Is Direct Mail Dead?

Direct mail continues to lose allocations of marketing budgets to digital media. So is this medium still viable? Yes! Despite such references as “junk mail” and “snail mail“, direct mail is alive and kicking!

 

 

Why is Direct Mail STILL Important?

Direct mail is an important tool to reach new customers and an asset in providing time-sensitive information to your customer lists. Also, direct mail can be personalized. Using customized messages helps to engage the prospect. Direct mail can be delivered to decision makers that might not open your email, increasing the probability of engagement.

Now more than ever, direct mail is easy to integrate with digital media. QR code technology allows printed direct mail to be scanned and linked to websites, offers, or registrations.

Finally, direct mail can be designed to break through the clutter. Dimensional pieces, oversize postcards, or custom die-cuts shapes and sizes are clever ways to break through the clutter.

How can you overcome the high cost of printing and rising postage costs associated with direct mail? Postcards! Postcards offer an alternative for inexpensive printing and reduced postage rates.

Building Direct Mail Lists

Direct mail is only as effective as the quality of your list. The quality of your list is of increasing importance in the construction industry, which faces numerous layoffs. As a result, it is important to diligently maintain your list’s hygiene.

Frequently, mail lists are created from trade magazine subscriber lists. If you obtain lists from these sources, make sure that a high percentage of the list has been qualified in the last year! The percentage of return-to-sender will be high if the list has not been qualified within 1 year.

If it is possible to develop and maintain your own list, do so! Here are some tips to get you started:

• Use customer contact information from sales, customer service inquiries, requests for quote, or training registrations.

• Combine lists from trade show and website registrations into a central database

• Distributors, sales reps, and editors should be added to your mail list

• Don’t forget to promptly remove return-to-senders to maintain a high quality list

 

Direct Mail Resources

Want to find out more?  Learn more about direct mail here from the Direct Marketing Association or attend the DMA 2012 Conference & Exhibition.

Share your experiences with direct mail marketing in the comment box below and retweet, Facebook like, and share this post with your colleagues interested in direct mail marketing!