In this digital age, everybody’s glued to their smartphones, laptops and tablets. The ways in which we consume information and communicate are rapidly changing. The importance of traditional marketing mediums such as radio, television and print are declining rapidly as consumers turn to digital media for their news & entertainment. Marketers are strategically responding to the digital shift by spending their advertising budget on e-marketing rather than on direct mail. Most brands these days are using social media to build awareness while the digital landscape is turning into a competitive battlefield for brands as they compete for the short attention span of their online consumers. With all this going, there is still a place for physical media. Here are a few reasons for direct mail to remain successful in the fast-paced digital world.
In the current digital age, personalization is just as important as communicating your primary message to your consumers. Direct mail provides a tangible experience to those receiving it which digital media can’t replicate. We are currently living in a world of hyper-fragmentation of various communication channels where it’s extremely easy to get a text, phone call, email, and messages on numerous apps. However, direct mail has the ability to cut through the digital clutter and as a result, it remains attractive to most consumers. It evokes a much greater emotional processing which aids in increasing engagement and also helps brands to build much stronger relationships with their consumers.
As mentioned, personalization is important. When you get personal with your consumers, you show them that your brand understands and appreciates them. A strong customer relationship is reinforced through this personal interaction.
The competition on the internet for attention is enormous. Almost all websites these days have banner ads. Marketing emails are also becoming increasingly common. When it comes to direct mail, the competition is amongst a very small stack of other pieces of mail. It’s also becoming increasingly difficult to stand out. However, direct marketing doesn’t have this problem. It’s still a competitive platform, but it’s only a fraction of what’s found online.
Most consumers appreciate receiving offers even if they use online shopping services. However, the average consumer these days receives a rather large number of emails per day. Hence, it’s easy for your mail to go unnoticed under the bulk of junk that they receive. Incorporating a multimedia strategy which leverages direct mail is bound to be more successful when compared to a full e-marketing campaign. This is due to the fact that direct mail has the ability to reach consumers who don’t want to be contacted online.
Most people over the age of 65 don’t use the internet. Direct mail is one of the only ways to be able to reach this demographic who might be interested in your business. It’s also believed by many that direct mail is only applicable for an older generation. But, this is far from the truth. Direct mail, unlike e-marketing, resonates with all age groups across all demographics, especially millennials. Even though most people assume that millennials are extremely tech savvy and will probably not appreciate direct mail, they’re actually more likely to engage with it. This happens because they feel that direct mail is a more personal form of interaction and that’s why they prefer it over any other marketing medium.
Direct mail marketing offers various important advantages over other marketing methods. Even in the era of the internet, using direct mail is a great way for you to gain new consumers for your product and brand and it enables you to pull ahead of the competition.