The web is king as far as marketing goes. Online ads, social media, email marketing are dominating the thinking of clients and marketers. You might think that direct mail marketing is history, but not so fast. This standard form of marketing is still alive, still effective and should be a part of any serious strategy. Direct mail solutions, either in letter, catalog or circular format still reach a substantial audience. There are several good reasons to utilize this time tested approach of direct mail marketing.
To begin, not everyone is comfortable with computers. In rural areas, where direct mail solutions are very successful, broadband communications are not as widespread. Agricultural products and mail order businesses still thrive here. Income from agriculture is a major factor in the US economy and this labor intensive community uses mail over internet quite a bit.
Just about everyone likes to get mail. The physical presence of a letter, catalog or package is a part of our human makeup. In the last decade many predicted the end of the book as electronic publishing and digital readers began to multiply and improvements made these devices more consumer friendly. However, the book in paperback or hardcover form still exists and has considerable market share in publishing.
Not everyone’s vision is comfortable with online media. Long hours online and use of computer screens causes eye fatigue in a considerable part of the population. Also, online catalogs and flyers still demand a relative degree of physical interaction, keystrokes etc. to be read. Direct mail follows the normal vision patterns and the page size allows more to be seen at once.
Direct mail is personal. For nonprofits depending on memberships direct mail builds the contact lists, allows for premiums and gifts to be sent, and is very useful in relating to an older audience. Retired seniors form a major component of charitable giving and this audience relates to mail more directly than a younger one.
Print media has a common ground of the familiar. Everyone receives some type of mail. The variety of operating systems, programs to read online ads and materials, the growing popularity of mobile marketing and operating systems for phones all provide a variety of approaches. Direct mail makes presentation simpler although costs are much more than digital.
Marketers should include direct mail in their strategies. The amount invested should be relative to the planned audience. Here a proper demographics study is essential so as to utilize the correct and effective medium for the campaign. The best marketing uses the medium that gives back the best ROI.Print media is still a serious element in today’s marketing.