Direct Mail Statistics
Direct mail marketing is no longer traditional, sluggish, and expensive. Though some marketers are still of the opinion that direct mail is incapable of yielding results, it is quite the opposite.
What is direct mail marketing? It is an offline marketing channel that helps you reach out to your target audience directly. Companies need to send out marketing and transactional communications to their customers. Having something mailed to someone’s physical mailboxes is far more effective than advertising on social media or through emails. Such digital ads can only create hopes that your target audience will view the ad—direct mail assures it.
Today, direct mail marketing is considered at par with the other marketing channels. Companies have understood that adding a personal touch to their marketing communication is the need of the hour. In an era of cluttered mailboxes and social media platforms, direct mail forms emotional connections drive attention and get higher engagements.
Direct mail statistics reflect the reasons for direct mail to be still so popular and can give you an idea of how you can optimise your marketing campaigns.
In this blog, we have compiled a list of direct mail marketing statistics that clearly show how it levels up your marketing game and how your company can benefit from it significantly.
Let’s get started
Direct Mail’s Average Response Rates Are 9% and 4.9% for House Lists and Prospect Lists Respectively
While other marketing channels struggle to get good response rates, direct mail bags an average response rate of 9% for mailing to house lists and about 5% for prospect lists.
These rates have been increasing over the years gradually and are now setting great records. Latest technological advancements and marketing automation are the prime reasons that direct mail is now data-driven. Marketers can segment their audience, personalise their collaterals, and tailor everything according to their audience’s needs.
When you choose to collect data from multiple sources and integrate it into your direct mail marketing campaigns, you are bound to attract higher response rates. In fact, direct mail vs email statistics states that direct mail’s response rate is about 9 times higher than email.
It might be very easy to conduct email marketing campaigns. But, direct mail gets higher responses due to its tangible nature, eye-catching features, and the sense of personal touch. On the other hand, emails are still ads over a screen that can never beat having a tangible thing in your hand which you can see, smell, and touch.
Direct mail marketing success rate is higher than email, social media, and paid search. Moreover, the response rate of the online displays is only 0.3%. These statistics have made it clear that direct mail has the highest response rates.
Oversized envelopes get a response rate of 5%, followed by postcards which can drive response rates of up to 4.25%. Taking such astonishing direct mail industry statistics as the base, marketers can level up and do even better by applying techniques like audience segmentation, customisation, and so on.
Number of Mail Items Australians Receive in a Week
Australian citizens receive an average of up to 10.8 and 7.5 unaddressed and personally addressed mail items a week respectively. These include personal, marketing, transactional, and compliance mail.
Marketers have finally understood the direct mail marketing benefits and have incorporated them into their marketing strategies.
B2B Marketers and Direct Mail Marketing
If direct mail is dead, why are B2B marketers so invested in it?
A Hubspot marketing report from 2019 says that 18% of a B2B firm’s marketing expenditure goes into print advertising and direct marketing. In today’s digital world, spending 18% on an offline marketing channel can’t be neglected. Hence, B2B direct mail statistics demonstrate that direct mail still drives results and can’t be left untapped.
Even though businesses have started using many different marketing forms, they haven’t been able to get direct mail out of the picture. B2B marketers still consider direct mail marketing as an inseparable part of their account-based marketing campaigns- Which is a huge deal in itself!
People are too busy with their personal and professional lives. They might often miss out on their emails or online banners. However, physical mail delivered to their doorsteps is difficult to miss.
Another report shows that 63% of DTC (Direct to Consumer) companies spend on direct mail advertising. Again, it is a huge figure that continues to grow as businesses understand the importance of direct mail.
Australians Prefer to Open and Read Mail On the Spot
Some direct mail statistics Australia presented by Australia Post state that 90% of Australian citizens make it a point to read their mail. 60% prefer reading their mail thoroughly, whereas 54% store mail items for future reference.
Whenever you conduct a direct mail campaign, you would obviously want the recipients to at least open and view your mail. Your next expectation would be that they pay some attention while reading it. Well, the good news is that around 81% of Australians actually open and read their mail immediately. Furthermore, 74% of them read their direct mail pieces attentively, and 65% read everything they receive in the mail.
