3 Ways to Make More Money with Direct Mail

QBR-Cover-Q1-2015Is your direct mail getting good returns? Try these three things to start boosting your ROI.

Direct Marketing Association’s 2014 Statistical Fact Book says that 75% of consumers say they open “almost all” of their mail. Close to 80% will act on their direct mail immediately (compared to only 45% who say the same about email). And the response rate for direct mail campaigns to existing customers (3.4%) blows away the response rate for digital (.12%).

Clearly, direct mail is not a thing of the past, but a vital part of any multi-channel marketing strategy. We’ve heard this often enough by now to truly understand the value of direct mail.

Let’s look beyond the facts and figures for a moment to understand how to really leverage this kind of info to make it work harder for you.

According to a  United Mail infographic based on the DMA stats, “customers spend 25% more when businesses use both direct and email marketing,” so clearly the multi-channel approach is the way to go. Heather Fletcher in Target Marketing notes three key things marketers should be doing to leverage what we know:

  • Combine direct mail with email, as consumers prefer responding to direct mail via online means
  • Personalize the outer envelope on direct mail and use color in text and graphics, as 70 percent of consumers are more likely to open colorful mail
  • Consider adding in more channels in order to increase response rates.

Try this on your next campaign and see if you get better response. Odds are really good that you will.