Companies often focus on digital marketing, as they recognize the power of the internet in terms of reaching the largest audience. However, traditional marketing methods need inclusion in any comprehensive plan. For example, direct mail marketing techniques benefit companies who make use of them today. The industry continues to see a rise in usage and statistics show how beneficial this method is when it comes to connecting with consumers. In fact, many business owners plan to use this method more in the future, as they see the excellent results it produces. Why should a business owner consider direct mail postcards or mailings? If you are sending bulk emails, you have to clean your mailing list with email authentication services which will provide you clean, valid, and fully deliverable email list.
Tangible Marketing
Humans connect more with marketing materials when they can touch and hold them. Scientists looked into why this is the case and found that tangible items leave a bigger impression in the person’s brain. They believe this is due to the emotional processing that takes place when a person encounters a physical item rather than a virtual one. The research team made use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI) scanning to see how the brain reacts when it is exposed to virtual and physical stimuli. They wanted to know which regions of the brain processed each type of advertising.
Significant sections of the brain showed more activity when a study participant looked at a printed card. The printed card stimulated spatial memory networks. In addition, the card increased brain responses in the area linked to internal feelings. As a result, the brain internalized more of the content from the printed material than the digital marketing. Individuals who want to know more about the benefits of direct mail marketing can head to UpSwell and read case studies.
The United States Postal Service also wanted to know more about direct mail and its benefits. To get this information, the agency partnered with the Center for Neural Decision Marking at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. The study conducted by the partners found that people spend more time engaging with print ads, which trigger activity in those parts of the brain related to value and desirability. The emotional response in humans remains stronger when they view tangible marketing materials, and they remember these ads easily. The ads require less cognitive effort on the part of the viewer.
Direct Mail Works Well in an Overall Advertising Campaign
Don’t assume direct mail is used alone. In fact, it needs inclusion in a multichannel marketing campaign to produce the best results. When customers have a variety of ways to engage with a business, they prefer this. The various channels provide the business with an opportunity to maximize the connection. Research shows a second marketing channel increases revenue by 38 percent while adding a third channel boosts revenue by 120 percent. Today, half of all businesses use a minimum of eight channels to interact with the target audience, with direct mail being only one of them.
Personalization
Consumers prefer personalized mail. Eight-five percent of individuals surveyed stated they are more likely to open mail when it has their name. Marketers found that personalizing communications helped lift business by ten percent. To provide customized pieces, businesses often turn to variable data printing. This process allows the business to provide location-specific information on each mailer or coupon codes based on the business location.
Adding the consumer’s name to the headline generates interest on the part of the viewer and can increase the response rate by up to 135 percent. Including pertinent information on the outside of the mailer, such as a time-sensitive deadline, encourages the recipient to open the mail and learn more. Businesses also find they benefit when the mailer includes a personalized image. The human brain processes an image 60,000 times faster than it does text. Choose images that match the message for great results. In addition, collect information from past interactions and use this data to personalize offers. People may purchase an item and forget to buy accessories or not realize they need them. When they decide to buy items to go with their purchase, the direct mail helps them decide where to buy the items.
Return on Investment
Direct mail receives a high response rate, particularly when compared to other marketing methods. The DMA Response Rate Reports tracks advertising methods and their response rates to help companies determine which methods to use when interacting with consumers. The report shows more than five percent of households respond to direct mailers, a much higher rate than seen with digital marketing channels. Email marketing receives a response rate of 0.1 percent, while the overall response rate for online display advertising is 0.2 percent. Paid search offers the best response rate when it comes to digital marketing, coming in a 0.6 percent. Social media likewise offers better response rates than email marketing, coming in at 0.4 percent.
One reason company remove direct mail marketing from their overall strategy involves the cost of the mailers. However, research shows direct mail offers a high return on investment. The DMA reports a 29 percent return on investment when direct mail is used.
Tracking Effectiveness
The ease of tracking digital marketing campaigns serves as one reason many businesses prefer this advertising method. Tracking direct mailers comes with more challenges. Nevertheless, companies can know whether a mailer works.
The company may include a unique telephone number or extension with each campaign. This provides information on how many people respond to that particular mailer. Other businesses find a QR code provides these same data, while some organizations opt for a personalized landing page for each recipient. Coupon codes linked to a particular campaign help with tracking as well.
Brand Loyalty
Seventy-five percent of consumers report they trust direct mail when they make a purchasing decision. Traditional advertising generates more trust than digital marketing. Credibility remains a concern with digital marketing, especially when it comes to a lack of authority and inferior quality. Individuals spend less time than imagined watching video ads, as Facebook discovered. When a company chooses to incorporate traditional marketing methods such as direct mailers into their advertising plan, they reach more consumers and build brand loyalty.
Companies that have opted to reduce or eliminate their use of direct mail marketing need to reconsider doing so. The return on investment a company receives when using this marketing technique cannot be discounted. However, businesses often find they need help in determining the goals of a campaign, creating the campaign itself, and more. Partner with a reputable direct mail marketing provider and see great results in little time.