Direct MAIL ADVERTISING

advantages of direct mail advertising

What are the advantages of direct mail advertising?

Direct mail is a great form of marketing and advertising communication because it provides intimate, person-to-person conversation which demands attention and response by taking advantage of an individual’s habit of reading and responding to mail.

Direct mail is printed media delivered physically to a customer or prospect's mailbox through the USPS or other delivery service.

The advantages of direct mail advertising are why this marketing channel continues to be successful even with the wide range of digital advertising platforms available to marketers.  Direct mail is still an extremely viable marketing option as a stand along advertising channel, but also as the keystone to omnichannel or multichannel marketing campaigns.
 
In recent years, direct mail has enjoyed a resurgence due to increased digital ad fatigue, the coronavirus pandemic, and online advertising privacy laws which are limiting the types of audience targeting and remarketing advertisers can leverage.
 
In this article, we’re going to recap the advantages of direct mail advertising with an updated perspective for today’s marketing landscape.

Better Response

Even though online channels of communication are widely used, direct mail stands out for its great open rate which can easily reach up to 90% – much larger than other marketing channels.
 
Moreover, this channel of communication is not limited in time or space or format. Combine direct mail with online advertising for the highest ROI in the industry! 
direct mail response rate report

Mail is unavoidable and has the greatest reach

Direct mail is delivered directly to homes and consumers have to review what they have received! Even though nowadays online channels of communication are widely used, direct mail stands out for its great open rate which can easily reach up to 90%. Moreover, this channel of communication is not limited in time or space or format and can stay in homes for weeks or months gaining additional impressions and prompts action.
woman reading mail at mailbox

Most Trusted By Consumers

Direct mail establishes trust with consumers as personalization can create an unique experience. Only 22% of consumers trust email marketing as they often think they are spam or scams. And 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.The mailbox is not saturated compared to your email inbox or social media feed. People are now more open to receiving mail, with almost a third expressing excitement over daily mail. More than three-fourths check printed circulars to compare prices. 
point of sale purchase

Highly Effective Audience Targeting

Direct mail, when implemented properly into a marketing campaign, has the ability to target very specific geotargeting, geofencing, and demographics. You can target your message to a specific audience and guarantee that your customers or prospects only receive offers that conform to their buying habits or needs. 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. 
Targeted Mailing List Services

Escapes Online Privacy Laws and Firewalls

Unlike email marketing, you will not have to worry about your mail getting blocked by firewalls or other tech-based restrictions! Mailing addresses are public domain, which means you can use them in your audience targeting.
woman reading mail at mailbox

Mail Can Be Highly Personalized

Personalizing your advertising efforts is one of the most important factors in targeting your audience. It’s easy to add personalization to your direct mail to meet your customers’ needs by analyzing their purchase history, demographics, intent, and other data-driven factors. Then you can customize your message to appeal to each individual which greatly increases response.
Personalized custom direct mailer

Tangible Format

When you receive mail, you can hold it in your hand. That tangible experience will make you more likely to receive the message. Physical mail tends to feel more reliable than other forms of advertising, making your customers more interested in your message.

Woman reading mail

Easily Measured and Trackable

Direct mail is easily tracked and measured! With a traceable code attached to each mailer, which customers will use to redeem a purchase, we can collect and track the data from your direct mail, and watch your campaign succeed.

Phone scanning QR code on letter mail

Cost-Effective Marketing

Direct mail can be more cost-effective than you realize. While there are minimal costs in terms of shipping, creating a direct marketing campaign is scalable, and bulk mail makes your campaign affordable.

ROI of Marketing Campaigns by Medium

It Benefits Other Marketing Channels

If you’re using omni-channel or multi-channel marketing strategies, direct marketing can help you reinforce your messaging efforts and drive customers to take action. You can now leverage technology to reinforce your message across marketing channels before and after the mail hits homes.  Informed Delivery by USPS, Email, Online Ads, and Social Ads can all be integrated into one trackable campaign to increase response rates.

health & fitness omnichannel direct mail marketing example

Proven Marketing Results

Direct mail has been a proven marketing technique for a long time, with many years of data proving its potential. With an open rate of 90%, much better than the 23% open rate of email marketing, direct mail has proven valuable, even with today’s digital focus.

