Direct Mail Lives!

There have been a lot of blog posts and articles circulating online about the “death of print marketing” or the “death of direct mail.” It seems to me to just be a bunch of hype.

Look at some numbers gathered by the clearinghouse of research on print media effectiveness, Print in the Mix (www.printinthemix.com):

• More than 60 percent of merchants say catalogs are their primary sales channel. Web sites come in at a distant second place, with only 20 percent of merchants using the Web as their primary sales channel. These numbers were gathered from the Direct Marketing Association’s State of the Catalog Industry study conducted in 2008.

• From 2003 to the present, there’s been a “large increase in circulation” of catalogs. The Direct Marketing Association states that this is probably a result of companies using catalogs to drive business to their Web sites.

• The study also found that the “paper catalog is still the largest revenue generator among all channels” of marketing. Web sales are growing, but so far haven’t touched the nearly 50 percent of sales generated by catalogs in 2007 and 2008.

Direct mail is the third most popular type of ads used to reach specific segments. Online marketing and search marketing were used more often, according to a survey by Complete (www.complete.com).

When it comes to coupons, an August 2008 study conducted by Prospectiv (www.prospectiv.com) found that “newspapers and magazines are the primary source of coupons for 51 percent of consumers.” This makes print material the top source for coupons. The same study found that nearly 40 percent of consumers polled “want to receive their future coupons via direct mail.” Only 26 percent want to receive coupons through email and 16 percent favor getting coupons from Web sites.

ExactTarget’s 2008 Channel Preference Survey found that almost 66 percent of those surveyed have made a purchased based on a marketing message received by email. More than 75 percent said they have made a purchase in response to direct mail.

All of these stats show that direct mail is still very much alive and kicking. People don’t like to get junk mail, it’s true. But they do like to receive offers that they find interesting through the mail. I think the key to doing direct mail marketing correctly is to focus your message on your target audience. Then, people don’t mind getting your direct mail and they actually use your message to make a purchase. As long as you have a targeted mailing list, it seems you’ll do better with direct mail than you will with online advertising.

Comments

[Sue]

Hi Eye Candy,

Totally agree, especially with your comment that people who say they don't welcome junk mail still like to receive offers. The secret is in the targeting of the messages. We've cheered up the readers of our blog www.e-clipsblog.co.uk by reassuring them that DM is alive and kicking!!