Is Direct Mail Still Effective in 2023? Here’s What You Need to Know

Most of you will be familiar with direct mail campaigns, but for the uninitiated, direct mail (or direct mailers) is essentially just printed, addressed advertising sent to a potential consumer's home address or (in the B2B sense) a business address.

It is an especially powerful platform for creating relationships with prospects who might want to see your message because, unlike a digital marketing strategy, direct mail advertising is a tangible form of messaging that connects your business or brand with your target market.

In the literal sense, a direct mail marketing campaign delivers your message into customers’ hands and creates brand connection through well-created, well-targeted direct mailers.

Are Direct Mail Campaigns Effective in the Digital World?

You would be forgiven for thinking that a direct mail campaign is a thing of the past. You might even view direct mailers as something now consigned to the history books; an antiquated platform to reach potential or existing customers in this highly digital marketing age.

The truth is a little different, however, and many savvy marketers who still use direct mail marketing are quite happy that other advertisers think this way. With far less competition utilizing a direct mail campaign equating to less mailbox clutter, the end result is a more effective, powerful messaging tool for those who use direct mailers.

Resurgence

The fact is that a direct mail campaign is arguably more effective than it ever was. After a solid couple of decades as one of the most powerful direct response outbound tools, direct mail campaigns began to take a backseat with the emergence of digital marketing.

For a while, it looked as though the direct mail campaign might even be shelved permanently, but over the last decade, there has been a resurgence, and a direct mail piece has once again become a key aspect of many companies' outreach. The future, for now at least, looks very rosey for this last bastion of print marketing. Direct mailers are here to stay. Of that, there is no doubt.

So, what has caused this resurgence? Those of you who remember the eighties and nineties will know that direct mail marketing developed something of a bad reputation among consumers who were tired of mailboxes crammed full of print advertising messages.

It became almost impossible to stand out from the crowd. Most advertising literature was immediately gathered by the handful and relegated to trash cans as direct mail recipients started to view direct mail less as helpful messaging and more as an irritant.

As digital advertising gathered momentum, the direct mail campaign began to falter. The majority of marketers began to allocate most of their advertising budgets away from print and into the digital sphere. This, of course, resulted in less direct mail marketing being distributed to consumers' homes, and direct mail was no longer considered intrusive or saturated.

Switched-on marketers have taken advantage of this and are once again turning to a direct mail campaign to bolster outreach effectively.

Banner Blindness

You could say that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, with the internet and other forms of digital media now swamped with advertising, leading to a phenomenon known as ‘banner blindness.’ With so much competition in the digital space, it has become increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd and get your marketing message across to consumers.

Again, this has created a slight resurgence in more traditional print marketing methods, such as the direct mail campaign. With less competition, consumers are happy to embrace most forms of direct mail, creating an upturn in results.

There are more specific reasons why a direct mail marketing campaign could work for you. Let's take a look at what they might be, with a few key points relating to direct mail marketing.

Pros & Cons of Direct Mail Marketing

Starting with the positives, we will address the reasons for and against direct mailers and help you determine if a direct mail strategy is something you should use as leverage for sourcing prospects and connecting with new or previous customers.

Pros of Direct Mail Marketing:

Generally speaking, marketers will have more success if their marketing efforts are more specifically targeted. By sending information to a target audience that is interested in your product or service, direct mail marketing can help you boost conversion rates because you are reaching the right type of demographic.

The same can be said with digital marketing strategies - advertisers can reach specific audience types, although the outreach won't be as precise as it will targeting a good quality direct mail list.

Naturally, compiling a great quality list takes time. Some marketers compile data on their clients' addresses, demographics, and purchasing patterns, and with that, they can specifically target past customers to offer an upsell.

Those without a list can employ the services of data brokers, although not all third-party brokered lists can be relied on for up-to-date information. Our lists are current, highly targeted, extremely well-managed, and can be included as part of a package in which we will print and distribute your literature to your ideal audience.

At Taradel, we have both personal and B2B lists available through our user-friendly and quite unique list-building service; well worth looking into if you need reliable targeting.

Direct Mail Is Tangible

In contrast to digital marketing, direct mail delivers a physical form of media that recipients can hold. Direct mail can become more memorable and authentic through the tactile sensation of handling and opening it - forming a distinct, more visceral connection between the prospect and the brand.

