The digital world appears to make everything cheaper in marketing terms, but when viewed against return on investment, according to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) there’s little to choose in acquisition cost between email and direct mail.
Before you scroll down to look at the 7 reasons there are a few points that are worth noting:
So Why Aren’t More Companies Sending out a Printed Newsletter?
The most likely reason is failure to effectively measure ROI of the marketing. The initial outlay of printing a newsletter is very high compared to creating and sending a series of emails, but according to the DMA direct mail outperforms digital channels combined by 600%.
Should You Drop Digital from Your Marketing?
It might seem that way, but the facts are simple, you need more touch points with existing and potential customers than ever before and digital, absolutely, form part of that journey. On top of this the results from using multiple channels are better than any single channel, which means using Print, Email, Mobile and Social Media.
No Magic Red Buttons in Marketing
If you’re looking for that magic red button, which you press and money falls, you’ll be searching for a long time and while you’re searching, you’ll probably go broke.
The reality is it takes work and analysis to create an effective marketing plan these days, because there are so many channels to reach out with and print is just one of them.
Competition Between Print and Digital
For every 16 pieces of print received a consumer in the USA will receive 100 emails on average, which will translate, I’m sure, to similar numbers here in the UK. What’s more important though is the level of engagement:
Print Direct Mail – 70% opened and 79% is read for at least 1 minute
Email – according to Mail Chimp average open rates across different industries varies from 15.22% to 27.23% with a click through of 1.25% to 5.19%
Printed material is far more engaging and can be used to drive people from offline to online or to take action offline or to go to a retail store.
Life of the Email
Seconds at best and rarely more than 1 minute. Ask yourself this question, spend 2 seconds looking at something you’ve not seen before and then try and recall it 20 mins later. Unless there was something very relevant or interesting most us won’t be able to recall it and in realty if it was of interest we’d have spent more time on it.
7 Reasons to Use the Printed Newsletter
- Firstly, there’s nowhere near the competition for your prospects attention compared to email
- Improved trust – it makes your company appear more real because they have something physically real in their hands
- Lasts longer – it’s placed on a desk to be read later or after being read and others see it. It can be taken from job to job. More time is given, which means your brand now occupies a stronger position in your prospects mind
- Better at reaching high-level decision makers
- Won’t get stopped by a spam filter
- Doesn’t require opt-in
- Not everyone is online or easily targeted online
Online or Offline – It’s Just Marketing
It’s not about saying one is better or worse than the other it’s about determining which earns you more money and adds more to the profitability of the business.
The more ways you have to, not just get in front of prospects, but to engage them in some way, the more successful your marketing will be. In the B2B market space many of your prospects are busy, so spend little time online.
Reducing the Time to Purchase
Direct mail can be another method of starting a conversation that can be moved online, where another channel of communication can be opened, increasing the number of touch points in their journey to becoming a customer. This, in turn, shortens the sales process, thereby increasing ROI.
Leave A Comment