Mail and marketing
Direct mail or ‘mailshots’ remain a very effective form of marketing and promotion. So many organisations having an online presence ignore the tried and tested benefits of mail.
Businesses, large and small, continue to realise the effectiveness of building customer relationships using the post. Mail can be an extremely well targeted, personal and creative way to engage people and retain their attention.
For many activities, it is easy to see why mail is still a preferred channel. Consider how any of the following could be accomplished as effectively without the use of mail:
- Acquiring new customers
- Retaining existing customers
- Encourage customers to spend more
Mail is a very successful advertising medium because it’s personal, it’s responsive, it’s measurable and it’s cost effective.
Some facts about marketing by mail:
Mail has the power to influence because you can make it personally relevant.
Mail is engaging. Consumers are thought to spend an average of ten minutes reading targeted mail, which compares well with the cost of that length of exposure in TV, billboards or other media.
Mail is tangible. It has a lasting physical presence in your customers' hands.
Mail can be targeted to reach very specific audiences in UK and internationally.
Mail can strengthen relationships. Ongoing campaigns or feedback forms will increase awareness and allow customers to tell you what they want.
Industry sources estimate that consumer mailshots generate more than £25 billion of business each year. For every £1 spent, £14 is generated.
Mailshot expenditure in UK has been increasing over the last decade.
Direct mail received by US consumers rose by 16% in Q1 2010 compared with Q4 2009.
