Rock, paper…digital? Paper covers rock, but how does it measure up to digital when it comes to lead generation and brand recognition? Statistics show there is no need to choose one over the other. In fact, using them together is the best strategy!
On average, there is a 28% increase in conversion rate when direct mail and digital ads are used together.1
The average person receives nearly 3,000 online messages per day. Our inboxes, social media feeds, phones, and the websites we visit are inundated with messages to “buy” this, “visit” here, “donate” there, and “apply now”. These messages are targeted and will create leads, but they can get lost in a busy digital landscape. Supporting your digital ads with direct mail can improve click-through and conversion rates.
Marketing campaigns that used direct mail and one or more digital media mediums experienced a 118% lift in response rate compared to using direct mail only.1
Your customers are on multiple platforms. Are you? As more companies have shifted their marketing budgets away from print, the advantages of direct mail have grown. Less mail means there are more opportunities for your message to stand out in the mailbox.
64% of Millennials would rather scan for useful information in mail rather than email.2
Direct mail is great at driving people to visit a webpage, encouraging customers to buy online, and collecting information about your prospects. Information that you can better use to target them with a digital campaign. It allows you to start a conversation and build a relationship with your customers. Also, the more that you can engage and learn about your clients by using direct mail, the more cost-effective your digital campaigns will be.
The average household receives only two pieces of direct mail a day, compared to 157 e-mails.1
Direct mail has the greatest impact because it offers a tangible experience for the customer. It has the highest rate of success in new customer acquisition compared to other marketing channels, according to Target Marketing.
Create a successful direct mail campaign.
- Develop a strategy. Who are you going to send it to? Why are you sending it to them and what are your goals? How can you make it personalized? Simply adding color and a person’s name to your postcard can increase responses by 135%.1
- Make sure you have good data. If you use a house list, remove bad addresses and filter the data based on your goals. For example, if you are a non-profit, you could sort the data by the donation amount that people have given in the past. This would allow you to create campaigns and messaging for each group based on past giving history. If you are buying a list, make sure that you are purchasing it from a reliable source and that you buy it based on your audience’s demographics, location, and interests.
- Create a professionally designed direct mail piece that provides a clear message and call to action. Tell your customers a story and add personalized messages, offers, and/or graphics. Oversized postcards will stick out in the mail and provide enough space for colorful graphics and text to give your prospect the information to make them want to buy, respond, and learn more.
- Measure your responses and know your results. No matter if your goal is to have people fill out a survey, buy something online, or call for more information, make sure you are gathering the information. As a highly trackable medium, mail lets you monitor the impact and ROI of every initiative. It also allows you to better analyze and learn about your customers.
Are you ready to gain more business, quality leads, and improve your response rate? We will help you with each step of the process including the strategy, buying a list, printing, and mailing.
Marketing is typically completed in either an in-house or agency setting. 
