Why Direct Mail Will Make a Huge Comeback in 2015

In all walks of life, all trends will eventually come back into fashion, whether this be in terms of clothes, hairstyles or even marketing strategies.

Whilst digital and mobile marketing have risen at a rapid rate in recent years and continue to do so, direct mail marketing has always held its own, even if not seen as the most relevant marketing strategy. All marketers must always look forward for future trends, but in some cases, future trends are not entirely new. At Direct Mail Publicity, we predict that 2015 will be a big year for direct mail.

So why 2015?

Firstly, postage rates are expected to rise in 2015, massively affecting direct mail marketers, however small the impact may be. Rather than causing marketers to look away from mailing and instead look for other marketing opportunities, we expect that rather than making direct mail harder, the increase in price will instead encourage marketers to be smarter with their mail.

By making their direct mail much more personalised and targeted towards specific audiences, mailers are far more likely to encourage customers or clients to either buy products, or sign up for services. Research shows that as much as 86% of consumers are more likely to be influenced to make a purchase by personalised marketing collateral, aimed at them.

With marketers having more and more access to customer data and information, it is much easier for them to target specific customers. The more that can be learnt about customers, the easier it is to personalise and tailor marketing campaigns for the individual.

As digital marketing continues to be a highly powerful marketing tool, and will be for the foreseeable future, in 2015, marketers will be expected to incorporate both digital, print and direct mail marketing as part of a big, integrated marketing strategy. Rather than looking to completely replace more traditional marketing methods with digital and mobile marketing, by creating an integrated strategy with a single aim, brands can market their products or services from all angles.

With social media constantly growing in importance as a valuable marketing tool, direct mail will also be an ideal opportunity to encourage consumers to connect with them over social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram. Most importantly, direct mail should always provide a link to a website address.

With our predictions in mind, are you ready to make the most of direct mail as part of your business’s integrated marketing strategy?

Why Do We Still Need Direct Mail Marketing?

Online marketing is becoming more and more important every day as people all over the world use the internet four hours on a daily basis. Whenever a consumer wants to find a product, service or specific business, the internet is now the first place that they will look and this will not change any time soon. Despite the dominance of the internet in the consumer world, direct mail marketing remains an important cog in the marketing machine.

Direct mail marketing is an extremely useful tool when used closely in conjunction with other marketing campaigns. By implementing a strong integrated marketing approach, companies can reach customers across numerous channels, increasing their brand identity and also keeping them at the top of the mind for potential customers or clients. Direct mail is one of the cheapest marketing techniques, however it is also one of the most effective, seeing many benefits:

Measure for measure - Efficiency

Direct mail, compared to other marketing strategies, is quite easy to measure. You can record the number of mailers that are sent out, and use special coupons or codes to work out the response and conversion rates of these mailers. As well as being measurable, direct mail also helps you to target the right group of recipients; direct mail can be personalised to the extent of selecting a geographical area or even a certain demographic group.

High conversion rate

Due to direct mail marketing being one of the best marketing strategies to reach the right target audience, it also has a high conversion rate. Direct mailers can give information on an upcoming sale, event, or special offer, arousing a response from the customer, either leading to a direct sale, or drawing them to your website to find out more information. This helps you to communicate with the customer over different channels, making your message stronger and having a greater effect.

Unlike other forms of marketing where the message does not reach the consumer, direct mail marketing largely hits its target. Whilst many emails go straight to the spam folder, most people will go through their mail either immediately or on the same day that they receive it.

Versatile tool

Direct mail marketing can also be a somewhat versatile tool, serving a variety of different purposes. A mailer could be used as an invitation to an event, or a short term sales tool, such as a promotional voucher or coupon that is valid only for a certain period of time. This can be a useful short term approach for new businesses looking to drive initial sales and interest.

For a longer term goal, direct mail marketing is also a useful reminder tool, sent out to clients to keep them up to date with your company. This type of mailer is usually personalised to the specific client, helping you to strengthen your long term relationship with them. As a contrast, direct mail can also be used as a way to find out more information on the client; a survey or questionnaire.

For more information on direct mail marketing, you can visit dmpb.co.uk.