6 direct mail stats that can’t be ignored

Direct mail marketers have spent the past few years defending the channel. While sceptics and media alike proclaim the marketing medium is dead, direct mail continues to be widely used and produces notable ROI.

Many naysayers don’t realise how direct mail has evolved. In a recent Target Marketing Magazine article I explained how offline technologies have advanced to engage target audiences through data-driven personalisation; very similar to how email and other online capabilities have progressed.

Variable data printing, for example, utilises triggers based on consumer data to determine messaging and creative assets, ensuring relevancy on an individualised level. Combine variable data printing with expedited delivery services and you have a viable and timely marketing channel.

If you’re still not convinced of direct mail’s sustainability, below are six stats that can’t be ignored.

• 73% of U.S. consumers and 67% of Canadian consumers said they prefer direct mail for brand communications because they can read the information at their convenience. Additionally, 62% of Americans and 63% of Canadians said they enjoy checking the mailbox for postal mail – Epsilon’s 2012 Channel Preference Study
• In over 80% of homes the person in the household responsible for collecting and sorting mail will collect the mail at their first opportunity. And, once the mail is brought into the home, 80% will sort the mail immediately while 18% will sort it later that day – USPS 2012 Mail Moment Study
• 59% of U.S. respondents and 65% of Canadian respondents agreed with the following statement, “I enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products” – Epsilon’s 2012 Channel Preference Study
• 48% of the UK population responded to a direct mail piece they received in the past year – Central Mailing Services 2013 Direct Mail Statistics
• 80% of marketers surveyed plan to invest in direct mail in 2013. 28% reported increases in their direct mail budgets – Target Marketing Magazine’s Media Usage Forecast 2013
• U.S. advertisers spend $167 per person on direct mail to earn $2,095 worth of goods sold; a 1,300% return – Print Drives Commerce 2013

So, next time you read a headline claiming direct mail is dead, don’t be fooled. Direct mail is still a vital part of the marketing mix that helps brands produce brand and business equity.

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