Through our design experts, you can design and produce a direct mail piece that effectively communicates your brand and marketing message way more than any form of digital media ever could. By getting a little creative and devising something memorable, direct mail literature will stand out among the stacks of everyday mail that many people and other household members might be inclined to throw away.

Direct mail is more likely to be noticed because it is tactile, as opposed to emails, which can end up in spam folders. Again, there is a very real connection between direct mail marketing efforts, in comparison to digital media. The tangible, well-designed, colorful messaging sometimes even provides a little nostalgia for some recipients, who might be a little 'banner blind' to the vast array of internet advertising out there currently.

Better Engagement

People are more likely to remember direct mail pieces they have received over a longer period of time since it is less common and more personal. People actually take the time to read and pick through their mail, which encourages them to respond more strongly to this form or messaging.

Direct mail pieces that are in-depth can also offer more information and calls to action than online marketing campaigns, with longer periods of engagement. Direct mail literature is also far more likely to be shared with household members in comparison to most other marketing channels, leading to a wider circulation per message than a digital marketing campaign.

Digital & Direct Mail Are Powerful Together

The best way to approach digital campaigns is to use them in combination with direct mail as part of an overall marketing strategy through multiple channels. This is a little-known hack that many marketers are unaware of, but the two platforms bounce off each other very well indeed.

For example, you can use direct mail to deploy QR codes, coupons, vouchers, and discount codes as a lead magnet toward your digital marketing. By generating interest at 'ground level' through direct mail, you can lead your prospect through a well-conceived sales funnel to your website or app.

Personalization

Direct mail marketing also helps connect with your prospect through personalization. In this increasingly digital world, consumers are rarely approached using a contact name as part of the advertising, which is something that can create a connection between the prospect and the brand.

Direct Mail Is Great for Info-Based Marketing

There are several ways to provide educational and promotional information through direct mail. Businesses can be educational without being limited to an email format by the creativity of producing catalogs, postcards, or letters.

When publishing extensive material, customization is an additional advantage that may be achieved by using bold fonts, imaginative colors, and graphics. This isn't always something that plays out too well with email marketing - at least in comparison.

Cons of Direct Mail Marketing

An effective direct mail campaign can produce incredible results for your company if done correctly. For the most part, direct mail is a highly effective strategy without too many drawbacks. As with anything, there are a few caveats and negatives to take into account, however.

Time Factor

Since digital is instantaneous, there is very little time involved in the preparation and launch of an online campaign. Oftentimes, it is even possible to get a digital campaign up and running on the same day.

The fact is that it takes time to construct an effective direct mail campaign. Lists need to be carefully selected, and a little time might be required to think about the type of prospects you need to reach - then there is the actual design of the literature, printing, and arranging the actual posting.

Further to that, there is usually a 2 or 3 days period where the literature is actually being posted out. Of course, this is only a negative depending on your perspective. If you are in no immediate rush and do not require instant results, none of this is really an issue. But if you are looking for ad-hoc sales with instant, same-day results, you might be better off looking for a digital solution.

Poor Creative and Targeting Results In Failure

When direct mail marketing works well, which is most of the time, the results are usually quite impressive. However, this can be a case of 'one extreme or the other,' with many direct mail campaigns failing to hit the mark and producing low results.

This can be avoided through diligent planning, solid creatives, and the right targeting. Without those key ingredients, your chances of failure are quite high in comparison to online marketing.

With our highly targeted lists, lengthy experience, world-class design team, and industry knowledge, we can ensure that does not happen and help you achieve impressive results. Reach out and contact us should you require more information on how to create a successful direct mail campaign. We will be happy to steer you in the right direction.

Direct Mail Tips and Hacks

Prospects like to feel unique. Consumers and potential customers can feel that way by using direct mail in a more personalized way. Through more personalization, they won't perceive your message as junk mail and will believe that you are genuinely interested in them and their demands.

The idea is to personalize your goods or services by striking a chord with your audience. This might be as basic as stating the nearest location's address and business hours or offering a package based on their demographics. Based on observable data, directing a special offer toward the products that will be the most pertinent to them will help bolster results.

Wrap-Up

The truth is, during the rise of social media and internet marketing, direct mail did falter for a little while, but through that, there has been a resurgence, and this decades-long advertising tool is once again producing remarkable results for marketers. If you are new to direct mail marketing or haven't used it for a while, you will almost certainly be surprised by the results.