For years, direct mail has been known as a very reliable tool in any marketing campaign toolbox. The benefits have been touted numerously:
- Ability to reach new potential customers
- Highly targeted
- Cultivate customer loyalty
- Easily measured ROI
But other “hidden” strengths of direct mail need to be looked at as well. Savvy marketers know that multiple touches are needed to gain a prospect’s business or develop a client’s loyalty. Direct mail can work in tandem with any other marketing media. It can be the reinforcement needed from TV and radio ads. It can be the spark needed to fire up web traffic and internet sales. It can be the special request inviting customers to your business.
Direct mail is also a very tangible item. Customers and prospects physically have received a “gift” from you to them. Since it resembles more of a gift, it evokes more favorable impressions of the sender. Your message will be seen through the lens of a happier recipient. Tangible items are also beneficial for memory recall. The recipient is doing two actions upon receiving his/her mail—reading your message and turning it over, inspecting it or opening it. In essence, two actions are recalled in a person’s memory easier than a single action. As people remember receiving your mail piece, they will be more likely to act upon its request for action in the future.
Direct mail is also an effective dialogue tool. Direct mail allows you to open a conversation with a prospect that does not know your service offerings. Conversations with current customers often ask to re-connect and build upon good experiences in the past. Well crafted mail pieces create a story that the end user is being asked to participate in. The reader is following along with the story in his/her own mind; it is not just being blared at them. Your message is directly conveyed, without any filter, to your recipient.
Naysayers have been proclaiming the impending doom or downfall of direct mail for the past 5-10 years as the popularity of email and the internet has increased. The truth is, though, that direct mail is a proven marketing technique that works. (Skilled marketers think mailbox and inbox, not mailbox vs inbox in some sort of heavyweight boxing match.) As long as businesses and organizations need to get their marketing message to their end users, direct mail will continue to thrive.
