When you want your company to connect directly with existing or potential customers, both direct mail marketing and email marketing are effective tactics. Each strategy, however, has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. By knowing where and when to use each method in your advertising campaign, you can make the most of your marketing budget even if it’s relatively limited.
Mailing Costs
When you send a direct piece of mail, you have to account for postage, printing, envelopes, and even labor. With email, you can send a message out to thousands of people at almost zero cost. In terms of expense, there is simply no comparison between direct mail marketing and email.
Reception
If you’re like most people with an email account, you likely get dozens or even hundreds of messages per day. It’s easy to overlook messages from senders you don’t recognize, and it’s even easier for marketing messages to get filtered into spam. A direct mailer, however, commands your attention. Mail in the mailbox feels personal and important, and it’s much more likely to get read.
Speed
Delivery of email is instant, but according to the USPS, first-class mail can take as long as 5 days to get to its destination. If getting an urgent message out to your directory is important, there is simply no comparison. Not only is delivery fast, but your recipients can respond immediately as well.
Statistics
While it’s possible to track the effectiveness of both direct mailers and emails, modern software can automatically calculate open rates, clicked links, and conversion details for electronic mail. If you want precised, day-to-day stats on the success of your campaign, email campaigns can give you the information you want.
Outreach
While computer and Internet use is more popular than ever throughout the globe, there is still a significant portion of the population that doesn’t have access to email. Almost everyone, however, gets physical mail. If your company is trying to reach out to older demographics, direct mailers have no equal.
For most businesses and non-profit organizations, the optimal mailing strategy will involve a balance between both email and direct mailing. While email looks like it holds most of the advantages, the ability for direct mailers to engage their audience is unmatched.
