7 Advantages of Direct Mail Marketing and How to Use It for Your Business

Marketing is an essential element to any business. But with so many different forms of advertising available, how do you cut through the clutter and get your audience to focus on your product or service instead of the competitor’s?

Three words: direct mail marketing. When done correctly, direct mail is fun, engaging, and attention grabbing. Here are 7 advantages to direct mail marketing, and how you can use it to boost your business.

1. There is Less Competition

When compared to email marketing, direct mail is a much less saturated format. Last year saw one third of marketers sending weekly emails, with another 26% sending marketing emails every second week.

Direct mail marketing doesn’t come close to these numbers. And that’s a good thing.

Instead of your email being one of many competing for your audience’s attention, direct mail allows you to capture your would-be customer’s undivided attention.

2. Direct Mail Achieves Better Response Rates than Email

Reinforcing the first point, a consumer insight survey highlighted the power of direct mail. In this survey, 62% of respondents indicated that direct mail caused them to take action.

Not only does direct mail have a longer shelf life than email marketing, but half of those surveyed stated that direct mail marketing feels more important than its email equivalent. This rings true for both known and unknown brands, making it a useful approach for targeting current and new customers.

3. It is a Creative, Memorable Medium

Because direct mail is physical, you can do a lot more than just land your message. Get creative! Whether it’s the quality of the print material, a handwritten note, the inclusion of a sample or simply stunning visual design, direct mail marketing allows you to wow the customer in a way that digital marketing simply doesn’t.

4. You Don’t Just Reach the Customer, You Reach the Household

Although you’re targeting your audience, sending mail to a home means that family members and shared households have access to your marketing material, too. And because of the shelf life of direct mail, your message can build on itself - anyone can pick it up and read or reread it. 

5. It Fits Into an Omnichannel Marketing Approach

Omnichannel marketing is the act of repeating your marketing message across multiple formats. This is common as it increases the number of touchpoints between the brand and the customer, but most brands miss the opportunity to add direct mail to this strategy.

Having a physical reminder of the message your audience may see on TV or hear on radio is only beneficial. And by adding a CTA, you can use direct mail for everything from initial awareness to making the sale.

6. People Like Receiving Mail

Simply put, a physical item is nice to receive. It makes the customer feel special and considered, something that a mass-blast email can never achieve. By taking this a step further and creating personalised mail, the chances of your message resonating with your target audience increases.

7. You Can Track Success Rates and ROI

Direct mail is trackable. You can do this in a number of ways, from using a campaign-specific landing page to QR codes to unique coupon codes. Depending on the results you’re looking to attain, some tracking methods may be more useful than others, but ultimately they all do the same job of allowing you to see the success of your marketing and the return on your investment.

How to Maximise Your Direct Mail Marketing Efforts

A catalogue or simple postcard can be effective, but these are by no means the only ways to reach your audience via direct mail. You can take your message a step further by:

• Including a gift or branded item
  
  

• Packaging your content in a unique and interesting way
  
  

• Using QR codes to seamlessly blend physical and digital marketing
  
  

• Personalising the content to your customer

Get Your Direct Mail Sorted

If you’re looking to take your direct mail marketing to the next level, reach out to us at Sorted Direct Mail.

With over 20 years of experience, we are a reliable and knowledgeable partner for all your direct mail needs, including packaging, postage, and printing services.

Success: sorted. Get in touch with the experts today.