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So which medium is more effective at incenting consumers to take action? A printed, snail-mailed direct mail piece or email?
You may as well ask, which variety of wine is better: Syrah or Riesling?
The answer, needless to say, is "it depends." When it comes to print vs. email , both have pros and cons in certain circumstances.
However, unlike the wine analogy where you ordinarily would not enjoy both with the exact same food, the print/email comparison will lead you away from the genuine insight, namely, to use each in the same marketing program!
That's right -- studies have shown that campaigns which use both media fare better than campaigns which use just one. In other words, direct mail and email complement one another.
Although 90% of customers prefer one form of communication over the other, using both does not seem to put them off. In fact, they are 50% more likely to respond to their preferred medium when it is combined with the other one! This statistic rises to 62% when digital campaigns are matched with direct mail.
Here are just a few of their complementary strengths:
* Printed mail pieces provide more information while email delivers easily digestible pitches;
* Email is typically opened up the first day, while direct mail may stay on counters and end tables for days;
* Printed mail can bring in responses for weeks while email responses ramp up quickly, then drop just as quickly
So this would seem to confirm the power of a cross-channel email/snail mail marketing campaign. However, there are several things to consider. For example, don't just parrot the identical message in both media. Use the corresponding strengths of each to create a truly effective campaign.
You might snail-mail a long letter your target audience, then email the same audience a reminder about it. Or, conversely, you might email your audience and tell them an an informational "packet" is on its way so they can be on the look-out for it.
In fact, it might even be a smart move to send out an email blast, wait for the response, then ONLY snail-mail a packet to those prospects, as opposed to your entire audience. Not only will you turbo-charge your response rate, you'll save advertising and marketing dollars by not mailing to your complete list.
If you do plan on using both media, it's important for each medium to talk about the other. For example, if you snail-mail a piece to a prospect who has responded to an earlier email, be sure to remind them of this so they'll recall they had asked for the mailing. (Even though, as marketers, we know that no marketing communications piece ever goes out to anyone who hasn't signaled their interest in some way)
Reference their earlier response to your email to boost your reponse rate through the well-known phenomenon of "brand-bonding by self-selection."
One final note: try to identify your prospect's preference for either email or print, then send them more of it, and less of the one they don't like. In fact, it might be wise to ask them directly which medium they would like NOT to receive, then fulfill their request if they do so. While cross-channel marketing is a very potent tool, it should never come at the expense of irritating your audience members who are totally turned-off by either of these two marketing methods.
You may as well ask, which variety of wine is better: Syrah or Riesling?
The answer, needless to say, is "it depends." When it comes to print vs. email , both have pros and cons in certain circumstances.
However, unlike the wine analogy where you ordinarily would not enjoy both with the exact same food, the print/email comparison will lead you away from the genuine insight, namely, to use each in the same marketing program!
That's right -- studies have shown that campaigns which use both media fare better than campaigns which use just one. In other words, direct mail and email complement one another.
Although 90% of customers prefer one form of communication over the other, using both does not seem to put them off. In fact, they are 50% more likely to respond to their preferred medium when it is combined with the other one! This statistic rises to 62% when digital campaigns are matched with direct mail.
Here are just a few of their complementary strengths:
* Printed mail pieces provide more information while email delivers easily digestible pitches;
* Email is typically opened up the first day, while direct mail may stay on counters and end tables for days;
* Printed mail can bring in responses for weeks while email responses ramp up quickly, then drop just as quickly
So this would seem to confirm the power of a cross-channel email/snail mail marketing campaign. However, there are several things to consider. For example, don't just parrot the identical message in both media. Use the corresponding strengths of each to create a truly effective campaign.
You might snail-mail a long letter your target audience, then email the same audience a reminder about it. Or, conversely, you might email your audience and tell them an an informational "packet" is on its way so they can be on the look-out for it.
In fact, it might even be a smart move to send out an email blast, wait for the response, then ONLY snail-mail a packet to those prospects, as opposed to your entire audience. Not only will you turbo-charge your response rate, you'll save advertising and marketing dollars by not mailing to your complete list.
If you do plan on using both media, it's important for each medium to talk about the other. For example, if you snail-mail a piece to a prospect who has responded to an earlier email, be sure to remind them of this so they'll recall they had asked for the mailing. (Even though, as marketers, we know that no marketing communications piece ever goes out to anyone who hasn't signaled their interest in some way)
Reference their earlier response to your email to boost your reponse rate through the well-known phenomenon of "brand-bonding by self-selection."
One final note: try to identify your prospect's preference for either email or print, then send them more of it, and less of the one they don't like. In fact, it might be wise to ask them directly which medium they would like NOT to receive, then fulfill their request if they do so. While cross-channel marketing is a very potent tool, it should never come at the expense of irritating your audience members who are totally turned-off by either of these two marketing methods.
About the Author:
You can get expert advice on direct mail at Commercial Letter, in St. Louis Mo. Stop by the Commercial Letter site and click here to learn about their SnailWorks, coordinated direct marketing program.
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