If you can pull off a campaign with such high open and read rates, you are sure to get a lot of valuable responses. And, this will make you step ahead of others.
According to an article on Forbes, around 42% of direct mail recipients read or scan their mail. It again proves that direct mail draws more attention than other marketing channels and has more persuading power.
While comparing direct mail with email, remember that direct mail has an open rate of up to 90%. On the other hand, email has an open rate of only 20-30%. These direct mail vs email statistics signify the importance of direct mail even in today’s time.
Average Time Taken to Open and Read Mail
Direct mail is long-lasting. Unlike an email or social media advertisement that is seen only for a few seconds, direct mail can engage recipients for a longer time.
We know that a lot of people open and read the mail they receive. Direct mail advertising statistics state that the average time spent to do so in 2.9 minutes. Imagine having a prospect spending more than 2 minutes touching and looking at your well-designed postcard with an attractive headline. It is enough time to catch someone’s attention and deliver a message. With an attractive headline and offer, you ought to get a lot of responses.
Below are a few more direct mail statistics that reconfirm its long-lasting nature:
- On average, marketing direct mail is kept in households for 17 days. It gives enough time to every recipient to read the mail pieces thoroughly.
- 84% of Australians find it valuable to receive important information in hard copy format. It means that they are ready to receive and store direct mail that is useful to them. Hence, companies should send their transactional and compliance correspondence in the mail rather than just dropping in an email.
Talking About the Credibility of Direct Mail
You need a trustworthy marketing channel to be successful. People should be able to rely on that channel for decision making. Once more, you are in luck with direct mail.
33% of Australians say that direct mail senders are always trustworthy. 34% of Australians say that the information communicated through direct mail is always credible. Another study shows that 76% of customers trust and rely on direct mail while making purchase decisions, over digital marketing channels. Hence, companies can use direct mail to reach out to people, earn their trust, and drive conversions.
Direct Mail as an Influencer
Yes, you heard that right. In a study, it was found that 43% of all respondents actually purchased something as a direct reaction to getting marketing mail from a business. Purchases are the end result of direct mail campaigns that marketers wish for. Direct mail ROI statistics show that direct mail is capable of making that happen.
According to a research study commissioned by the USPS, direct mail recipients spent 28% more money than those who did not receive that mail piece. Similarly, they bought 28% more items than the non-recipients.
Furthermore, 62% of direct mail respondents made a purchase within three months. These are some solid direct mail effectiveness statistics that showcase direct mail marketing as a conversion driver. Direct mail not only has high response rates, but also high conversion rates.
92% of millennials make a purchase decision influenced by a direct mail item, as compared to 78% for email. Hence, direct mail continues to beat email marketing.
Direct Mail Attracts a Whopping 29% ROI
We have already gone through some statistics demonstrating the direct mail marketing success rate. However, marketers would want to know the ROI offered by direct mail. Let’s find out.
Some direct mail advertising statistics show that direct mail can offer an ROI of about 29%. It is astonishing enough for businesses to invest in direct mail marketing today.
Earlier, companies used to struggle to get a positive ROI through direct mail marketing because it was expensive. Even after getting a good number of responses, it was difficult to gain much out of it. But now, things are different. PostGrid’s automated direct mail solutions are affordable and can help you get an excellent ROI.
Postcards Are Useful Too
DMA direct mail statistics state that 50.9% of direct mail recipients find postcards to be useful.
Postcards are small and compact. They are appealing to the audience and can catch anyone’s attention. Since they don’t require envelopes, recipients just need to turn them around. Thus, all postcards are viewed. With a 100% open rate and half of the audience finding them useful, postcards are perhaps the best marketing collateral.
Include relevant offers in your postcards to get people to save them. Some marketers also include deadlines so that people act faster. These techniques can help to make your postcards useful and action-driving.
Direct Mail: Persuading the World
Whether it is an email, a social media ad, or a mailpiece, marketing messages should be persuasive. In the case of nonprofit organisations, they should be able to convince people to donate. Other companies want to persuade the customers to purchase their products or avail their services. Hence, all conversions come down to persuasion.
