When it comes to winning the popularity contest, email has it in the bag. But is direct mail the true secret weapon for just that reason? In the age of information overload, which direct marketing tactic reigns supreme?
The answer? It’s not as simple as Direct Mail vs. Email, but how to devise a marketing strategy with a strategically picked combination of both. So, when should you use direct mail? We’ve compiled seven of the most effective campaign types and what works best. The results may surprise you!
1. Get Specific
The most important detail in successful direct mail campaigns is just that—the details. Today you can purchase highly targeted lists by demographic, profession, zip code, and even by association membership. Send exactly what you want to exactly who you want achieves much better response rates, so you can send direct mail to 100 highly targeted potential customers and see response from almost everyone. You’ll spend less and get more in return by handing a few select individuals exactly what they need or have been looking for. Direct mail is the best channel for targeted campaigns, and for the rest of the items on this list the more specific you can make your segment, the better.
2. Reach the Decision Makers
An important, big step forward needs to be taken and only one person in the household, community, company or organization can make the call to act. Those at the top of the decision-making food chain are nearly impossible to reach via email. Their spam filters are so intense you’ll never get through. Direct mail can reach them, well, directly. And data shows that when it does reach them, it works.
3. Introduce Yourself
If you want to make a first impression that shows you’re different, direct mail is the way to go. If you’re a new neighborhood business or new to the industry, catching the eye of your prospective customers is done more effectively with eye-catching direct mail than lost in a flurry of email spam.
4. Promote Your Special Event
Whether it’s the year-end blowout, a promo to accompany the election or simply an event you’d like your subscribers to attend, direct mail is the way to go. Recipients can stick it on the fridge, pin it to the bulletin board or even post it on the wall calendar for the household to see. Plus, direct mail has greater staying power, meaning it has a better chance of making it to the day of the event and reminding the user to take advantage of their exclusive opportunity.
5. Tell Your Story
Email messages need to be quick and concise. Attention grabbing. No-brainers. Fast-acting. Direct mail, on the other hand, can tell your whole story on your terms. It’s the best method for starting or building a relationship and gives you the space—and staying power—you need to communicate who you are and why it matters to the recipient.
5. Grab Attention
Show off your brand and get attention for your creativity. Email comes in one form—email. Direct mail? The possibilities are endless. If you can put a stamp on it, you can mail it. If you can design it, you can mail it. And when you mail it, you better believe that if you’ve done it right, the masses will share it and bring instant notoriety and recognition to your brand and its personality.
Email is a medium for reaching the most individuals for the least amount of money. An email “blast” is an accurate description for a majority of email marketing campaigns—wide, non-specific reach, hitting everything in its reach. But when it comes to getting noticed, hitting where it counts and a higher rate of effective responses there is no better channel than direct mail.
