2 minutes
Don’t throw out the mail just yet. There’s a solid case for why you should still use it for marketing in the digital world.
Sponsored by Franklin Madison
In a world of emails, private messaging, and smart phone notifications, do people still check the mailboxes at the bottom of their driveways? It might seem like a novelty, but direct mail remains an incredibly powerful marketing tool—and there’s data backing up this idea. If you’re wondering if direct mail is right for your product, here are four reasons we think it just might be.
1. Direct mail’s response rate is 5 to 9 times higher than email, paid search or social media.
The 2018 Response Rate Report compiled by ANA/DMA demonstrates that although direct mail may be costlier than digital marketing, there is a huge return on investment.
It is so important to be looking at the ROI of a marketing initiative, not just the quantity produced. The level of engagement with direct mail towers over any other digital channel.
2. Consumers no longer interact with brands on a mono-channel basis.
We’re not suggesting that direct mail take the place of digital marketing altogether. In fact, communicating with consumers via direct mail in addition to digital marketing campaigns is a perfect combination. This gives consumers more ways to interact with your product and gives your brand a greater chance to make an impression.
In fact, in a media mix study, campaigns that combined digital ads with direct mail increased the attention by time that a consumer spent with a marketing effort by an enormous 39% over single-media digital campaigns.
3. The strength of direct mail lies in the combination of its ability to elicit a response with its extensive reach to all demographics.
Name any demographic, and it can be reached through mailboxes. Even in the digital age, mail remains popular amongst millennials, Generation X and baby boomers. Don’t make the mistake of believing that younger audiences like millennials can’t be reached by mail.
While the majority still cite mobile as their most frequent communication channel, 64% of millennials would rather scan physical mail for useful information than email, according to the most recent data available from the USPS.
4. Direct mail should be the backbone of any omnichannel strategy.
The major challenge of marketing in the digital age is building a consistent omnichannel experience. Developing an understanding of a target audience and delivering that experience consistently in print and digital is a tall task. Franklin Madison has addressed this challenge by placing customer research and empathy at the heart of its omnichannel marketing strategy. We believe that once you have a solid understanding of an audience, that direct mail is what will help you reach it, and ultimately achieve greater brand loyalty.
Andrea Heger is SVP/sales and client services for CUES Supplier member Franklin Madison, Franklin, Tennessee. Before joining Franklin Madison five years ago, she spent 15 years at a large financial institution, integrating marketing for cross credit promotions and developing insurance products.
Financial institutions have a bigger challenge than most industry segments when it comes to reaching consumers, as conversion requires a huge trust level. If you want to learn more about how direct mail helps works, download a free copy of Driving with Data: Direct vs. Digital, the Role of Direct Mail in a Digital World.
