Direct mail and email working together?

Technology has transformed the way in which we communicate with one another and given us many different ways in which we can talk with our customers. So that means that we no longer need direct mail right?...

...Wrong!

Extensive research by the Royal Mail actually shows that the core strengths of mail have endured and in some cases actually increased! Businesses are using the strength of mail to drive customers online and increasing their website traffic and sales. It appears that although the digital revolution has transformed marketing the customer still finds value in mail which an email simply can't deliver.

There are of course things that customers prefer to receive by email such as quick updates or a follow up communication. Customers find them easy to respond to and easy to file away for a later date but on average a customer will spend more time reading something that has arrived in the mail and will usually keep it in the house for around 17 days. Compare this to email where around 51% of people have been found to delete the email before even reading it and you can see why this is an attractive proposition for businesses in all sectors.

Sending mail makes the customer feel valued and shows them that we care about them as we have gone to further effort with their personalised brochure or catalogue which they can browse or hold onto for an extended period of time.

From this we can begin to see why combining mail and email for a marketing campaign can potentially lead to 21% more customers making purchases. Next time you see an email or some direct mail see how it makes you feel.