Yes, it’s true that our digital world is more widespread than ever – but that doesn’t necessarily make digital advertising collateral any more popular than their “old school” print predecessors.
Far from it, actually. In fact, the direct impact of direct mail is STILL greater than its digital counterpart for a wide range of different reasons you absolutely need to be aware of.
The Power of Direct Mail: Breaking It Down
Maybe the most immediate advantage that you have when using direct mail that your digital-only counterparts lack has to do with attention. People get an average of about 500 emails a week, versus only about 26 pieces of direct mail. Emails are easy to delete and forget about without even opening them – people at the very least glance at every piece of mail they receive. Therefore, your chances of getting your message viewed are far better by virtue of the fact that it exists in the real world in the first place.
Along the same lines, for many people direct mail is actually a very welcome break from digital media. When you also consider the fact that you’re taking advantage of a competitor’s weakness of only focusing on digital marketing, this gives you a unique opportunity to really stand out in an overwhelmingly crowded marketplace.
Diving a little deeper, direct mail also offers you a wide range of different personalization options that you certainly won’t have with digital. Case in point: emails naturally feel cold and distant, like they’re being sent to as many people as humanly possible (because they are). Direct mail is intimate by design and it will be valued more by your customers as a result.
Direct mail marketing collateral is also inherently memorable – it requires less cognitive effort to process than digital media and thus produces better recall and better shelf-life. That email you just sent will probably be skimmed over and deleted in under a minute. That mailer you sent may stay pinned on someone’s refrigerator for weeks. How’s that for increasing your likelihood of your prospects becoming responders?
But more than anything, direct mail is trustworthy. Email has gotten a bad name because of online scams, but direct mail is still seen as very authoritative and engaging.
If you’d like to find out more information about the impact of direct mail, or if you have any additional questions you’d like to discuss in greater detail, please don’t delay – contact us today.
