Whale welcomes the resurgence of direct mail
With the increasing emphasis on email, digital content and social media, some marketing agencies might be overlooking how effective traditional marketing strategies are driving results.
In our current instant comms world, sending a postcard can seem just plain archaic. However, there is something to be said for relaying your brand message to a targeted audience using a tangible piece of direct mail instead of relying solely on digital tools that can be easily deleted or rejected without ever being viewed.
In the last 2 years Whale Marketing has seen a significant resurgence in the effectiveness of print and direct mail for a number of our B2B clients. Targeted campaigns which land with a mix of printed materials and interesting promotional gifts are getting more awareness and response than digital counterparts.
Be honest how many of you actually read all of your email? And how often do you scan quickly through your social media feeds, so you may often miss something. Digital has its place and we always integrate our campaigns to maximise awareness using digital tools however for many clients direct mail is helping them stand out in a crowded marketplace. The amount of post we get has dramatically reduced, the result is we pay more attention to the items that we do get sent, it can stand out more than email and online marketing.
A study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in April 2013 found that the response rate for direct mail to an existing customer averages at 3.4%, compared to 0.12% for email.
But what about the cost? Direct mail done well is still about targeting and that’s one of the ways you can use CRM data combined with data captured from initial digital campaigns to identify which people you want to target and prioritise those that have responded to / engaged with you through digital communications in the past. Doing this enables you to produce attention grabbing cost effective direct marketing campaigns with a lower cost per lead / acquisition than digital campaigns.
Creative direct mail makes a much bigger impact
Being creative with your direct mail campaign design increases impact and results, this is called ‘dimensional’ rather than ‘flat’ mail. Research has shown that dimensional mail:
- has 20 times the penetrating power of flat direct mail
- boosts response rates by as much as 75%
- scores 80% or better in generating positive opinions among recipients
Clever Targeting
We also regularly segment client databases and run two campaigns with printed materials being sent to all prospects; whilst higher value targets receive additional ‘hits’ or promotional gifts related to the campaign to help stand out and create a positive impression and response.
And direct mail techniques don’t just apply to lead generation, we have also seen increased conversion rates to help customers take on new services increasing awareness, revenue and profitability.
Summary of how to get direct mail for B2B right
- Integrate your activity, surround your Direct mail with digital activities; email marketing, social media and web updates and sales support; personalized follow-up call so your mailing campaign creates a wider buzz and gets people talking about your company and brand
- Be very targeted, smaller bite sized numbers of direct mail makes follow-up easier, more manageable and keeps costs down
- Producing a creative dimension piece of direct mail will stand out more and increase impact and therefore increase response
- Remember that whilst initial budgets may seem slightly higher initially for a good direct mail campaign, compared to solely digital activity, if you start small and track results so you get the right response then the ROI you will achieve will be a lot higher too.
Whale suggests that if you are selling products or services to other businesses with a defined target audience then you should seriously consider direct mail campaigns as part of an integrated campaign. The results speak for themselves!
Do you require assistance with an integrated direct mail campaign? Get in touch with one of the Whale team today.
