Myths about direct mail

Myths about direct mail _ PEL HUGHES print marketing new orleans

Let’s talk about Direct Mail.

You might have some notions about the age old promotional method, but today we’re going to do some truth telling and clear up any of those misgivings. By the end of this blog post, we hope  you see Direct Mail’s crazy potential to help your business grow.

Here we go…

First of all, there are a ton of myths around Direct Mail. People love to say that Direct Mail is too hard, too expensive, totally dead as a method of reaching out to consumers, and that Digital Marketing is the only way to go.

But we just don’t agree, and we’ll tell you why.

 

Myth 1: Direct Mail is too hard

Actually, Direct Mail is easy. Especially when someone else is doing the heavy lifting (i.e. us!)

Here’s how we make it easy:

We’ll set up the program.

You supply the artwork, or we’ll set it up using your creative assets and data. Then we’ll create a marketing automation, CRM (customer relationship management) report, or outbound object that contains the personalization data for your segment. The team here at Pel Hughes will then set up an automated process to move the data to Pel Hughes’ network.

Next?

We run the data, generate an address list, and mail your pieces!

 

Myth 2: Direct Mail is too expensive

To that we say: focus on the ROI on your marketing investment. Don’t just look at costs.  

The bottom line is that the ROI on Direct Mail outperforms every medium except emailing to an engaged list.

According to Target Marketing’s 2013 Annual Media Usage Forecast, Direct Mail yields higher ROI than email and all other individual media in B2C channels. Specifically, Direct Mail results in a 31% return on investment in B2C channels while email only results in 17% return on investment.

 

Myth 3: Direct Mail is Dead

While it’s true that Direct Mail has declined in the last decade, marketers are keeping it in the mix with their other forms of targeted marketing.

Why?

Because it takes a lot of touchpoints to make a sale, and people are overloaded with information every day. Research shows that print is the best way to get your message across.

Why? Print provides..

  • QUALITY experience.
  • Works in MULTI-CHANNEL marketing campaigns and programs
  • Highly TARGETED.
  • PERSONALIZABLE and RELEVANT.
  • Has a LONG SHELF LIFE.
  • 65% of consumers have made a PURCHASE as a result of Direct Mail.
  • PROVEN EFFECTIVE for LEAD GENERATION and customer RETENTION.
  • Integrated Campaigns with Direct Mail
  • Studies consistently show that Direct Mail is effective, particularly when combined with other channels.

 

Myth 4: Digital Marketing is the only way to go

The common perception is that digital marketing outperforms traditional marketing. However, digital marketing effectiveness is based on providing a highly relevant message at the right time.

After all, the main challenge with marketing these days is the sheer amount of clutter in an average person’s life, and digital variable data printing enables personalization that provides a targeted, highly relevant message.

 

Final Thoughts and Interesting Stats:  

  • 78% of people consider Direct Mail valuable or interesting, mail related to retail and 40% of valued mailings combined information and advertising
  • 60% of people say that mail kept product/service top of mind
  • 60% of people say that Direct Mail reminded them about a brand or company
  • Only 28% of people consider receiving Direct Mail ads of promotion extremely negative, compared with the 76% for telemarketing calls, 63% for pop up online advertisement and 48% for auto-playing online video advertisements.
  • Advertising mail is kept for 17 days on average
  • 54% of people engaged with social media as a direct result of receiving Direct Mail
  • The average mail response increase to 25% if it is combined with email

 

Still think direct mail is a waste of time? Contact us and we’ll talk about how to integrate Direct Mail into your next campaign.