Is Direct Mail Still Effective In The Digital Age?

With the rise of 24/7 social media, influencer economy, and AI marketing, it’s easy to assume that direct mail would be an obsolete channel by now. But think again.

Over the last 5 years, companies have spent an average of $40 billion annually on direct mail marketing. Compared to the mere $4 billion spent on influencer marketing in 2021, it’s clear that businesses are still heavily investing in this marketing strategy. Here’s why:

Direct Mail Marketing Works 

Physical direct mail has an open rate of 80-90%, while email marketing is lucky to get up to 30%. Out of all marketing channels, direct mail has the highest ROI – reaching up to 112%, a better return than SMS marketing, email, or paid search. Keep reading to discover why this traditional marketing tool continues to thrive and how it complements digital strategies.

Why Does Direct Mail Still Work?

Direct mail remains a highly effective marketing channel thanks to its tangibility, credibility, and high engagement. The tactile nature of physical mail creates a more memorable experience than digital marketing, making a lasting impression on recipients. Here are a few other reasons why companies continue to rely on direct mail as a key element in their marketing strategy: 

• Less Competition in the Mailbox: Many companies have shifted entirely to digital marketing, leaving the physical mailbox less cluttered. This means your ad has a better chance of standing out and being opened. 
• Trust and Credibility: Direct mail is often perceived as more trustworthy and less intrusive than digital ads.
• High Engagement Rates: Many consumers interact with physical mail more than digital content. Perhaps surprising to some, younger generations are most likely to engage with direct mail marketing, with 85% of 18-34-year-olds stating that direct mail is extremely or somewhat useful. This is higher than for any other age group. 
• Multi-Sensory Experience: Direct mail engages more senses (sight, touch, smell) than a digital ad, making it more likely to be seen and remembered. 

Postal is the leading corporate direct mailing platform that modernizes direct mail by integrating with your CRM. With Postal, you can always ensure that your direct mail targeting is accurate, preventing waste and improving ROI.  

How Direct Mail Complements Digital Marketing

Savvy marketers know that they cannot rely exclusively on any one marketing channel or tactic. Instead, it’s essential to adopt omnichannel marketing strategies, combining direct mail campaigns with email, social media, and other marketing channels to create a seamless customer journey. 

Direct mail can be used to engage users that you haven’t been able to successfully reach through digital channels. It can also effectively re-engage customers who may feel burned out by emails or other forms of advertising. The reason why direct mail successfully builds these connections between you and your customers is because it supports personalization. 

Direct mail can be highly targeted, sending a unique message to a specific customer at a particular address. This precise targeting is why direct mail makes such an excellent addition to any digital marketing campaign. In fact, coordinating digital and direct mail can increase your overall response rates by 63%, website visits by 68%, and new leads by 53%. 

Benefits of Direct Mail in the Digital Age

Direct mail has several unique advantages that set it apart from other marketing channels. Here are just a few of them: 

• Improved Response Rates: Direct mail has a response rate that’s 5-9x higher than any other advertising channel. This means more lead generation and increased sales. 
• Building Brand Awareness: Receiving personalized and thoughtful mail creates a lasting impression, providing just another touchpoint for your logo to be seen and held.. 
• Reaching Non-Digital Audiences: Direct mail allows brands to connect with customers who prefer traditional marketing methods or are less engaged in online spaces. 
• Targeted Messaging: Advances in data and segmentation enable more precise targeting in direct mail campaigns, ensuring the message resonates with the recipient’s preferences, industry, role, and behaviors. 

Challenges and Solutions for Direct Mail in a Digital World

Although direct mail has several benefits, it’s not without downsides. Knowing the common challenges companies face when building a direct mail campaign will ensure you're prepared to overcome any obstacles. 

Higher Costs Compared to Digital

One of the first challenges with direct mail is budget-related. Printing, postage, and fulfillment costs make direct mail more expensive on a per-piece or per-person basis. For example, a single flyer will likely involve work from graphic designers, printers, and copywriters just to create the piece. After that, you’ll need to invest in professionals who can manage the logistics of ensuring your direct mail arrives at its target destination. 

Luckily, Postal eliminates the need to utilize multiple vendors by consolidating all services into one single platform for direct mail. When using a platform like Postal, you can increase your ROI compared to other channels and grow your pipeline by 4x in ABM campaigns.  

Slower Execution

Direct mail campaigns can be slower to kick off, requiring longer lead times for production and delivery. Unlike digital campaigns that can be launched almost instantaneously, direct mail involves multiple steps, such as designing the mailer, printing it, and coordinating with postal services for distribution. Each phase adds time to the process.  

With direct mail services from Postal, you can skip these steps entirely. We make it as easy to launch a direct mail campaign as sending an email. From ideation to distribution, Postal handles it all with speed and efficiency so that you can focus on higher-value lead nurturing and sales conversion. 

Difficulty in Measuring Impact

Now, more than ever before, marketers are under pressure to justify their investment decisions with analytics and data. This has been a weak spot for direct mail for years due to the lack of detailed, real-time analytics. In a world that’s grown accustomed to tracking minute metrics like clicks, conversions, and specific customer behavior, direct mail often falls short by comparison. The traditional nature of direct mail makes it difficult to integrate into CRMs and other platforms, making it hard to measure the success or effectiveness of any campaign. 

Postal integrates directly with your CRM, providing deep insights into the impact and ROI of your direct mail campaigns. Easily view your pipeline, ops, and closed/won revenue driven by direct mail. Plus, direct mail touchpoints sync with your CSM ensuring everyone has the latest data. 

Sustainability Concerns

Another significant issue with direct mail has to do with sustainability. As consumers in both the B2C and B2B space have become more conscious of the impact of business on the environment, many have voiced their concerns about the waste generated by physical mail campaigns. Direct mail requires using paper, ink, and energy for production, often leading to excess waste when mailers are discarded. 

Although digital marketing channels do not use physical resources like this, it’s worth noting that they are not without environmental impact. Social media and email marketing rely on large data centers and massive server platforms that can leave a huge carbon footprint. 

At Postal, we are passionate about sustainability, incorporating it into all of our business practices. From our commitment to the 1% pledge to our partnerships with eco-friendly vendors and low carbon footprint shipping, we are committed to leaving the world a better place. 

Tips for Making Direct Mail Work in the Digital Age

To overcome the challenges we’ve outlined above, here are some quick tips from our experts for how to make your next direct mail marketing campaign a success:

• Personalization Is Key: Use customer data to tailor the message, making recipients feel the mail was created just for them. Even just adding a recipient’s name can increase response rate up to 135%. 
• Integrate with Digital Campaigns: Combine direct mail with email, social media, and retargeting for a cohesive, multi-channel strategy.
• Incorporate a Call-to-Action: Include clear calls-to-action by incorporating QR codes or custom URLs to guide recipients toward taking the next step. You can even incentivize your CTA by adding on a bonus gift for those who take action. 
• Test and Measure: Use A/B testing and analytics to track the success of different direct mail strategies. 
• Keep It Simple and Clear: Ensure your design is clean, concise, and easily directs recipients towards conversion. Always partner with your marketing or branding team to make sure your design maintains brand guidelines.

Is Direct Mail Right for Your Business?

Direct mail can be a highly effective strategy, depending on your business goals, target audience, and budget. If your customers respond well to tangible personalized experiences, and you want to stand out in a crowded digital space, direct mail might be a great option. However, it can come with higher costs and longer lead times. Working with a partner like Postal reduces these costs, increases personalization, and boosts ROI.

Contact us today to learn how Postal can help you optimize your omnichannel marketing campaigns.