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Direct mail is a form of direct marketing. So technically, direct marketing and direct mail are not different, they’re affiliated.
What Is Direct Marketing?
Also known as direct response marketing, direct marketing is one of the most common forms of marketing. In this marketing strategy, advertisements are targeted at potential customers with the goal of inspiring immediate action.
How is direct marketing different from other mass marketing strategies? The biggest differences are found in a direct marketing campaign’s goals, targeting strategy, creative strategy, and attribution tracking.
For example, direct marketing campaigns are highly targeted at specific audiences (often down to the individual) with the campaign goal of increasing conversions. The creative strategy that drives direct response marketing is persuasive to create a sense of urgency, and it always includes a clear call to action (CTA). Attribution tracking is regularly tied back to the specific consumer.
On the other hand, brand awareness campaigns are designed for broad audiences to increase brand recognition. Because of this, creativity tends to focus on brand identity, general marketing messages, or simple entertainment. Attribution can be a challenge with the sweeping audience size.
It is common for marketers to use a variety of marketing efforts in tandem to reach audiences and drive brand growth.
Forms Of Direct Marketing
There are many direct marketing channels available in a marketer’s toolbox. Here are a few of the most common forms of direct marketing.
- Direct Mail (including self-mailers, letters, and catalogs)
- Digital Marketing/Internet Marketing (including SEO, affiliate marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing)
- Radio (including podcasts)
- TV (including linear and CTV|OTT)
- Influencer or Celebrity Endorsements
- Email Marketing
- SMS Marketing
- Print Marketing (including newspapers, magazines, and billboards)
What Is Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct mail marketing is a form of print marketing that is hand-delivered to a prospect’s physical mailbox via a mailing service. A direct mailer can be as basic as a standard white envelope with a letter inside, or as lavish as a 30-page soft-touch catalog with peel-and-reveal fragrance strips.
Even in today’s digital world, direct mail often outperforms its digital marketing counterparts. Consumers are drawn to mail because it’s tangible, interactive, and personal. And marketers love it because consumers love it. Recent studies show:
- Average direct mail return on investment (ROI) is 112% (ANA)
- Average direct mail response rate is 9% (ANA)
- More than 90% of consumers read promotional mail (USPS)
The key driver behind a mail program’s success is the quality of the data used for mailing lists. Mailing list data files can be rented from large data cooperatives to build custom lists, or selected based on target neighborhoods or general demographics from the postal service. Check out this article for everything you need to know about direct mail data and list building to reach your target audience.
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Direct Mail Marketing Campaign Types
The two most common types of direct mail campaigns are acquisition and retention/retargeting.
Direct Mail Acquisition Campaigns
Acquisition campaigns focus on gaining fresh business with new customers. It’s a best practice to build mailing lists for this type of campaign with a process called predictive modeling. Predictive modeling leverages insights from existing customers to identify prospective customers who are most likely to connect with your brand, products, or services — similar to lookalike audience modeling in digital marketing.
When designing an acquisition direct mail piece, the package must be visibly enticing to immediately grab the recipient’s attention. It should include just enough copy to introduce your brand and services and create a need with relatable benefit statements. A strong offer and call to action will help create urgency and promote conversion.
Direct Mail Retention/Retargeting Campaigns
Retention campaigns are focused on protecting customer affinity by offering to upsell, cross-sell, resell, or win-back offers. It’s common for a retention campaign mailing list to come straight from your CRM—making regular data hygiene important. Because the audience already knows your brand, you can use retention mailers to acknowledge customer loyalty with relevant product and service announcements, special offers, or unique incentives to encourage your customers to continue to engage.
Retargeted direct mail is aimed towards lost or former customers and is also used to follow up with prospects who have engaged digitally but not yet converted (i.e., an abandoned online cart). Direct mail automation platforms integrate with your CRM and tech stack to get mail pieces into mailboxes quickly when the message is most relevant.
Integrating Direct Mail With Digital Marketing
Industry research shows that an integrated approach to direct mail and digital marketing delivers an average lift of 20% in response rates over direct mail alone. It is also proven to boost customer retention, consumer spending, and brand recognition while decreasing CPAs by as much as 30%.
As one of the original direct-to-consumer advertising channels, introducing direct mail into the media mix is growing in popularity as digitally-grown brands look beyond the screen to diversity and find scalable growth. Mail is an easy addition because digital marketers can relate to the lookalike modeling and trackable results offered by the channel.
By onboarding direct mail data lists into digital environments, marketers can surround prospects both online and offline during critical decision-making periods. This increases audience engagement and the likelihood of conversion as prospects can interact with advertisements on the right channel, at the right time.
Getting Started With Direct Mail
Direct mail is not right for every business, but it is the most effective way for many brands to find and acquire new customers. The best way to determine the success of the channel is by testing it. There are cost-effective strategies for launching into mail based on the overall marketing budget and campaign objectives. Some of the most common and costly direct mail mistakes include data sources, creative development, and testing. Partnering with a trusted and experienced direct response marketing partner can ensure these types of mistakes will be avoided.