Almost 40 years ago, “Ghostbusters” character Dr. Egon Spengler proclaimed print was dead.
Who wants to tell him that mail is alive and thriving today?
Our lives are dominated by online communication–we’re craving offline experiences. Direct mail’s trust factor, high response rate, and tangibility make it more appealing to customers than in the past. What once was called “junk mail” and immediately discarded can now be a pleasant, attention-grabbing surprise that earns a coveted spot on the refrigerator door.
As you look ahead to 2024 and reevaluate your marketing strategy, consider adding direct mail marketing into the mix. Though it’s often underestimated, direct mail has a timeless appeal you can leverage to reach a new level of connection with your audience. Read on for tips, trends, and how-to’s to make your direct mail marketing campaigns successful.
Understanding the Role of Direct Mail in Modern Marketing
Does the resurgence of direct mail in modern marketing have you scratching your head? We get it. The availability of no- and low-cost marketing channels like social media and email make direct mail seem like an outdated strategy.
So let’s take a look at some of the reasons why the popularity of direct mail marketing is rising.
Benefits of Direct Mail
Generational Appeal
According to a United States Postal Service’s generational research report, physical mail appeals to all generations. Baby Boomers trust direct mail more than other forms of marketing communication. Gen Xers prefer direct mail to emails with similar content. Though Millennials like email marketing slightly more than direct mail, physical mail feels more secure to them. They have positive feelings about direct mail and it even makes them more interested in products and services. Even Gen Zers, who are heavily reliant on technology, enjoy direct mail because of its ability to create experiences.
Out of the Ordinary
The ease of email marketing, while great for marketers, means that consumers’ email inboxes are often bursting at the seams with promotions and offers. Given the high volume of emails people receive on a daily basis to their school, work, and personal accounts, the rarity of direct mail makes it all the more special and memorable.
Tangibility
Email typically engages one sense – sight. Direct mail, on the other hand, can incorporate sight, touch, smell, sound, and even taste. Using direct mail to create an attention-grabbing experience allows you to more easily connect with customers and even build trust.
Shareability & Longevity
When a company sends you an email, it’s going just to you. When a company sends you a flier or catalog, it has the potential to be seen by everyone in the household (and maybe even people outside the home). The majority of key purchase divisions are discussed at home; having a piece of direct mail with an offer of promotion in hand and in sight can enhance that conversation and potentially speed up decision-making.
The amount of time people spend reading a marketing email continues to decline. In a matter of seconds, the email goes from the inbox to the trash. Direct mail, on the other hand, has an average lifespan of 17 days!
ROI of Direct Mail
Interestingly, consumers respond to direct mail and email marketing campaigns at a similar rate. Since direct mail campaigns have a higher cost per piece, this might not seem like a win. However, a study found that the purchases attributed to direct mail are 5 times larger than those from email. And when direct mail is combined with email, the purchases are even larger.
There’s something about receiving special offers, catalogs, and flyers in the mail that inspires recipients to act in a way that email doesn’t. Adding this tactic to your marketing toolbox can help your business build customer relationships and grow sales.
Trends in Direct Mail Marketing for 2024
Now that you know direct mail marketing should have a permanent place in your strategy, let’s discuss which trends you should incorporate into your campaigns next year to start reaping the benefits.
Personalization
To succeed in building trust and a long-term relationship with your customers, you have to ditch your fill-in-the-blank templates for truly personalized messaging.
You can use advanced technologies like variable data printing to personalize at scale. Your direct mail campaigns can include offers, imagery, and more specific to the members of your audience.
As shared by Hubspot, a 2021 report from Mckinsey & Company found that brands that personalize can capture repeat business from more than three-quarters of customers. If you think that’s a big win, consider this: personalization also leads to an increase in customer referrals.
Interactive and Engaging Content
As we already learned, incorporating digital technologies with analog direct mail can lead to an increase in purchases, so don’t sleep on interactive, engaging content.
