piece and the timeliness of the delivery that you need. Ask us for details and we can provide you with a postal regulation road map that will be useful in minimizing your postage expenses!

direct mail