Direct Mail: An Important Ingredient In Your Marketing Mix

By Lloyd Lofton

What we hear or read frequently in the news is that today’s consumers are online, connected 24/7 to their computers or smart phones. Consequently, you see a move to social marketing.  This is probably the right thing to do. Any marketing plan should include more ways to get in front of the target market, as well as the ability to capture prospect information at the time prospects are looking for information or seeking solutions to their problems.

A common question in sales today is: “Is sending letters, postcards and snail mail a dying strategy?”

Emerging “experts” in social media frequently promote their services by spreading several myths about direct mail. These myths include:

Myth 1 - Direct mail engagement has decreased.

Myth 2 - Millennials are less likely to engage with direct mail.

Myth 3 - Millennials spend less time sorting their mail and are less active consumers of mail.

Myth 4 - Consumers are uninterested in mail and slow to get or open their mail.

Myth 5 - Consumers don’t want to receive their bills through the mail.

Myth 6 - Most consumers prefer online bill receipt and payment methods.

Marketing strategies have changed over the last few years. Today, it’s more common and necessary to integrate marketing with your website, social medial pages, email marketing and direct mail. There are a number of ways to integrate direct mail into your marketing strategies.

Direct mail can work with online and social media marketing in the following ways:

1. E-mail marketing. Include your website and an offering in your direct mail piece to drive traffic to your site.
2. Capture website visitor contacts. Have a call to action to capture their contact information to access the offer in your direct mail piece.
3. Website and online media such as pay-per-click. Use direct mail to drive consumers to your Facebook page and LinkedIn company page to seek additional information to contact a professional to start the fact-gathering process.

Direct mail has several advantages when incorporated in a comprehensive marketing strategy. They include:

• With direct mail, you can reach groups as well as individuals.
• Direct mail takes little of your time once it is set up.
• Direct mail provides a hard copy for future reference for contact when the time is appropriate.
• You can easily schedule mailing continuity campaigns.
• Direct mail is cost effective.

There isn’t a single marketing effort that will provide all the prospects and leads you or your team need to accomplish their income goal or your business needs. Direct mail can be one way to help you build your brand, engage recipients, drive online and other traffic while capturing contact information for future marketing campaigns. These campaigns can include but not be limited to direct mail, emails, and letters, connecting with visitors through social media sites while staying in front of them so your product or service is “front” of mind when they have a need.

The U.S. Postal Service recently released the findings of its 2016 “Mail Moments” report. Here is what these findings have to say in response to the myths of direct mail listed earlier.

Myth 1 - Direct mail engagement has decreased.

Finding: Overall mail engagement has increased since 2012.

Myth 2 - Millennials are less likely to engage with direct mail.

Finding: Millennials are at least as engaged with direct mail as non-millennials are.

Myth 3 - Millennials spend less time sorting their mail and are less active consumers of mail.

Finding: Regardless of age, most consumers get their mail at the first opportunity.

Myth 4 - Consumers are uninterested in mail and slow to get or open their mail

Finding: Regardless of age, most consumers sort their mail at the first opportunity (usually the same day), confirming the high value of mail.

Myth 5 - Consumers don’t want to receive their bills through the mail.

Finding: The role of bills in the mail remain important to all generations, although millennials are more comfortable with digital-only options

Myth 6 - Most consumers prefer online bill receipt and payment methods.

Finding: Nearly half of households consider pure online bill receipt and payment undesirable. Broken down by age, 34 percent of millennials and 54 percent of baby boomers said they do not like receiving and paying bills online.

According to this survey, mail is preferred over telemarketing and email. Moreover, many households said they actually would prefer to receive more mail.

Add Direct Mail To Your Marketing Mix

So as we approach the third quarter and you look at your end-of-year marketing strategy, remember you can include direct mail in several ways.

Pre-approach mailings can enhance your sales results. These are personalized letters that pre-condition the prospect to yourself, your company, your products and services, and your call.

Direct response mailings request a response from the prospect - either by return card or telephone call. To increase the effectiveness of direct response mailings, your distribution must include mailing the same households or list more than once. Contacting those who do not respond will increase your success ratio.

Carrier-approved mailings are company-approved direct mail pieces and marketing letters for licensed or regulated products.

Mass distribution mailings are sent in large numbers to an unspecific audience. Expect the lowest response ratio from this type of mailing.

Target mailings are sent to specific target markets appropriate to a product line (i.e. those turning age 65 for Medicare supplement).

Lloyd Lofton is managing partner of 7 Figure Sales Tools, Marietta, Ga. His latest book is Leads to Results. Lloyd may be contacted at [email protected].

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