Despite the focus on other marketing channels, direct mail still holds an irreplaceable place in the execution of competitive marketing campaigns. We will be happy to assist you in creating your strong mailing campaign.

Direct mail boasts better response rates, greater visibility, and more creative opportunities than online advertising, so it should be a key component of any marketing campaign.

Here's the Takeaway

  • Direct mail is one of the strongest forms of marketing, and is one of the more cost effective marketing channels
  • Direct mail can be personalized with data more than digital advertising, and can come in many different formats
  • Unlike online advertising, direct mail does not have to worry about firewalls or online privacy settings
Direct Mail Is #1

What are your marketing goals?

How do you plan on growing your business? How do you wish to reach new customers? Direct marketing offers a solution to your marketing efforts that targets your audience directly at home. Your personalized message can offer a strong call-to-action to get your customers to act on your offer or message.

Direct mail offers solutions to many marketing challenges. Which of these are you most interested in achieving?

  • Expect Quick Production and Turnaround - Large production printers offer fast printing speeds and quick turnaround for your direct marketing needs.
  • Find New Customers - Direct marketing helps you build a list of new potential customers by compiling or purchasing a database of people that are most likely interested in your product or service.
  • Target Your Most Likely Customers - What are your demographics? Direct marketing offers you the ability to make your mail list to reach your target audience.
  • Brand Your Business - Create a cohesive direct marketing campaing and create a recognizable company brand. Add a call-to-action to your branding mailer by including a special offer!
  • Maintain Repeat Business or Upsell to Current Customers - Stay in touch with your current customers, send birthday messages, or offer special deals for repeat business and let them know about your other services.
  • Personalize for the best response - Varial Data Printing allows you to send out personalized mail pieces, meaning you can address the recipient by name. You can even include personalized messages, fitting for a specific customer, what better way to attract attention?
  • Advertise Specific Products, Services, Events, or Special Offers - You have full control of your message, and what your audience sees.

Key Statistics

  • Direct mail maintains a 90% open rate, with a response rate as high as 37%
  • People find direct mail more engaging than their digital counterparts. This is because opening a piece of mail is simpler and easier on the mind. 
  • 70% of the population believe that direct mail is more personal than email, and adding their names to the mail increases the response rate by 135%
Direct mail samples

When should you use direct mail and print advertising?

Direct mail can be used for various marketing purposes, such as:

  • soliciting new orders
  • generating leads
  • create a positive brand image that will help future sales
  • cross-selling to existing customers
  • building brand loyalty
  • increasing repeat orders
  • reactivating dormant accounts or increasing sales coverage.

We all know that print advertising should be a part of your marketing strategy, regardless of economic conditions. This includes flyers, signage, print advertisements, coupons, and local publication inserts that deliver your messaging and special offers to customer and prospect mailboxes.

Print advertising comes in various forms, such as postcards, coupon books like Spectrum Monthly, and free-standing inserts (if your business is in NH or MA, check these options in Spectrum Monthly) that can be mailed, coupon books and booklets, checkout coupons, letter mail, postcards, solo mail, and also shared mail.

Direct mail and other methods of print marketing are easy to dismiss as expensive, old school, difficult to manage, or appeals only to older demographics. However, those who understand how effective direct mail can be in terms of brand awareness, guaranteed impressions, great ROI, and its ability to deliver special offers – especially when combined with other marketing channels such as online and social ads will have increased success!

Spectrum direct to digital omnichannel marketing option, Spectrum MailPlus has been particularly powerful during these times.  Adding coordinated online remarketing, social match, and follow-up ads to the same targeted audience used for the direct mail increases impressions 12-18 times while increasing response by 23-46%!  Why involved high-priced digital and social advertisers in your bottom line when you can streamline the process and save by bundling these services with Spectrum MailPlus?  Speak with a marketing expert today >

The key benefit of using direct mail as a stand alone marketing effort, or as part of an omnichannel campaign is it's tactile, unavoidable impression, one to one targeting

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