Which Demographics Respond Best to Direct Mail? | Taradel

Is direct mail dead? While many may claim that direct mail marketing campaigns don't really have a place in this day and age, advertising your products or services this way can still lead to a substantial increase in both sales and customer engagement with your business. The catch lies in your target demographics and their relationship with such marketing efforts.

Direct mail advertising is a much different beast from online marketing, as well as the more traditional ways of getting your message across, such as billboards or TV ads. In order to be able to boast about a high response rate, your team will need to get extra creative when it comes to designing these types of promotional materials. However, even with the flashiest marketing materials, you still need to pay attention to who exactly you're targeting, as research shows that not all demographics respond to direct mail marketing in the same way.

Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective in 2022?

The short answer would be: yes, direct mail marketing is, indeed, an effective way to get your message across to thousands of people. However, it gets a little bit more complicated than that. In order to maximize your return on investment, you need to carefully look into your target audience and base your selection of recipients around the results of your research.

This is because some people, while still interested in the product or service you're offering, simply do not use traditional mail on a regular basis. Such is the case with Gen Z, who are so deeply integrated with the digital world that they don't even feel the need to open their mailbox. Targeting this demographic with your digital mail marketing strategy might therefore result in your meticulously prepared flyers or letters ending up in the recycling bin. If you're focused on selling to Generation Z members, it might be more reasonable to deploy digital marketing campaigns and try to reach this group via social media and other similar channels.

With that out of the way, let's move on to exploring which demographics are most likely to respond to direct mail. Keep reading to find out who you should focus on, as well as how to adjust your messaging to make your business more appealing to these groups.

Who Responds to Direct Mail the Most?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latest research shows that baby boomers are a demographic that prefers direct mail marketing over other forms of advertisements. What might strike you as a bit unusual is the fact that millennials do not lag far behind them. Those born in the late 80s and early 90s have a higher response rate to advertising mail than both Gen X and Gen Z.

These two age groups are a good starting point if you're devising your direct mail strategy from scratch. Keep in mind that although both demographics tend to have a good response rate when it comes to direct mail campaigns, we strongly suggest adjusting your tactics to cater to their differing needs and interests.

Millennials

According to a study carried out by InfoTrends, over 65% of surveyed millennials have made a purchase based on the marketing information they received via a direct mail catalog. Furthermore, 63% of them claimed that they thoroughly go over most catalogs they receive in the mail.

Millennials account for 25% of the American population, making them a large and attractive customer base for most businesses. With response rates as high as suggested by the InfoTrends study, it would be foolish not to include millennials in your list of direct mail recipients. They are also very heavily entertainment-focused: more than 80% of millennials would like to be "entertained" by brands, which in turn makes them more inclined to buy the advertised product.

Another crucial thing to jot down as you gather important direct mail statistics is the fact that this demographic is also highly active on social media, with 40% of millennials having over 200 friends on Facebook. Therefore, building up a strong reputation among millennials can pay off as they'll spread the word about your business to groups that are more skeptical towards direct mail ads, such as Gen X or Gen Z.

Going off of these brief stats, you should have a clearer picture of what your millennial-oriented direct mail campaign should look like. Your direct mail advertisements would ideally be presented in the form of a catalog containing plenty of attractive prices and deals to woo potential customers. Another thing you shouldn't overlook is the entertainment factor -- be sure to include other content in your catalogs, such as articles, interviews, or plenty of aesthetic imagery to develop a long-lasting interest in your brand. Finally, make sure to add some references to your social media accounts so that your recipients can easily find you online.

Baby Boomers

When it comes to baby boomers, devising your direct mail marketing campaign becomes much more straightforward, though it still requires a fair bit of planning. As opposed to millennials, this generation of old-timers will be more difficult to convince with a mere colorful catalog that showcases your products and contains a few good reads. Synergy Financial's market research suggests that 75% of baby boomers are on the lookout for discount coupons and limited deals whenever they open their direct mail ads.

Roughly 60% of baby boomers admit that the main convincing factor when considering a purchase is the information they receive from ads and in-person consultations with salesmen. This means that your direct mail marketing strategy for baby boomers should also focus heavily on well-researched facts and hard-to-find details about your product or service.

While they're no strangers to online shopping (68% of baby boomers visit retailers' websites before purchasing a product), older generations still rely on brick-and-mortar stores for most of their shopping, treating the information they find online merely as another point of reference. Thus, your direct mail campaigns targeting baby boomers should include pictures of your establishment, as well as address and contact details.

Know Your Product, Know Your Audience

None of the pointers and tips we've outlined above will be of any use to you if you don't identify your audience based on the products and services you're offering.

For example, if you're selling specific items, such as fishing rods, your direct mail catalogs and coupons don't have to be all that different, regardless of whether you're trying to cater to millennials, baby boomers, or any other generations. Avid fishermen who receive direct mail from companies selling fishing equipment are already fairly likely to at least skim through your advertisement. As long as you include information that caters to both groups, such as social media handles for millennials (QR codes can come in handy here) and hot deals with a lot of technical information for baby boomers, you can try sending out identical pieces of direct mail to these demographics, without it negatively affecting your response rates.

The case is different for more general products, such as furniture, food, or clothing. In these cases, you'll have to be much more mindful of these generational differences by preparing different direct mail offers.

The Bottom Line

All in all, direct mail continues to be a powerful channel driving sales numbers across multiple demographics. The trick is to know their differences, particularly the points they find most attractive about different ads. Contrary to social media or email marketing, direct mail provides you with the opportunity to send out advertisements that are more personal and can leave a lasting impact on potential customers. Use it well.

Finally, make sure that you use other marketing channels alongside direct mail. You'll achieve the highest response rate by utilizing all of the tools you have at your disposal, and the combination of physical mail and internet marketing will maximize your reach and attract more consumers to your company.