Direct mail is a marketing trick that businesses cannot afford to miss. Not only are such straightforward marketing channels continuously growing more popular, but the benefits also go beyond high response rates, engagement statistics and marketing ROI. In this article, we examine the key benefits of direct mail marketing and why your business should consider adding it to your existing marketing channels.
What is Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct mail is a marketing medium that involves sending a physical item such as a letter, postcard, leaflet, product sample, brochure or catalogue. Recipients may be current customers or members of the ideal target audience. Direct mail campaigns typically target consumers based on specific demographics and audience segmentation.
Effective direct marketing services highlight a specific product or service and encourage customers to act. This could mean requesting more information, registering their interest, visiting a website, booking a service or purchasing a product.
What Are the Different Types of Direct Mail Marketing?
There are various types of effective direct mail that businesses can use to help solve challenges and stimulate responses at different stages of the customer journey.
Partially addressed mail offers the perfect GDPR-compliant solution for reaching new customers. Instead of addressing an item to a named individual, direct mail marketing targets potential customers using their postcode data rather than their personal data.
Some localised leaflet distribution services can help you target households based on location, affluence, lifestyle and interests. Self-service platforms like Leafletdrop are GDPR-compliant, not requiring user data, and can be scaled nationally.
This service also includes optional high-quality leaflet printing and delivery by Royal Mail alongside consumers’ other postal items. Some providers offer leaflet design services through their graphic design partners.
Dedicated account management can enable your business to overlay customer data and target locations surrounding areas, such as supermarkets. National doordrop distribution can be applied nationally, regionally or locally and adds value to integrated campaigns.
Direct Mail Delivery Management and Postal Solutions
Posthub can assist with data cleansing, mail data preparation and delivery for businesses targeting existing customers who have given consent for their data to be used in marketing activities. We help companies to take full advantage of direct mail marketing.
Why Use Direct Mail Over Other Marketing Channels?
It is becoming increasingly complex for retailers to cut through the noise. According to research by Quadient, UK consumers still value traditional postal communications, as these methods remain effective in a crowded digital space.
Thankfully, direct mail marketing can help brands rebuild engagement and, when used effectively, deliver relevant communications to the right audience at the right stage of the buying journey. Direct marketing services are most effective when working in harmony with digital channels. Print advertising is not an alternative to digital efforts, but a complementary method.
Research into direct mail marketing by Royal Mail and MarketReach has found that, of the consumers surveyed:
- 56% say mail grabs their attention
- 87% have made an online purchase as a result of receiving direct mail
- 43% have downloaded something from a website as a result of receiving direct mail
More so than any other marketing channel, effective direct mail offers excellent response rates, personalisation at scale, consumer trust and an undeniable tangibility. However, these are not the only benefits of direct marketing…
5 Key Benefits of Direct Marketing
1. Helps Build Customer Relationships
By targeting specific households, direct marketing enables your business to reach prospective customers directly. Repeatedly targeting the same customers means you can build upon previous messaging and personalise your dialogue. This allows you to guide customers through specific funnels using techniques such as repeat offers and improving discounts. Establishing a personal connection between your brand and potential customers is crucial for fostering customer loyalty.
2. Gauges Appeal of Products or Services
Another advantage of direct marketing is that it allows you to test and track different approaches with ease. Say you send direct mail encouraging users to visit your website one week, and then send out direct mail with a trackable phone number the week after. You can compare the response rate and decide which method works best for your business. Even better, each campaign provides the data needed for the next one. In short, direct marketing is one of the most effective methods for gauging the appeal of your product or service.
3. Increases Sales Opportunities
Direct mail marketing is an excellent way to refine your target audience, as it allows you to compare what works and what doesn’t. You can use the information from successful campaigns to target more customers with similar interests. This naturally increases your reach and provides you with access to a larger, more interested market. The data you collect through direct mail campaigns is crucial for reaching specific audiences and groups that you may not have previously targeted.
4. Gives Customers Content to Share
This is especially good when you include coupons that your customers can cut out and share with neighbours, for example. Other great sharing methods include refer-a-friend discounts. Unlike digital marketing material that can disappear quickly, direct mail campaigns are a great way to spread the word. With 51% of UK consumers trusting their friends or partners’ recommendations more than any other advertising method, it’s worthwhile to distribute something easy to share with potential customers.
5. Highly Customisable
Direct marketing services allow you to customise various elements to make items more appealing to customers. You can personally address customers in direct mail or email campaigns, or use data from previous campaigns to emphasise what they liked (such as offering more discount codes or subscription benefits). Customisation also works well for location-specific targeting, since you can research a targeted area’s unique qualities and use them to frame your messaging. Check out our best practice guide for tips on customising your campaign.
How Can Posthub Help with Direct Mail Marketing?
Posthub is a leading expert in mail and offers consultative support throughout the direct mail marketing planning process. As part of the Whistl Group, we provide a comprehensive range of direct marketing services, including partially addressed mail, product sampling, localised leaflet distribution, and national doordrop distribution. With extensive knowledge and experience, Posthub is well-positioned to provide cost-effective postal services to support all your direct marketing needs and cater to various industries.
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