Direct Mail is on the up

2016 research claimed that nearly 500 million more mailings were being opened and read compared to three years prior, highlighting the power of Direct Mail with today’s consumers. It’s predicted that the interaction with the 500 million direct mail pieces has potentially added £1.6 billion to the medium’s ROI.

Compared to online interaction, direct mail is proving resilient in the changing media landscape and increasing scrutiny of online ad performance. The research reports that only 49% of online ads were actually classed as ‘seen’, and according to Google-Doubleclick, the average click-through rate for an online ad is a very minimal 0.1%!

Why is direct mail on the up?

More sophisticated targeting and correct addressing make direct mail more appealing and relevant to consumers. Reducing the use of ‘Dear Homeowner/Occupier’ has positively affected the opening rates, and addressing better quality mail pieces to the recipient’s name encourages them to open and read it.

In the past, marketers may have bombarded consumers with multiple mailings, hoping that frequency would prompt purchases. But with marketers now aiming to build a valuable relationship with consumers by changing their mail strategy, they will see improvements in ROI. With better quality campaigns, focusing on who the recipient is and their interest will boost them to tear open the mail piece and read the contents.

Since the release of Royal Mail’s ‘The Life Stages of Mail Visits’ report, marketers can now understand the attitudes of recipients receiving mail from different life stages. Whether they are young adults sharing accommodation to retirees who are living on income from pensions/investments, people of all ages like mail. This insight lets you plan and execute your marketing campaign for your target audience. Understanding the type of recipient and how they react will make you produce a high-quality specific mail campaign which you can be more confident that the recipient will open, read and act upon.  

Top targeting tips for key audiences:

• Fledglings: adults living at home with their parents – Cut through the digital competition by targeting younger audiences using mail as it is relatively new to them
• Sharers: adults living in shared accommodation – Use door drops which demonstrate intelligence and authenticity as this group is open to buildings relationships with brands
• Couples: adults living together, no children – They respond to messages which involve their home, community and social life
• Young Families: parents with children, primary age or younger – They are practical and focused on their parental roles, so content is likely to be more important than design
• Older Families: couples with at least one child in secondary school – Provide value-driven content, such as vouchers and loyalty scheme messages
• Empty Nesters: no longer have children at home, may live on their own or as a couple – Longer form copy is valued, and if relevant, it is often read more than once
• Older Retirees: living on income from pensions/investments – Provide content with multi-person appeal as mail, if relevant, is shared with friends and younger audiences

At Whistl, we not only provide a service to collect, sort and process your mail for delivery, but we also have experience in how to reach your most valuable audience with your direct mail campaigns and door drop media (unaddressed mailers).

Contact Us today to speak to one of our team and see how we can help.