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[/responsive]It’s been poked and prodded, dissected and dismantled. It’s been knocked about and pushed aside by a ravenous digital marketing frenzy. The printing industry has seen a heavy share of plant closings and mergers, while customers have scaled back in the wake of tightening marketing budgets.
“Nevertheless, the print industry is far from dead; in fact, print marketing has only continued to grow and evolve alongside the upsurge of new technology,” writes Vladimir Gendelman in Marketing Profs.
Why?
Marketing strategist Gail Gardner cites stats that prove direct mail marketing won’t be going away:
- 56% of all consumers trust print marketing more than any other advertising method.
- 7 out of 10 Americans report that they find direct mail advertising more personal than online ads.
- More than 3 out of 4 small businesses use both print marketing and online efforts combined. This strategy usually offers the best return on investment and gets the best response rates.
We’ve shared stats like this before; it’s always good to remind ourselves of the realities of print. Gardner offers a couple of new twists on the idea, urging her customers to utilize the technological advances of recent years to boost their results.
Variable data printing is one technique, as is testing your direct mail to improve results. And for small businesses, every dollar counts, so when a strategist recommends print you know they believe in its value and its overall return.