How To Make The Most Of Direct Mail

In this day and age it can be easy to believe that digital marketing communications are the only way to go. However, there are a lot of benefits to carrying out direct mail marketing activities too.

Business2Community recently offered some advice on how best to leverage direct mail, and explained why it’s still worth including physical marketing activities such as this in your marketing plan.

According to the news provider, the response rates for direct mail communications are five per cent, compared to one per cent across email, paid search, online display and social media advertising.

However, in order to make the most of your direct mail activities, it’s important that you take certain steps to better leverage what can be a highly effective form of marketing.

The news site pointed out that many firms fail to do this, which means that they don’t see such good returns on their activities as they could. One of the top pieces of advice is to ensure you create a targeted mailing list.

One of the reasons why email marketing has become so popular is its relatively low cost compared to the likes of direct mail. However, when done correctly, you can see significant return on your investment (ROI) through direct mail.

Starting with a targeted list of prospects to send the likes of brochures to is essential. It’s also important that you verify the addresses of those on your list to ensure that what you send out will reach the intended recipients.

Another top tip from the news provider is to ensure that the direct mail you’re sending out delivers value to the people you’re contacting.This means taking the time to tailor your messaging and ensuring that they get more than a standard postcard or brochure.

Working with an organisation that provides brochure printing services at a reasonable cost could allow you to create multiple versions of the same brochure, each one allowing you to target very specific customer demographics more effectively, for instance.

Whatever approach you take with your content, it’s also essential that you are able to track the results of your direct mail campaigns to determine their ROI. Including a code in your marketing materials is therefore necessary to determine which prospects get in touch with your organisation as a result of receiving marketing materials from you.

As well as allowing you to find out which of your campaigns are most successful, this will also show you which of your mailing lists are most receptive to this form of marketing.

Earlier this year, an article for Forbes highlighted direct mail marketing as one of the channels that it’s essential to stay on top of in 2021. The publication noted that this form of marketing can “help brands connect with consumers on a more personal level”, which is highly sought after in this day and age of instant messaging and online marketing. 

The ROI from direct mail activities averages at 29 per cent, the news provider noted, compared to 23 per cent for paid search, indicating why it’s important not to forget about physical means of marketing in this digital age.