Direct mail’s motivation response is far more than digital media. It is 20% more persuasive. This neuroscience study conducted by Canada Post concludes that this rate can be higher if your direct mail item appeals to senses other than touch.
Millennials Preferring Print Communications
Millennials also pay attention to and respond to direct mail. Below are some direct mail statistics you can use as reference:
- 69% of millennials aged between 18 to 24 say that they prefer paper and print communications over digital. In fact, direct mail vs email statistics reveals that 30% of millennials say direct mail is more effective as compared to email, especially when talking about taking action.
- If your products and services can be used by all ages, it is important to also appeal to the millennial generation. Additionally, businesses that have young people as their target customers also need robust marketing strategies that can appeal to them. With so many millennials preferring direct mail, it makes sense to conduct direct mail campaigns for them.
- 80% of millennials pay attention to direct mail, while 50% ignore online ads. Undoubtedly, direct mail makes its way through the digital clutter and stands out.
Recalling Brands Via Direct Mail
75% of direct mail recipients have reported being able to recall brands immediately. On the contrary, only 44% of display ad viewers can recall brands.
One of the main motives of direct mail marketing campaigns is to build brand image and increase awareness. The more people know about your company, the higher are your chances to drive sales.
Direct mail has the power to make people remember your brand. Since the competition is lower in the direct mail industry, it is not every day that people receive relevant, personalised, and eye-catching items in the mail.
The direct mail industry statistics discussed above indicate that direct mail is memorable. With attractive marketing collateral, you can get people to always remember you and connect with them in a better way. The next time they want to purchase something around your product or service range, they are sure to think of you immediately.
54% of direct mail recipients always remember the contents of their received mail. It reinstates the direct mail marketing success rate.
Sharing Direct Mail With Others
When you send something to someone’s mailing address, it is for the entire household. This is especially true in the case of residential addresses. Therefore, marketers intend to reach out to all the household members by sending a single direct mail item addressed to a single person living there. Fortunately, the trick works for them.
56% of direct mail recipients in Australia share their direct mail items with other household members. Similarly, 58% of Australian households display important mail at their homes. Therefore, there is a great scope for increased visibility and mouth publicity.
PostGrid’s address validation API can help you identify and eliminate duplicates from your mailing lists. You can now save money by not mailing to the same households twice when you can get your mission accomplished by mailing just once.
Less Cognitive Efforts
There are no pop-up ads, display banners, or any other distractions while opening and reading direct mail. Emails might often get ignored and don’t get a lot of attention. But, direct mail is extremely attention-grabbing.
It takes 21% less cognitive effort to look at and process direct mail contents, as compared to emails. It is a single tangible item and has concise contents. Therefore, it is much easier to focus on direct mail and understand its purpose.
Direct Mail Accelerating Online Donations
Direct mail marketing is used by all industries including healthcare, finance, real estate, education, and more. Many non-profit organisations and charities have also turned to direct mail marketing for getting more donations. Some great examples of direct mail collateral for such firms are small postcards and letters with an emotionally appealing headline. You can also include real-life stories of the people helped by the charity.
Direct mail is nostalgic and can make people emotional at times. Using such a marketing channel to convince people to donate seems to be an excellent choice.
In reality, direct mail fundraising statistics have stated there is a 40% increase in online donations due to direct mail.
Direct Mail Generating Higher Conversions With Digital Ads
Digital and direct mail marketing can work together. There is no need to pick one and stick with it exclusively. The best marketing campaigns are always multichannel and include several touchpoints. Therefore, marketers should look into their options and create a multichannel campaign strategy that can yield much higher results.
Direct mail marketing, when used with digital ads, can generate a 28% higher conversion ratio. In addition to this, multichannel marketing campaigns with direct mail and one digital marketing channel generate 118% higher response rates as compared to using direct mail alone.
Real estate direct mail statistics are focused on how well you optimise individual marketing channels. A person might delete your email but might be thrilled to get your direct mail. In the same way, another person might respond to direct mail rarely but is super active on social media. A smart marketer will know to combine different offline and online marketing forms to create one well-thought and effective marketing campaign.
