Direct Mail

We don’t have the facts or figures for Google but they wouldn’t send out 26 million items if it wasn’t working, would they? What we do know is that they measure EVERYTHING. If you look at the mailings they have all the ingredients of a great mailer: highly personalised, attention grabbing headline and an irresistible offer with a clear and easily way to respond. The thing is that direct mail will always have its place in the marketer’s armoury.

Here are some figures:
It is estimated that consumer mailshots generate more than £25 billion worth of business each year. For every £1 spent, £14 is generated. Source DMA 2012

A survey by Direct Mail Information Services (BMIS) has shown that direct mail is an indispensable factor in business success; companies that use direct mail are simply more successful and have better customer relationships than those that don’t. Direct mail’s importance is growing, broadening its traditional role from lead generation and product introductions, into loyalty building, list and database development and relationship support.

Why do we like direct mail? Easy really . . . it’s tactile, emotional, measurable and provides a high return on investment. Do you know over 80% of all mail is opened? The average consumer receives 500 emails a week and only engages with a small percentage of them. That same customer receives an average of only 8 letters or cards a week and engages with almost all of them. We feel that direct mail has an importance and value associated with it. As a sincere thank you would you send a card and a box of chocolates, or fire off an email with an animation in it? That extra effort shows you care. It’s the medium consumers value most.

Direct mail campaigns are a bright way to start – before you spend money on advertising, especially for small businesses. You can start very small, test very quickly and easily scale up if the results stack up. If you send out 100 letters and get no response then you can realistically predict that the offer will not work as a half page ad. (At RWPGROUP we do recommend following up direct mail with telesales, and yes, we do offer this service for you). What’s more, it is very often the case that what does well in direct mail will also do well in other forms of media.

What makes a successful direct mail campaign? Right message, right list, right offer, right time. Which is the most important aspect? The list. The best offer in the world to the wrong list will get zero response. We would like to have said choice of agency, but unfortunately it’s not true. However, you can rely on the RWPGROUP to make sure your mailing has all the right ingredients to be successful. Why not call up for a free chat and we can evaluate your mailing before it goes out?

Some more facts:
1. A massive 80% of recipients read or scan the direct mail they receive.
2. 39% of customers tried a business for the first time because of direct mail advertising, while 70% of customers renewed a business relationship because of a direct mail promotion.
3. A study showed that direct mail advertising gives businesses a remarkable 14 to 1 return on their investment (ROI) and printed catalogues have been shown to provide a 7 to 1 ROI.
4. 60% of consumers surveyed make purchases via printed catalogues at least four times each year.
5. 67% of online searches are driven by offline messages, with 39% ultimately making a purchase. Shoppers who receive a direct mail piece directing them to an online site spend on average 13% more than those who do not receive the printed piece. Printed catalogues associated with online sites have been shown to boost online spending by 28%.

Sources
1. USPS – Household Diary Study
2. Direct Marketing Association (DMA) / Pitney Bowes Direct Mail Survey
3. DMA, The Power of Direct Marketing, 2008-09
4. Art Technology Group, Cross-Channel Commerce: The Consumer View (2010)
5. Prospect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behaviour Study

Here are some case studies. The Cashmere Centre sends out over 2 million catalogues every year and they say that catalogue sales continue to drive the vast majority of sales both online and over the phone. ‘Customers often buy online, but the trigger to that order is still the catalogue.’

Hansfords Menswear use direct mail to highlight the benefits of their loyalty scheme ‘The Centenary Club’ and to drive traffic into the store. ‘The direct mail we send drives 80% of the turnover at sale time. It completely outperforms newspaper and website advertising. In fact our Christmas mailer is so popular that we have had to split the list as we cannot fit any more customers in the shop!’
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The best offer in the world to the wrong list will get zero response.

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Up to 40% of your database records may be out of date within 12 months
Do you get too many “gone aways” when you run a mailing campaign?
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Duplicates
Inaccurate addresses that do not comply to the post office address file standard
Records that have gone into liquidation or have moved away
Telephone numbers that no longer work
Telephone preference and mail preference records – so you can comply with the data protection act.