I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the effectiveness of direct mail. Each day when I come home from work, I dread going through the mail. It’s a chore. I might get lucky and find a Sports Illustrated or Wired, but most of the time it’s just bills and crap.
I have never bought a product or visited a business as a result of a direct mail piece.
Direct mail falls under the category of interruption marketing. Interruption marketing is the opposite of permission-based marketing. The consumer opts in to permission based marketing and gives the company permission to market to the consumer. This is usually done in the form of e-mail marketing.
I have bought a product as result of an e-mail.
The difference is that I asked to be sent the e-mail. The e-mail made reference to a prior purchase. The e-mail had a definitive call to action. It was turnkey marketing. It was easy.
So why do we continue to rely upon direct mail to get the job done? We don’t know any better. We’re creatures of habit and expect that if we knock our heads enough against the wall long enough, that something positive will come out. It’s not that the piece isn’t well designed or that it’s not eye catching. It’s the fact that the consumer doesn’t want to receive it. The piece falls into the crap category with all the other junk mail.
Do more e-mail marketing than direct mail in 2009. It will cost your company less money, be more effective, and help you connect with your consumers.