Direct Mail as a Traffic Booster to Your Website
Earlier, we discussed how 30% of millennials say that direct mail is more effective than email in terms of persuading customers. Direct mail is extremely convincing and action-driving. People tend to complete the CTA more often than they would after reading an email.
There are a lot of things you can include in your CTA. From asking people to visit your website to download your application, there are certainly many options available. These actions take prospects further down the sales funnel. A lot of marketers choose to include more than one CTA in their direct mail items so that they can test them.
Direct mail is known to drive 77% website visits, followed by 64% purchases, and 56% program signups. These direct mail marketing statistics are very commendable. They make it clear that direct mail is the new face of the marketing industry.
Not just that, direct mail can drive 53% of store visits and 53% of app downloads. So, no matter what your campaign purpose is, direct mail marketing can help you achieve it. From the earlier engagement steps to the final conversion process, you can accomplish anything with the right direct marketing campaign.
Be sure to always include a CTA in your direct mail items. Insert it at a spot where it is clearly visible and gets attention.
61% of customers visited pURLs, 53% contacted the business through call, and 42% used coupons and codes as part of completing a CTA. The right CTA gets all the credit for driving actions.
Direct Mail for a Personalised Experience
Obviously, direct mail is personal and can create emotional connections. But, it is more evident now as people confirm this fact themselves. 56% of direct mail recipients say that it is a pleasure receiving mail. 55% look forward to finding out the mail contents. 67% say that it is more personal than any online communication form.
Emotional appeal is the first step towards conversion. Your audience should feel happy to hear from you and that will happen only when you reach out to them through an ideal channel. Nothing is better than direct mail to provide that personalised touch.
If you want to connect with your target audience personally, try out direct mail marketing. It is the best way to add a personal touch to your marketing messages and drive engagements.
Some other direct mail statistics compiled together by Australia Post revealed that 38% of direct mail recipients say that direct mail makes them feel important. Furthermore, 39% of recipients say that receiving mail makes them feel appreciated or valued by a business.
Direct mail is the perfect marketing form to appeal to your audience emotionally. Use words and sentences that make people feel special, or like they really need it. The right collateral with the right words can really be a game-changer for your brand.
Increased Response Rates
Adding sophisticated customer data to mail items in order to personalise them increases response rates by 500%. It is too big a number to ignore personalisation.
A direct mail marketing campaign can only be successful if you do it right. While this is true for a lot of things, conducting direct mail campaigns properly can work wonders for your business. Even adding a person’s first name to a postcard increases its convincing power and drives responses. Hence, make sure that you always personalise your marketing campaigns.
78% of customers engage with brand offers only when they are tailored according to their previous engagements with the business. 38% of Australians wish to receive statements and bills in the mail as personally addressed. Therefore, it is recommended that you segment your audience and personalise your campaigns always, even while sending transactional mail.
Direct Mail Can Drive Prospects to Your Online or Physical Store
At times, businesses just want to get customers to visit their stores. Not all types of companies can pull off quick sales without the customer ever visiting you.
For example, if you are a veneers manufacturer and have a store where you display all samples, you would need customers to visit it. They would then see and touch the samples before ordering anything.
B2C and B2B direct mail statistics denote that 56% of direct mail respondents visit the business’s online or physical store. Hence, direct mail marketing is beneficial for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Over to You
Numbers don’t lie. The direct mail statistics we discussed in this blog dictate that direct mail is far from dead. In fact, marketers have started pumping it with the latest technological advancements to make it smart, relevant, and data-driven.
These direct mail marketing statistics were meant to tell you that it is an extremely effective marketing form that can nurture leads, increase brand awareness, and boost conversions. People appreciate the direct mail novelty and are willing to engage with it, so what is stopping you from conducting a direct mail campaign?
If you are worried about the time and effort required to plan and execute a direct mail marketing campaign, it is time to switch to a smarter alternative.
PostGrid’s print and mail API can assist you in every step of your campaign and even after that.
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