Want almost guaranteed connection with your audience? This is it.
In spite of massive changes in how businesses do business and consumers consume, when companies are looking for the most direct pipeline to new customers, direct mail remains a solid bet.
“Demand creation through advertising — acquisition advertising — remains among the most important ways that a business can grow sales,” writes Brett Hershman in The Street. “Internet advertising has played a major role in this approach, which looks to generate interest among consumers who are not already customers.
“But old-fashioned direct mail can also play a big part,” he continues. “That’s because most consumers open most of their direct mail. They consider this type of communication less intrusive than email, which often arrives in floods.”
Think about your email inbox, and how often you hit delete without reading. Now consider this: A 2014 study from DNN found that 77% of consumers open and read the majority of their direct mail. And 98% of people check their physical mailboxes daily.
No wonder direct mail is the second most popular form of acquisition advertising behind television, according to Hershman.
For brands looking to grow their customer base, acquisition advertising that creates demand is vital. And the power of direct mail in this role is huge.
“The part of the advertising industry that hasn’t been impacted by the internet and frankly can’t be because the internet does not do what it does is acquisition advertising,” said Gary Mulloy, CEO of Money Mailer, a demand creation direct mail business that reaches 15 million homes a month.
Businesses spend upwards of $14 billion each year on acquisition ads, and about a third of that is spent on direct mail, Hershman notes.
“The most effective strategy for demand creation is combining direct mail and internet advertising to drive traffic to company websites. Direct mail can build brand awareness at a reasonable cost,” he notes.
It’s true that you really can’t build your business talking only to your current customers; at some point, acquisition advertising must happen for growth. And the old standby of direct mail is still one of the more reliable, affordable and effective ways to do just that.