2010 of 3.42 percent for a house list and 1.38 percent for a prospect list. (See Chapter 4 for more information about lists.) Catalogs had the lowest cost per lead of $47.61, ahead of inserts at $47.69, email at $53.85, and postcards at $75.32.
Consider also, the ability to use direct mail to provide product samples (a proven and very effective marketing technique with a long history), and to deliver three-dimensional packages that attract attention and virtually demand to be opened.
According to a research study produced in cooperation with the Direct Marketing Association and sponsored by DiscMail Direct, DVDs and compact discs (CDs) are an example of a direct mail effort that yields significantly higher results than print media or email. The study, released in 2010, found the following:
• 91 percent of all respondents who received a DVD or CD in the mail opened the mailer
• 73 percent played the discs in their computers
• 59 percent thought a DVD was more secure than an email
• Respondents were 85 percent more likely to prefer receiving a DVD or CD in the mail than an email by the same advertiser
• 89 percent said they would spend more time, or the same amount of time, with a direct mail piece if it included a DVD or CD
Despite the fact that marketers could deliver the exact same experience online through a click of the mouse, there’s just something about a tangible package that has yet to be replaced in the digital environment.
Traditional direct mail is inexpensive and effective. Aside from online marketing, it is still the most trackable means of communicating with a prospect, and it is still the most effective way to get an unsolicited message into consumers’ hands where they’re going to see it, even if they throw it away.
As with Twain, the report of the death of direct mail may certainly be an exaggeration. In fact, as more and more marketers bring their messages online and clutter up the mailboxes of their intended recipients, some will begin to take advantage of the relative “emptiness” of the old snail mail box. Here are some representative comments from participants in an online marketing forum:
• “My clients use direct mail every month to gain new customers and interact with existing customers. They mail from 50,000 to 500,000 pieces per month. They make money. Their customers love getting direct mail. It’s personal, interactive, engaging, and extremely satisfying.”
• “I prefer snail mail because my spam filter generally filters out more than 90 percent of the direct mail that comes electronically and I nuke the balance if I don’t already know the person sending it. At least snail mail gets to the mailbox of the targeted consumer and needs a look to decide to recycle it.”
• “Nothing captures my attention better than a well-written and engaging direct mail letter. Personal, well-crafted communication which stands out from the crowd is infinitely more compelling than a faceless, carbon-copied, email.”
• “Direct mail isn’t taking its last breath any time soon, but it is evolving. Business marketing strategies are different than they were even four or five years ago. Now it’s common and necessary to integrate a marketing campaign with your website, social media pages, and email marketing. For example, you send a direct mail postcard to your target market, they go to a landing page where you offer a report or special discount and they, in turn, enter their contact info. Next you follow up with those contacts via email to stay in front of the new lead. It’s a cycle that works together, and comes full circle, to close a sale. Bottom line: Direct mail still yields results, is effective for a variety of industries today, and is still one of the only mediums that can specifically target your ideal clients.”
Karen Menachof, Chief Client Officer of Catalyst, a direct marketing firm in Rochester, New York, says, “Direct mail has always been the one channel where truly relevant information could be used by marketers to engage customers and prospects in a compelling manner to provide things that matter to them and thereby create true value while reinforcing the marketer’s brand. Data-driven insights have long been the key driver to success in this channel.”
What’s really changed now that the digital marketplace seems to have taken over? Menachof says, “Sure, some folks no longer check their mail — some even opt out of receiving it entirely. Sure, many folks are more likely to actively seek information online rather than wait for it to arrive in their mailbox. Sure, some folks view direct mail as an obsolete channel. But the truth is that the direct mail channel is keeping up with the times. Our ability to further customize direct mail communications based on what we now know about their cross-channel interactions with us has the potential to make it more relevant than ever. And as we get better at understanding the preferences of those we are marketing to and are able to identify those individuals who prefer mail and/or those circumstances which justify mail we may mail less, but with exceptionally more impact. Mail is not dead, but its success is increasingly dependent on the effective integration of all channels so that the individual’s needs are understood and addressed in the most relevant, impactful manner possible.”
Menachof’s final sentence is the key. While this book will deal specifically with direct mail which, as we’ve already seen, is a subset of direct marketing (which is a subset of promotion, one of the four Ps of the marketing mix that also includes product, price, and place), no individual promotional tool can or should be considered in a vacuum. To be most effective, marketers must consider the broad range of communication options available to them and then select the right mix of options to best meet their goals. In this book, we will focus specifically on the mix between traditional and digital email options. Still, many of the questions asked will be pertinent to marketing communication considerations in general.
What your prospects and customers will see of your direct mail is the actual presentation of your message, whether in letter, brochure, catalog, three-dimensional, DVD or CD, or electronic format. Before you even begin considering the development of what will become the final deliverable to your target audience, there are a lot of behind the scenes decisions and work that need to occur. The first consideration, identifying overall goals and objectives, is discussed in Chapter 2.
** *** **** Note: The points above that will have the most variation are 5, 7, 8, and 9. The others are the same. So, if you’ve been successful at traditional direct mail marketing, you’re already well on your way toward achieving success online!
2
Identifying Your Overall Goals and Objectives
Before you can even begin to think about the specifics of your direct mail campaign, you need to determine what your goals and objectives are. You may want to —
• develop new markets,
• increase awareness of your company name,
• secure leads for your sales force, or
• increase sales.
The choice is yours — the key is to be specific.
Perhaps you’re currently selling lawn and garden equipment and would like to add a line of sporting goods, or you’re running webinars for administrative assistants and would like to introduce a new line of programming for a