Aside from pairing your direct mail piece with an email campaign, here are some options:
● A QR code to a landing page with a personalized offer
● A personalized offer redeemable in-store with a barcode (this also helps you track responses)
● A voice-activated call to action they can use with their smart speaker
● An augmented reality code to online visual content
● Branded swag
● Free samples
● Catalogs
Sustainability
Consumers care about the environment. This is leading them to purchase sustainable products. Regardless of the products or services you offer, including messaging about your eco-friendly practices can help you reach these conscious consumers. Interestingly, the number of consumers willing to pay more for sustainable products has increased across generations, much like the preference for direct mail has.
Crafting a Successful Direct Mail Campaign
You’re ready to give direct mail a try. You have an idea which trends would work best for your business and your customers. Now it’s time to get sending, right?
Wrong! Before you send your first direct mail piece, you must take the time to set the campaign up for success. Here are four necessary steps to follow.
1. Define Your Goals
We are proponents of SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Defining goals upfront will inform all other aspects of your campaign. Knowing what you want to accomplish will keep you on track as you write your messaging, design your mail piece, and prepare your offer. Also, it will make determining the success of the campaign much easier because you will know which metrics are most important.
2. Define Your Target Audience
Because direct mail campaigns take more time to plan and cost more money to send than email, you must be clear on who your mailings are for.
A defined target audience enables you to perfect the personalization of your piece. If you don’t already have a mailing list, you have some options:
● Use the USPS Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) program to target consumers by ZIP code, neighborhood, age, income, or even household size.
● Rent or buy mailing lists from reputable companies
However you target your audience, it’s best to work with a direct mail service provider that can check your mailing list for duplicates and verify addresses to reduce your cost and improve deliverability.
3. Design Compelling, Visually Appealing Mail Pieces
Your target audience should influence your design. United States Postal Service’s generational research report includes preferences for Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Zers so you can incorporate the elements that matter most to your demographics.
Aside from catering to the preferences of your audience, do take advantage of direct mail’s physical nature. How can you engage additional senses? What size or format is best for your message? Will you use die cutting to make unusual shapes? Should the finish be matte or glossy? Do you want to include special touches like foiling or embossing?
Whatever you decide, be sure to also follow these best practices.
- Eye-catching
- High-quality imagery
- Easy-to-read typography
- Simple, clear messaging
- Personalization
- Tailored offer
- Clear call to action (CTA)
4. CTA Strategies for Tracking and Engagement
A clear CTA is arguably the most important aspect of your direct mail piece. No matter how well it’s designed or how clever your message is, your audience won’t take the desired action if you don’t tell them what you want them to do.
We recommend a single CTA to keep it simple for your audience. To get them to act on a special offer, it should be worth their while. If you’re stuck, Hubspot’s guide can help you write a CTA.
Your CTA should align with your direct mail campaign goals and include a way to track results. Incorporating QR codes and barcodes can simplify this process.
Integrating Direct Mail With Digital Marketing
We’ve seen and the data shows that direct mail marketing enhances digital marketing efforts. Just as your digital marketing channels are more powerful when they’re integrated, your direct mail marketing can enhance your online campaigns.
Landing Pages
If you are including an offer or promotion, include a QR code that directs readers to a landing page. Most people research purchase decisions online – use that to your advantage and direct them where you want them to go. Your marketing analytics will reflect how effective this was.
If you’re already using email automation, add direct mail to your workflow. For example, you can set a direct mail piece as a trigger and have your email platform send out a follow-up email the next week.
Or if a customer or prospect takes a desired action with an email, that can be your trigger to send them a piece of direct mail.
However you use email and direct mail together, be sure the branding, design, and messaging are the same.
Informed Delivery®
Postal customers enrolled in Informed Delivery® from the United States Postal Service receive scanned images of the mail pieces they can expect in their mailboxes. Businesses can create a digital experience to go along with their direct mail campaign and include custom images and URLs.
Data and Analytics in Direct Mail
Though direct mail seems like a fully analog technology, it requires data and digital technologies to be successful and measurable.
The customer data you already have from your digital marketing efforts can be used to personalize direct mail campaigns and target subsets of your audience. Use your real-time analytics to improve audience targeting and reduce your direct mail costs.
The metrics you use to measure campaign success should align with the CTA. First, you want to ask, Did the audience take the action you wanted them to take? Common ways to track results include
● Unique code
- Page visits
- Appointments scheduled
- Forms completed
● Barcode, coupon, coupon code
- Redemption rates
Next, determine the overall response rate of the campaign. Divide the number of completed actions (for example, the number of page visits) by the number of direct mail pieces sent.
