Direct mail is a form of marketing that can work far more effectively than email. It involves sending an actual physical piece of promotional advertising to homes using the postal system. Some people may call it junk mail, but it works! Think about it. When you pick a promotional leaflet out of your mailbox, you read it. Your curiosity gets the better of you, and you will at least see what it’s about! When an email lands in your junk folder it goes unread and then gets automatically deleted. See the difference?
Direct mail can be so much more effective than email campaigns. Although the response rates to the two techniques may be similar, studies have found that direct mail marketing on average generates purchases that are 5 times larger than those generated using email. When both are used together, you can guess the results. Even more sales! A combination of emailing and direct mailing can generate purchases that are six times larger than when email marketing is used alone.
Direct mail simply stands out from the crowd. A young person is likely to receive dozens of promotional emails each day, many of which will not even get opened. In contrast, the same person may receive one or two actual pieces of real physical mail in their mailbox each day. Physical mail is most definitely a way to stand out from the crowd, some digital-first stores such as Glossier and Warby Parker now having opening physical stores instead of just relying on their online presence. What does this say? It says that traditional forms of marketing are not dead and they are not likely to die out any time soon!
Direct mail is far more diverse than emailing. A physical brochure left in your mailbox will be read by an entire household; an email, if opened at all, will only be read by one recipient. Key decisions for large purchases are discussed at home, whether it be about which car to buy or who to take a loan out with. And when there is a brochure in front of the household with a hard-to-resist offer on it, you can see why it will turn into the talking point of the household discussion.
Direct mail also lasts for longer! Emails last just a few seconds, whereas you can send a promotional pamphlet with offers that last a week, two weeks, or longer still. The average lifespan of direct mail is actually a staggering 17 days as opposed to 2 seconds for an email!
It’s certainly not hard to see therefore that to promote your brand, you cannot rely on online methods, or indeed on a traditional approach. Your marketing budget should be spread across all methods, including a direct marketing campaign. As much as everyone likes the convenience of shopping online, there is nothing better than having a glossy catalog or leaflet in front of you when making decisions on future purchases for you and your household. As a brand owner, the size of your purchases will increase at least 5 fold when you go back to using good, old-fashioned, direct mail!
