This is an older post….it has lots of merit, but after you read this, go to a 2019 update, with a case study, about the value of direct mail as the anchor of a multichannel marketing strategy for MB Financial.
Conventional wisdom in marketing circles is that nobody does direct mail marketing anymore, direct mail is too expensive, direct doesn’t work today.
The conventional wisdom says: Shift your marketing investment to email, social media and the new darling, mobile media.
“Direct mail is probably the most cost-efficient method for reaching the truly affluent, i.e. the wealthiest U.S. households — These are the households with a net worth of $800,000 or more and incomes of $200,000 plus.” – Ron Kurtz, AARC
Add the newest option of selecting households by their Discretionary Spending Power and marketers have a great new targeting opportunity.
With my contrarian bent, that is all the reason that I need to recommend old-fashioned direct mail to my clients. If nobody is using direct mail anymore, then the marketer that swims against the tide will get noticed.
When I open my mail box each day, I see proof positive that marketers haven’t yet abandoned direct mail. But I do think those marketers that are getting results through direct mail want their competitors to believe the conventional wisdom in order to keep the secret that direct mail can be a powerful tool in the 21st century luxury marketer’s arsenal.
The fact is direct mail is still an important vehicle to deliver sales directly, but also it works with other marketing platforms synergistically to connect with customers. For example, I shop catalogs quite frequently but never order by phone or mail – rather, I always go online to make my purchases. That’s one of the keys to success – moving customers from one marketing channel to another. Statistics from the Direct Marketing Association confirms the synergies between direct mail and other multichannel marketing strategy
• Fifteen percent of customers receiving a catalog and 12 percent receiving a letter, postcard or flyer from a company made a purchase on the company’s website.
It all comes down to the best way to get in the customer’s door and capture their attention. Direct mail continues to deliver on that score, particularly among the affluent luxury consumers.
Thank you to Pam Danziger for this post.