Does Direct Mail Still Matter? 

Everyone can agree that in 2015, if you're a marketer with no digital presence you're out of the game. With round the clock updates and messages from social networks, texts, and emails that we're accessing through a range of mobile devices, we are all constantly connected. To reach prospective customers and clients, your company has to be where those customers are looking for your goods or services.

So, with all of this activity online, does direct mail still matter? 

Without a doubt, YES!! To go even further, direct mail is seeing a resurgence and clear uptick in usage and performance. Between constant mobile notifications and our email inboxes flooded with messages (some helpful and others not so helpful), properly targeted direct mail with information that is relevant to the recipient can be a welcome change! 

More importantly, why is this so important for marketers?

The simple truth is that direct mail influences and impacts a buyer’s digital behavior. In fact, 34% of consumers search online for more information about a product when receiving direct mail from a brand they’re interested in, according to the Direct Marketing Association. Think about that for a moment. One third of all people who receive relevant information about a product they have interest in will go online and find that product and information about it. That it powerful. To go even further, Exact Target has stated that direct mail influences 76% of internet users to buy a product or service online.

Now, I’m not saying that it’s all about direct mail, but it is about having the right media mix. And, even more important is the influence each media has on one another. It comes down to creating a balance between Inbound and Outbound marketing strategies. Imagine finding new prospects that you can effectively target with direct mail and directing them to your landing pages to request information and accelerate the growth of your pipeline. You can achieve brand consistency and make sure there is clear matching of your message across a program’s media mix.

How can marketers integrate direct mail into their marketing campaigns?

Where this balance of Inbound and Outbound can be most helpful is in a lead nurturing campaign. Each buyer responds in different ways for different reasons - and they are all on their own buying journey. Content marketing’s major responsibility is to respect that personal timetable and not to get all prospects to buy as quickly as possible. There are numerous examples of when the buy cycle is rushed to the detriment of all. Content marketing is most powerful when it identifies where the buyer is in their journey and moves them through their buying process. To do this effectively, integrating online touches with offline communications will increase results and yield greater returns.

This integrated approach goes beyond direct mail and can include print, broadcast, etc. It is important to have a well thought out strategy and have the correct platforms and tools in place to bring all of the various components together. The plan should always be to create an integrated and balanced approach to all your marketing efforts that will give you the best chance of success and greatest return on all your marketing investments.

If you would like to learn more, please download: Balancing Inbound and Outbound Strategies: Effective Integrated Marketing in Action below.