The statistics say it all

Direct Mail : Up to 6x MORE response than with internet medias!

In this digital era, here are 7 statistics about Direct Mail’s efficiency in garnering better response rates than digital medias.

Plus, read about the 4 basic steps needed to develop your own Direct Mail campaign to generate more leads and sales.

Reading time : approx. 5 minutes

Direct Mail refers to the door-to-door distribution of promotional material by a public postal service along specified routes; do note that there are many private businesses that can offer such a service.

The main value of Direct Mail is that your marketing message is literally delivered into the hands of your prospect who, at the very least, has to hold and look at it before deciding if it’s worth reading, prior to putting it into the recycling bin.

That factor plays in your favor as opposed to the email’s click-to-trash response, and here is the proof.

Seven statistics that make a strong case for Direct Mail

Just do an internet search for «direct mail response statistics» and you’ll quickly see that Direct Mail is still a very efficient means for many businesses to generate leads and sales, as confirmed by the following stats*:

Stat #1 : Up to 6x more response than digital medias combined

By targeting a list of established contacts, Direct Mail campaigns have generated an average of up to 3,7% response — whereas for a cold prospect list the response average is 1%

Compare that to the 0,62% response rate of the combined digital medias :

0,2% Email;
0,1% Social;
0,1% Paid Search;
0,02% Online advertising;
0,2% Mobile.

In practical numbers, if you send out a single Direct Mail piece to 10,000 targeted people, then up to 370 of them will most likely respond. Whereas the same message shared with 10,000 people via digital medias could garner up to 60 responses — but, keep in mind that to reach those 10,000 prospects one had to use all 6 digital medias.

A comment regarding response rates

It is necessary to specify that, in marketing, response rates depend on : a) having the right offer, b) targeting the right public, c) presenting it at the right time and d) using the right media to reach «b». To those factors one must add the know-how of the person that is tasked with executing an internet or a direct mail campaign.

That being said, the rates mentioned here are based on a wide variety of marketing offers promoted by all types of individuals from the beginner to the seasoned professional. This means that it is not impossible to garner high response rates through the internet medias similar to direct mail; but that seems to be the exception to the rule, based on these statistics. 

And then there are these 6 other interesting statistics…

# 2 : 50% of Canadians were prompted by Direct Mail to go to the store to make their purchase;
# 3 : 20% more online purchases were generated thanks to Direct Mail
# 4 : 80% to 89% of all Direct Mail pieces are looked at (compared to 20% to 30% for emails)
# 5 : 70% of consumers state that they prefer receiving unsollicited promotional pieces by mail, especially from local businesses.
# 6 : 62% of those that responded to a Direct Mail in the last 3 months ended up making a purchase;
# 7 : 92% of consumers state that they prefer Direct Mail to help them in their buying decisions.

The 4 basic steps needed to set up your Direct Mail campaign

If the Direct Mail statistics make you want to set up your own Direct Mail campaign, here is a brief description of the 4 basic steps needed to do just that.

Step 1 – Choose what type of postal distribution is right for your Direct Mail campaign

When it comes to Direct Mail, there are 2 types of mail distribution :

A- Unaddressed Distribution
B- Addressed Distribution

A- Unaddressed Distribution

This is the basic door-to-door distribution of promotional or informational printed matter, without any addressing whatsoever.

In that regard, the Canada Post website offers a targeting software — Precision Targeter — that proposes a number of targeting parameters, namely :

• geographic zones delimited, as needed, by municipalities, postal codes, electoral districts, and others;

• types of dwellings : houses, apartments, farms and businesses;

• and a few other demographic criteria.

It is an affordable way to reach out to a select group of prospects based on the above targeting parameters.

In fact, Unaddressed Distribution is typically used by local businesses that reach out to their surrounding neighborhoods. But one can extend out to whatever geographical zone one chooses, including honing down to their ideal prospects using the targeting criteria listed above.

B- Addressed Distribution

Addressed Distribution has to do with the sending of mail pieces to a list of specific addresses, each with a recipient’s name and/or title.

The list can be made up of established contacts such as customers and other business acquaintances; or it can be a list of pre-qualified cold-prospects based on your marketing targeting criteria.

Addressed Distribution is more effective inasmuch as you reach out to people that you have deemed a good fit for whatever you are offering. That degree of precise targeting will have a positive incidence on the response rate, as much as 3x to 4x that of Unaddressed Distribution.

Step #2 – Select the format of your Direct Mail piece

With Direct Mail you can send out many types of mail pieces: from simple postcards to letters in enveloppes; from paper leaflets to full blown catalogs or publications; from product samples to coupon booklets; and more.

Evidently your choice will stem from what you want the Direct Mail to accomplish for you : generate incoming telephone calls, push-to-site visits for online purchasing or other interaction, in-store visits or all of the afore-mentioned.

Just make sure your mail piece respects all of Canada Post’s mailing specifications as to size, material and even printing.

Step #3- Come up with a captivating marketing message with a strong call-to-action

To be captivating, a marketing message is made up of these 3 things:

a) a core reason why your prospects should be interested by what you are offering : price, quality, efficiency, promotions, savings, etc.;
b) any and all other additional information relating to the core reason;
c) and a strong call-to-action such as :

– special gift to the first 100 clients;
– an automatic sign-up to participate in an upcoming draw;
– a limited-time offer;
– etc.

These types of incentives help to garner higher response rates.

Step #4- Develop a strong creative presentation, with artful graphic design

The visual presentation of your mail piece is a critical factor in attracting your target public’s attention and engaging their interest in what you have to offer. 

Every component has to be thought out to enhance your marketing message and your call-to-action : headlines, body text, visual elements and color scheme; and all within a tasteful and impactful graphic design layout.

Is Direct Mail something you should use, in this digital era?

As the stats in this article show, Direct Mail is still a very efficient means to develop your business or social activity. The information laid out in this article, if followed, will help you get the best response rate possible.

We can help you set up and launch a successful Direct Mail campaign, including all the steps from creative to production and distribution; also, if needed, we can put together a targeted list for you.

If interested, call us to see our  Recent Successful Case Study in Direct Mail : 514-529-5669

*Statistical sources

Source #1: https://www.iwco.com/blog/2015/04/14/dma-response-rate-report-and-direct-mail/
Source #2 & #3 : Canada Post
Source #4 : http://www.resourceforsolutions.com/ultimate-list-direct-mail-facts-statistics/
Source #5 : http://ami-results.com/latest-stats-prove-success-direct-mail-marketing
Source #6 : http://whattheythink.com/articles/78537-direct-mail-integral-marketing-mix-2016
Source #7 : http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/10-print-marketing-statistics-know/