Why Is Direct Mail Seeing A Resurgence?
Roger and I are direct mail … well, er, sluts.
Whenever someone writes anything along the general lines of ‘direct mail punches on’, there we are, drooling and wagging our tails, like dalmatians responding to the fire alarm.
Because we write in praise of direct mail so often, I’m always nervous about whether we’re covering old ground, old reports, old comparisons of direct mail to feeble sisters like email and social media.
Here are some samples of our cheerleading, but believe me, our archives have dozens of direct mail accolades (just search “direct mail” in our vault) …
- Direct Mail Fights Back
- Direct Mail Will Outlive Us All
- When Will Direct Mail Die?
- Direct Mail Yields Major Gift Donors
- Acquisition — Direct Mail: The Exquisite Corpse
- And a real oldie but goodie from 2008: Is Direct Mail Dead? Craver Responds
Each of these posts is full of links to other direct mail morsels.
But just to keep your library fresh, here’s another item with factoids that will keep you reaching for stamps (how old-fashioned is that?!) …
Why is Direct Mail Seeing a Resurgence?
This author points to several factors: more attention-getting production options, including integrated technology like QR codes; mail wins time from the recipient, allowing — if done properly — for more effective delivery of emotional content; mail delivers keepers (brochures, guides, etc) as opposed to being ephemeral.
And then there are stats. According to this article, compared to email marketing direct mail receives a significantly better response rate and where the latter sees 45% of users taking some form of immediate action, direct mail has a rate of 79%. Direct mail generates more new customers — 10 percentage points more customers than email (direct mail’s 34% versus email’s 24% rate of customer generation. [See infographic below.]
Findings from Royal Mail indicate that when consumers receive direct mail:
- 92% are driven to online or digital activity;
- 87% are influenced to make online purchases;
- 54% engage further via social media; and,
- 43% download something.
But here’s what I like most among the reasons provided by Why is Direct Mail Seeing a Resurgence …
Touch!
Yes, humans still like to touch stuff. See how the Royal Mail study presents it in the infographic at end.
And do you think ‘touching’ is just for old fogeys like Roger and me? Check out this chart, courtesy of the US Postal Service (that’s Roger’s bar on the right):
Keep the letters coming!
Tom
5 responses to “Why Is Direct Mail Seeing A Resurgence?”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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Slut your stuff Direct Mail! For today’s fundraisers, that creaky old stand-by – direct mail – still arguably wears the crown. Like Queen Victoria during the Boer War – 43 years into her reign and no longer a coquettish ingénue, but a major force to be reckoned with.
http://sankyinc.com/blog/2015/07/10/email-sure-aint-dead-so-why-dont-you-get-to-know-it/
Two thoughts, one cautious, one very good news. The caution: the Royal Mail and USPS cheerleading refers to consumer DM, not specifically fundraising. I’m not at all convinced that charity DM rides the same behavioral surf as consumer DM. The very good news, from Australia: Pareto is routinely seeing acquisition response rates ABOVE 5% by doing stunning premium packs.
Hey Tom – 87 emails and counting, and their all asking me essentially the same question; “Am I going to respond to this hilarious post about the resurgence of DIRECT MAIL? Answer: Nah!
But remember, I WAS a direct mail guy until the Internet took over.
One can get higher response rates in acquisition mail in Australia because the channel isn’t grossly over-saturated like it is in the US. This is the same reason F2F retention in the US is much higher than say the UK.
Basic economics – if there is profit then additional “players’ will enter the market chasing that profit until they collectively drive the profit to zero or nearly so. This then leaves a handful of players with sufficient scale to be the only ones who can thrive while the vast majority struggle in vain to compete in a commoditized market with insufficient pricing power and leverage.
Amazing powers of perception, Kevin … from half a planet away, yet. Actually, the reason Pareto is achieving staggering acquisition rates … and retention rates, too … is because that particular agency is reinventing direct mail as an exciting component of a fully integrated marketing effort. Give the devil his due, my friend.