Marketing is like nutrients for a business. It needs to be done from time to time for the survival and good health of a business but, with various types of marketing available at present, it is quite natural to get confused which one to choose. Well, here’s a perfect guide for you.
The two main types of marketing that are in the news are – Digital and Direct Mail. Since both have their pros and cons, a clear understanding of each is the only way to know which one is the best. Let’s get into the details then.
Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail is like a veteran. It is an old-school method where marketing is done via physical pieces of mail like postcards, brochures, catalogs, or dimensional mail. It used to be time-consuming as it was hard to find quality items and then everything has to be done on our own from packaging, bringing it to the post office to shipping, and measuring the ROI on it but, it too has evolved and now sending direct mail is as easy as sending an email. Thanks to the sending platforms as within a click, such platforms take the burden of storing, sourcing, packaging, and tracking items off of your shoulders.
Digital Marketing
While digital marketing is like a new guy in the town. It uses multiple channels like email, social media, and PPC to dominate return on investment, and has the ability to wow its customers no matter where they are, via their laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Now, let’s understand the pros and cons of both.
Pros and Cons of Direct Mail
1. Better Brand Attention
Isn’t receiving something physically creates much happiness than getting it virtually? Be it a gift, prize or anything. Same is the case with direct mail marketing. Your brand gets noticed more when it is promoted personally via mail than emails which mostly lands up in the trash without even opening it up. Direct mail creates an impact directly to the receiver’s mind and heart than the digital methods which can be discarded easily.
2. High ROI
Of course, in a business, the only major concern is the return on investment and guess what? Direct mail gives an impressive ROI. As per the direct mail marketing metrics, a median ROI of over 29% was recorded while digital ads had only 16% as on-page ads aren’t as appealing as receiving personalized mails at home.
3. Costly In Comparision
The cost of materials used in making mails i.e writing, design, printing, and then distributing them i.e the courier charges, all of these can cost a bit compared to the digital marketing which you can simply send to all within a few clicks.
4. Time-consuming
Since direct mail is sending something physically, it takes time. Even if you opt for express delivery, it won’t reach the receiver instantly as digital mail. You have to be patient to receive the response and ROI in direct mail as the delivery can be affected in many ways depending upon the service of the courier, their workload, circumstances, etc.
Pros and Cons of Digital Mail
1. Cost-effective
Digital mail doesn’t burden you with any kind of making charges like in direct mail. The cost of materials and delivery gets eliminated in digital as you simply have to make a digital mail, click and send unlike direct which requires everything from making to mailing charges.
2. Quick and Wider Reach
You don’t have to wait for anything in digital marketing. From getting responses to reaching out customers, digital mail is the best, quickest and widest.
3. Low Brand visibility
With too many emails pouring every day, it is most likely that your customers will discard you without even reading a bit. Therefore, there is a good chance for your brand to go un-noticed unlike direct mail which can be personalised and gets good and wide visibility.
Direct Mail vs Digital
In the world of digital, you may wonder why undergo the pain of sending direct mails when it can be done in a few clicks, well, technology has evolved a lot and as per stats, direct mail marketing is beating digital marketing. Shocking isn’t it? Just check the below points.
- An average office worker receives 121 emails per day.
- About 81% of people read or scan their mail daily.
- On average, 48% of the emails get deleted within five minutes of receiving.
- 57% of people claim that receiving physical mail makes them feel more valued than virtual ones.
- Direct mail has more than 30 times the response rate than the email.
The Verdict
Although both of the marketing approaches are important and are right and advantageous, direct mail seems to be a far better option than digital. However, our verdict is that in the present times, considering direct mail and digital marketing as teammates more than competitors will be the smart move. It is better to incorporate both; online and offline programs to create a truly omni-channel experience for your buyers and customers.
If you are looking to deploy an every door direct mail (EDMM) marketing solution for online printers, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or visit www.designnbuy.com.
