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Direct mail: why you should zig when everyone zags

Digital smigital.

Look, we know digital is the word of the moment, heck we offer comprehensive digital packages, (along with pretty much every other Melbourne marketing company) but we also have a deep-seated love for direct mail marketing.

And we’re not alone.

As the digital market grows, direct mail stands out, both for novelty factor (who even gets snail mail anymore?) and because it comes without digital pitfalls like image sizing, poor viewability and pesky bots.

For many people, direct mail may appear to be a remnant of the past. You can’t ‘like’ it, ‘repost’ it or ‘share’ it, ‘comment’ on it or ‘tag’ your friends in it.

You can, however, hold it in your hand, use a magnet to put it on your fridge, or put it on your desk for late – and if it is a cleverly designed piece with compelling copy, great images and a catchy tagline, chances are you will remember it better than the digital remarketing that followed you through three websites.

That is the power of Lumpy Mail.

It’s a novelty. Make it ‘stand out from the crowd.’ If the mail looks and feels interesting you’ll have a better open rate and chance of making it into the consumer’s home, off their desk and into their hands. We are one of the few marketing companies in Melbourne and Perth who specialize in direct mail.

Digital marketing, although contemporary, trackable and effective, has its share of problems. Bot traffic is rising (56% in 2014, according to anti-spam vendor LavaSoft) and ad viewability remains an issue. Response rates from email appear to be in decline, (thanks Gmail and other email providers for auto-routing commercial emails to hidden areas behind “promotional” tabs).

Even content marketing (blogs, articles, press releases) remains a challenge in a flooded internet where it’s apparent the sheer amount of content available exceeds the number of readers on the planet!

Here are our top reasons for re-introducing direct mail into your marketing campaigns.

1. Targeted prospecting

Using direct mail to entice recipients to visit a custom URL or download an app is an excellent way to assemble a list of engaged customers. A great DM piece will prompt customers to respond and stay responsive.

2. No spam filters

As average direct mail volume declines, falling about 1% per year, there’s plenty of room in the post-box for your piece to make some noise – even better, there is no spam filter on addressed postal mail!

3. DM is cheap and gives great ROI

Once you have a database of your target market, your DM piece is likely to have huge impact, for little outgoing. Design time and printing are the overheads, with a turn-around of only a few days, the question should be, can you afford NOT to do some direct mail marketing?

4. Everyone likes receiving mail!

It might be the novelty factor or retro-cool, but young people like newspapers, fliers, catalogues, and printed matter for purchase-related information. A well-designed DM piece can cut through the digital noise, and the UK’s Royal Mail found evidence that physical mailers engage a different (and presumably more retentive) part of the brain. Yay for DM!

5. Location specific

Companies like the Pamphleteers work with marketing companies in Melbourne to letter box drop unaddressed mail to specific demographics, or, for an even better result, a targeted campaign sent out to a specific database in the form of addressed mail will bring great ROI. Addressed mail provides an ideal way to identify locally engaged prospects and customers, drive them online, and track them across channels.

6. Pay attention to the Envelope

Digital printing allows your creativity to spill out across more than what is inside the envelope. You can personalise a whole lot more than just the address and have real fun doing so.

We’re not suggesting you slash your marketing budget and focus entirely on direct mail pieces, merely raising the point that DM has a place in sophisticated marketing campaigns, and if your Melbourne marketing company isn’t delivering, maybe you should consider one who will – literally.

Contact us today for more information.