Originally posted by sumgould on Eye/Comm’s Blog
Direct mail is not the new kid on the block. However, it is very effective. Direct mail is seen as a non-intrusive form of marketing. When the piece arrives in the mail box, the consumer gets to decide when they want to read it. Mail is engaging. Consumers spend on average 10 minutes reading direct mail.
Of the 1000+ B2B marketing professionals surveyed by Marketing Sherpa, 79% found direct mail to be either effective or very effective. 72% of adults said they have replied to direct mail pieces that contained a “buy one, get one free” offer. This indicates that direct mail pieces with an irresistible offer will get results. It also indicates that the word “free” is more appealing to people than a discount.
Direct mail is a tangible form of advertising. It gives you a physical presence in your customer’s home or office, and can literally put your product in their hands. Mail can be targeted to reach very specific audiences – almost every individual, household and business can be reached by mail. Including direct mail in your marketing mix will yield a larger ROI.
- Direct mail is a green way to shop. If Americans replaced two trips to the mall each year with shopping by catalog, we’d reduce our number of miles driven by 3.3 billion—a 3 billion pound reduction in carbon dioxide and a savings of $650 million on gas alone.
- Mail represents only 2.4% of America’s municipal waste stream.
- The production of household advertising mail consumes only 0.19% of the energy used in the United States.
- Mail is made from a renewable resource. The vast majority of paper produced in America today comes from trees grown for that specific purpose. The forest industry ensures that the number of trees each year is increasing, so trees are not a depleting resource. In fact, forest land in the United States has increased by 5.3 million acres in the past three decades.
- Direct mail is critical to the economic well-being of communities, businesses and charities throughout the United States. Last year it represented more than $686 billion in sales, supporting jobs at more than 300,000 small businesses across the country.
So, as you can see, Direct Mail is an excellent marketing channel as well as a green process.