For other ways to determine the return on investment (ROI) of your campaign, check out Hubspot’s guide for marketing ROI.
Overcoming Challenges in Direct Mail Marketing
We’ve heard a lot of misconceptions about direct mail over the years.
“Direct mail is outdated.”
“Younger generations don’t read physical mail.”
“Direct mail is too expensive.”
“Digital marketing is more effective.”
“It’s generic and impersonal.”
“You can’t measure direct mail.”
But what we’ve seen, what the data shows, and what we’ve shared in this blog dispels all those myths.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the proliferation of digital marketing, direct mail continues to be a powerful marketing tool. In fact, mail is perceived positively across generations.
Though it can cost more than email marketing platforms, best practices like audience targeting and mailing list hygiene can keep costs down.
Direct mail combined with digital marketing improves sales. The data gathered from digital marketing can be used to create highly personalized direct mail campaigns. Integrating direct mail into digital marketing tactics simplifies campaign tracking.
If you want to try direct mail marketing but are concerned about cost, partner with a direct mail service provider. They have the experience, knowledge, and equipment to help you achieve your goals within your budget.
At McAdams Graphics, we’ve provided companies across the country with sophisticated direct mail printing and mailing services for nearly 40 years. Our inline printing and converting capabilities provide what few printers can: a high-volume, personalized piece that is perforated, die-cut, folded, and glued in a single pass. We are also experts at variable data insertion and provide mailing services to help you keep costs down.
The Future of Direct Mail Marketing
We predict a bright future for direct mail marketing.
1. Integration with Digital Platform
Direct mail will likely continue its integration with digital platforms, creating cohesive and omnichannel experiences. Strategies that seamlessly connect physical mail to online interactions, such as personalized URLs, QR codes, or augmented reality, will become more prevalent.
2. Enhanced Personalization with AI
Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) will likely lead to even more sophisticated personalization in direct mail. AI algorithms can analyze vast datasets to generate highly targeted and relevant content, ensuring that each piece of direct mail is tailored to the individual recipient.
3. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Practices
As environmental consciousness grows, the future of direct mail may see an increased emphasis on sustainability. Businesses may adopt eco-friendly printing practices, use recycled materials, and explore options for reducing the environmental impact of their direct mail campaigns.
4. Innovative Printing Technologies
Continued advancements in printing technologies will likely bring about more creative and visually appealing direct mail pieces. High-quality printing, 3D printing, and innovative finishing techniques could redefine the aesthetic possibilities of direct mail, making each piece a work of art.
5. Data-Driven Decision-Making
The importance of data in marketing will only intensify. Direct mail campaigns will increasingly rely on robust data analytics to refine targeting, measure performance, and make data-driven decisions. This will lead to more effective and efficient direct mail strategies.
6. Interactive and Multi-Sensory Experiences
Future direct mail may focus on providing multi-sensory experiences. Augmented reality, scented inks, and textured materials could be used to engage recipients on a deeper level, creating memorable interactions that go beyond traditional printed communication.
7. Continued Appeal to Niche Audiences
While digital channels cast a wide net, direct mail's ability to appeal to niche audiences with highly targeted content will persist. Businesses will continue to recognize the unique value of direct mail in reaching specific demographics or segments with personalized messages.
The future of direct mail marketing will continue to be a blend of tradition and innovation. By adapting to emerging technologies, sustainability practices, and consumer preferences, direct mail will likely continue to be a relevant and impactful component of comprehensive marketing strategies.
McAdams Graphics: Your Direct Mail Services Partner
Now you see direct mail’s rising popularity isn’t a joke or a fad. As our lives continue to be dominated by technology, the singular, multisensory experience mail provides will only grow in importance.
The broad generational appeal, integration with digital technologies, and design possibilities make it a flexible tool marketers can use to drive business growth.
As you continue planning for 2024, we encourage you to add direct mail to your marketing arsenal and reap its benefits for yourselves.
When you’re ready to find a partner to print and mail your first campaign, choose McAdams Graphics.
