Is Direct Mail Dead?

Direct Mail Fulfillment picture - Bulk Mailing House

The internet is buzzing with “the death of direct mail”. Postal services are losing money and many are concluding that traditional direct mail is dead!

Is direct mail really dead?

Absolutely not! Here are 7 reasons Direct Mail is here to stay.

1. Direct Mail Delivers Strong ROI

According to a recent study, the Direct Mail Marketing Association concluded that for every dollar spent on direct mail, it resulted in an average of $12.61 in direct marketing-driven sales.

ROI: Summary of DM-Driven Sales Per $1 of DM Advertising
Return by Medium	2004	2008	2009	2010	2014
Direct Mail	$12.33	$12.55	$12.53	$12.57	$12.61
Direct Mail (Non-Catalog)	$15.59	$15.52	$15.22	$15.28	$15.48
Direct Mail (Catalog)	$7.06	$7.28	$7.32	$7.34	$7.27
Telephone Marketing	$8.49	$8.57	$8.48	$8.42	$8.29
Internet (Non E-Mail)	$25.93	$19.88	$19.83	$19.86	$19.77
Internet Display	$25.53	$19.78	$19.57	$19.57	$19.21
Internet Search	$27.60	$21.84	$21.85	$21.90	$21.93
Social Networking	NA	$12.57	$12.39	$12.45	$13.02
Internet Other	$17.59	$16.62	$16.48	$16.75	$17.03
Commercial E-Mail	$58.01	$44.93	$43.62	$42.08	$36.70
DR Newspaper	$13.26	$12.77	$12.46	$12.26	$11.89
DR TV	$7.02	$6.81	$6.63	$6.62	$6.48
DR Magazine	$10.30	$10.11	$10.27	$10.26	$10.06
DR Radio	$8.66	$8.60	$8.29	$8.28	$8.09
Insert Media	$11.76	$11.60	$11.45	$11.43	$11.35
Other*	$6.93	$7.01	$6.89< /span>	$6.91	$6.87

*Other includes all other trackable DM delivered media including outdoor, facsimiles, podcasting, displays, and kiosks.

2. Direct Mail is More Deliverable

Up to 20% of email messages are undeliverable due to anti-spam software an email address changes. Most regular mailing lists guarantee a 95% deliverability rating.

3. Direct Mail is “Sticky”

With email, if a prospect doesn’t like the email at first glance, it is simply deleted. Never to be seen again. With a direct mail piece, it can be put aside for later, it can be passed along to someone else, or it can just hang around to be viewed by multiple prospects. This is especially true with catalogues. Why do you think Avon still distributes catalogues in this digital age? Because they work!

4. Standing out from the Crowd

Because everyone is going digital these days, everyone’s email box is filling up with marketing messages, while, at the same time, the volume of direct mail is down. Some estimates say by 25% in the last two years. Think about that for a minute, a direct mail campaign now has a better chance of standing out from the clutter.

5. Direct Mail Delivers Instant Trust

In today’s digital world and the constant bombardment of internet scams, letters from African billionaires leaving you sums of money, viruses, etc. The consumer is wary of on-line marketing. It takes a lot to build credibility on-line these days. Direct Mail print advertising doesn’t have the same negativity. Most people consider printed matter to be trustworthy and tangible and are more likely to see it being reliable.

6. Direct Mail is B2C Marketing’s Secret Weapon

According to a recent survey conducted by Target Marketing Magazine, the channel that delivered the strongest ROI for customer acquisition for B2C marketers was direct mail. Direct mail also scored highest among marketers for customer contact and retention.

7. You Don’t Need Permission

Unlike email marketing, you don’t need permission. Most email marketing is required to be permission based so that it doesn’t contravene anti-spam laws. With direct mail, you can send a letter to anyone you want to. You don’t need permission. Direct mail is still the number one way of reaching out to an unknown prospect.

So why Don’t More People Use Direct Mail?

Most marketers today don’t have the experience. Direct mail is a tried and true technique that works! However, few young marketers raised in the digital age have experience with direct mail marketing. For direct mail marketing to work, it has to be executed properly. The ri
ght list has to be selected; the list is the #1 most important factor in the success of a mailing campaign. The second most important factor is the offer. It needs to be compelling and low risk to the consumer. The third most important factor is the call to action. A carefully worded call to action combined with a compelling offer is critical. Fourthly, the design of the mailer is lower down on the list of importance. So many people without experience in direct mail spend all of their time and budget on designing a glossy, fancy, artistic mailer, with little thought for the offer or call to action or who it should be mailed to. This is one of the critical mistakes inexperience direct mail marketers make.

Dare Marketing has over 15 years of experience with direct mail marketing. Dare has the experience to help you select a list, write, and design your mailer. Also, Dare is a direct mailing house, with a full lettershop, so we have the technology and the expertise to prepare the mailing for you and make sure you are getting economical postage rates.

Dare Marketing also has case studies of how effective direct mail marketing campaigns have been executed with Dare Marketing’s expertise. See Case Studies.