

That’s the equivalent of first time direct mailers that send out a single campaign and expect huge sales to happen. What would you think of a sales rep that calls a prospect once, leaves a message, and never calls again? You’d probably fire him or her. As you learn what your audiences respond to, you’ll find more reliable returns through the channel. You’ll need to track, measure, and optimize your campaigns to improve their returns over time. Like any other channel, the initial ROI of your first campaign is usually a poor indicator of the channel’s overall potential.
DIRECT MAIL ADS HOW TO
How to Maximize Direct Mail ROIĭirect mail is what you make it. Also, 40% of consumers claim they will try new services and products if they receive direct mail from the business that offers them. In fact, 73% of consumers claim to prefer direct mail over other channels for brand communications. Direct mail advertisements have a better reputation among modern consumers. On the higher end of the return scale, a 2013 study found that for every $167 that businesses spend on direct mail, they sell $2095 worth of products and services. Only seriously outpaced by email (124%), that return places direct mail as better than or virtually equal to popular digital channels like social media (30%), paid search (24%), and online display (16%). Combined with new automated campaigns that strip out much of the time associated with preparing direct mail, the ROI is rapidly increasing.Īccording to a recent study from DMA, the median Direct mail ROI is 29%. Why? Because it is a better product! Beautiful images on oversized postcards, highly personalized letters that use data targeting to increase their appeal are making a big difference in response. As digital channels have grown more crowded, direct mail is connecting at a higher frequency. Now, with better direct mail software, data and printing technology, the response rate is growing.

It used to be that marketers would expect about a 1% response rate on direct mail. That might not sound like much, but when you compare it to 0.2% from online ads, 0.4% from social media platforms, 0.6% from paid search, and 0.6% from email campaigns, you can start to understand how significant that number is.ĭirect Mail Response Rate Is Growing With Better Tech When you use direct mail automation tools to streamline the production and fulfillment processes, you’ll cut the time and cost side of the equation dramatically.Īccording to recent research, direct mail has a response rate of 5.1%. A company with in-house designers and copywriters will almost always pay less than one that has to outsource that work. Ultimately, your cost depends heavily on what tasks you can complete in-house and what you have to pay to have done.

In a recent article, we covered this topic in depth. To understand what direct mail ROI you can realistically expect, you first have to understand the costs of running a direct mail campaign. While everyone joins the fight to modernize and build a presence on the web, companies that embrace new technology that enhances traditional advertising channels often find them less competitive and more reliable.

Direct mail is still one of the most popular advertising channels in use today and for good reason - it provides reliable returns that often surpass digital channels.
