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Direct Mail Trumps Digital Media

Marketers report printing mailers beats electronic communication when it comes to winning sales response

Jenni Spinner, Contributing Editor -- Graphic Arts Online, February 5, 2010

Companies like New York-based Per Annum are returning to printed direct-mail pieces to help their bottom lineWhen firms look to cut costs, printed pieces like direct mail began getting the axe during the downturn. According to research firm Mintel Comperemedia, U.S. consumers received 7.1 billion direct-mail pieces in the third quarter of 2008, but only 5.2 billion pieces a year later, a 27% decline.

However, entrepreneurs who switched to e-mail only efforts are finding printed direct-mail pieces offer a greater return on investment than they had believed and are returning to printed pieces to reach customers. As a result, direct-mail printing firms are seeing a return to demand for their services. "I'm proud to say our business is up," says Ralph Dellatto, vice president of sales and marketing for Wilmington, MA-based Kirkwood Direct. "People use printed pieces, because direct mail works."

Dellatto says that rather than relying on uniform, mass-mailing pieces, an increasing number of Kirkwood Direct's clients are turning to research and variable-data personalization in order to better target likely customers. "If we're using a prospect list, we're doing analytical profiling and modeling to help hone in on clients."

Alica Settle, president of New York City-based ad specialties market Per Annum, told the Wall St. Journal she hoped to save $20,000 by eliminating her annual printed personalized promotional mailings and switching to e-mail promotions. After reorders dropped 25%, and she heard from clients they had relied on the printed piece to remind them to order, she moved quickly to send out the letter, and was able to salvage the business.

In order to remain competitive, says Dellatto, direct-mail efforts need to harness data and technology. Companies find that simply purchasing mailing lists and sending uniform fliers to a mass audience aren't cost-effective, but the payoff improves with personalization-tailoring special offers to a hand-picked list of clients and prospects.

"The old mass mailers are a thing of the past," says Scott Voris, president of Chicago-based Kelmscott Communications. "Rather than companies saying, ‘Hey, we're going to flood the city with a wave of mass mailings,' we're seeing smaller, more targeted direct-mail runs, personalized e-mails, and other tools that deliver a targeted, relevant message to customers."

According to Eric Anderson, professor of marketing at Northwestern University, smaller outfits may have an edge on direct mail. Because they send items that feel more personal than mass-produced "junk mail," and they generally have a smaller pool of clients to break down and reach, such business owners are able to offer a personal touch that mass-mailing efforts of large firms can't match.

Often, printed direct-mail pieces can serve a vital part to integrated marketing campaigns that reach across multiple platforms. For example, the USPS reports that customers of companies with Web sites that use printed direct-mail pieces buy a larger number of items and spend more on their orders. When those customers are catalog recipients, the figures increase even more. Additionally, companies like Kirkwood Direct create personalized-URL campaigns to help increase response rates.

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