An article in the recent issue of Direct Marketing News leads with the headline, “Direct mail gains new potency as online marketing evolves.”
While the headline is a bit long, the article makes some important points.
“Because each mail piece is not competing with as many other pieces in the mailbox, response rates are climbing.” One retail outlet just finished analyzing their efforts in direct mail, email and in-store promotions. What it discovered is that “direct mail is the best performer: up 150% vs. last year with no significant changes in strategy.”
The point being made is that direct mail is still a very viable channel, but only if direct marketing fundamentals are being applied. Improving the levels of both personalization and relevance is the best way to improve response rates.
Be sure to analyze your data to learn how and when to use direct mail in combination with your digital efforts. If you can ramp up the relevancy, results will almost always rise as well.
Brian Fredrickson
Senior Account Executive