Is direct mail marketing a good fit for your product?

An article from Bulldog Reporter this week says direct mail is still a very effective form of advertising. This may be a bit surprising to hear – at first.

After all, “junk mail” isn’t some obscure bit of online slang. (lol - n00b!) It started with the various coupons and flyers that have been showing up in our mailboxes for years. A particularly interesting point the article makes, however, is that actual mail gives people a more tangible experience than electronic mail.

What is more, people apparently like that.

Think about it: Some people fear the e-mail they get from people they don’t know. Reports of the latest rampant computer virus always includes the addendum, “Don’t open messages from anyone you don’t recognize.” A user could just delete or block everything by anyone they don’t know on these very grounds. And with that, the messaging strategy goes down the tubes.

Physical, hand-delivered mail, however, cannot give someone a virus, or even make them feel ill (anthrax poisoning not withstanding. Although, I don’t believe anyone ever reported that showing up as part of their Sunday mailer.) It is part of the pile of mail they will sift through anyway, giving them the chance to decide whether or not to continue with it. While they may not be interested and toss it out, they will at least have seen it. Sending new messaging to a potential customer as an e-mail may never get displayed on their screen.

The greatest things going against direct mail have always been alienating customers and waste. There isn’t much that can be done about the later; Direct mail marketing has gone though so many trees, Woodsy Owl dropped dead with horrified shock in 1979.

As for alienation, it should be said that this is just one of many advertising tools - and any number of strategies could alienate potential clients and customers. Whether or not it does really depends on the product and how ready someone is to buy it. If this study tracked mailers that contained coupons for an ice cream shop, I would bet the campaign went very well. If it was promoting Las Vegas trade show rentals, it might not have done so well. Trade show exhibition is a specialized industry, and without knowing who was receiving the mail, many people who have no need for that information would get it, and ultimately, toss it out. (To say nothing of what happens if you are mailing it to people who don't live in the Las Vegas area.)

Finally, a funeral home direct mailer would have gone disastrously. Sure, we all have to go sometime, but getting glossy brochures for coffins… that’s just creepy.

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)