Why Consumers Like Direct Mail

How well do you communicate the value of direct mail to your customers? For many years now, direct mail has been bashed for being too old school and past its time. The reality is far from that. Direct mail response is on the rise. Consumers enjoy getting direct mail that is applicable to them. When direct mail is targeted correctly it will not be considered “junk mail.” Yes, even millennials and Gen Z like to get mail.

Here are a few reasons people like to get mail:

• It's delivered to their home through no effort on their part.
• It can be fun (get creative and think outside of the box).
• It's way to save money (people like a good deal).
• It’s informative (people are curious).
• It’s easily kept for future reference or use (use a magnet, they can then post on the fridge).

Direct mail statistics you should know: (as reported by Lob and Comperemedia)

• 84% of marketers agree direct mail provides the highest ROI of any channel they use. This number has consistently increased year-over-year for the last three years.
• 85% Direct mail delivers the best conversion and response rate of all the channels.
• Personalized URLs are the most popular way to measure conversions from direct mail campaigns.
• Personalization is on the rise, with offers/coupons and text/copy on envelopes seeing the largest increase in customization.
• Letters and postcards are the most popular direct mail format sent by respondents followed closely by brochures, catalogs, and self-mailers.
• Customer retention and acquisition campaigns account for 50% of campaign sends.

So what do people do after they get a direct mail piece? (Sequel 2023 Direct Mail Report)

• 69% of consumers engage with mail each week. Nearly 1/3 of consumers engage with direct mail daily.
• 45% of Consumers feel mail is less overwhelming than other marketing.
• 54% of consumers keep an interesting piece of mail and refer back to it later.
• 52% of consumers will Google the brand name and visit the website of a relevant mail piece.
• 78% of consumers prefer receiving postcards.
• More than 50% of consumers agree low quality paper/packaging and frequent mailings are most likely to give your mail piece a negative impression.

Keeping all of the above in mind, how can you help change the way your customers send direct mail? Are they focused on the consumer and what is in it for them? Do they have a clear call to action and the benefits people get by responding?

Using the fact that almost half of the recipients will go online and check your customer out after getting the direct mail piece, do they have landing pages designed with those people in mind? Are they using responsive design so that the view of their website and landing pages looks good no matter what device? These days using responsive design is the best way to have their online content look correctly no matter what device is looking at it. Direct mail will drive people to online engagement; make sure they are ready for them.

The only way that direct mail will continue to drive better results is if we help our customers send direct mail that is designed well, has a clear call to action, and is targeted to the right people. This keeps recipients happy and increases the response rates. Are you ready to get started?