#murrayfieldprojects

Ever since mail has been delivered to people’s doors, it’s been one of the most effective ways for brands to get in touch with their customers. Print has a powerful ability to perform a number of roles, such as:

raising brand awareness

improving sales

increasing footfall and

data capture tool

With customer engagement times averaging over 10 minutes, and 30 per cent of UK adults buying something after having received a mailing, direct mail consistently delivers.

Here's why it works:

1. The mail moment... Direct mail enters an individual’s home and is consumed on a one-to-one basis. This gives you much more time with your customer, time that’s invaluable in raising awareness, persuading, convincing and engaging them in a relaxed environment at a time of their choosing.

2. Sensory absorption The physicality of a mailing – the feel of it in your hands – adds another dimension to the brand experience. Academic research has proven that direct mail receipients experience a higher emotional intensity via direct mail than via email or TV advertising because the triggering of multiple senses results in quicker absorption of the content.  Direct Mail, due to the haptic element of paper and the fact that holding paper in your hands also demonstrates ownership help to increases it's effectiveness. (Royal Mail Market Reach, Neuro-Insight 2013)

3. Make people act! Direct mail is the most likely form of communication to get a response from a customer, with the cost of every response measured with accuracy. Response data on direct mail is between 54 and 83 per cent of all mail opened, depending on the relationship with the sender and how well targeted it is.

4. Integration impact Direct mail also increases the effectiveness of other channels, especially online channels, for example Online media becomes 60 per cent more effective when combined with direct mail (BrandScience 2011).  Another study based upon 500 cases shows that including direct mail in a multi-media campaign for services increases the total campaign ROI with 12 per cent (Print Power, BrandScience 2013)

5. Effectiveness and longevity Recent reports have demonstrated the enduring effectiveness of direct mail, it has a more powerful effect on long term memory than other media, e.g. 72 per cent higher than TV (Royal Mail MarketReach, Neuro-Insights 2013). Plus if your target market is the Millennials then you should know that a whopping 90 percent of Millennials are influenced to make a purchasing decision as a result of direct mail they received, as compared to only 78 percent for e-mail.

6. Get creative Direct mail is one of the most versatile marketing mediums available that can be produced in a wide variety of formats, shapes, sizes, colours and materials to create a memorable brand experience. Finishing techniques can add more depth to a mailing or sensory additions that triggering smell and taste can make your mailing a real sensation.

7. Fantastic ROI

There’s no denying that direct mail is an effective channel, especially in combination with other channels. Campaigns including direct mail were three times more effective campaigns without mail. (Royal Mail MarketReach, IPA databank Meta-Analyse Peter Field, 2013). Also the so-called Millennials prefer the combination of offline and on-line media.

8. Good for the environment Contrary to misinformed criticism, the paper industry has excellent environmentally-friendly credentials, because paper sourced through managed forestry is a completely renewable and the product itself is a completely recyclable raw material.  

For this reason, anyone who wants to expand their businesses would be well-advised to consider direct mail. A well-thought-out direct mail campaign can yield fantastic results by maximizing ROI, reaching prospects, generating new leads and ultimately, increasing revenue.