So which medium is more productive at motivating customers to do something? A printed direct mail piece or email?
You might as well ask, which kind of wine is better: cabernet or chardonnay?
The answer, needless to say, is "it depends." When it comes to print vs. email , both have pros and cons in certain circumstances.
But unlike the cabernet vs. chardonnay match-up, where you ordinarily wouldn't drink both with the same meal, the print/email comparison is often a distraction from the real insight, namely, to use both in the same campaign!
That's right -- studies have shown that campaigns which use both media do better than campaigns which use just one. To put it simply, direct mail and email complement one another.
While 90% of consumers strongly prefer one medium over the other, combining both does not seem to annoy most of them. In fact, they are 50% more likely to respond to their preferred medium when paired with its counterpart! This number rises to 62% when digital campaigns are combined 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 right away, while direct mail may linger on kitchen counters and tables;
* Printed mail can generate responses for weeks while email responses peak quickly, then fade away just as rapidly
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 direct-mail a long letter to your target market, then email the same group a reminder about it. Or, alternatively, you might email your audience and tell them an a special package is on its way so they can keep an eye open 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 utilizing both snail mail and email, it's vital for each medium to reference the other. In other words, if you mail a letter to a customer who has responded to an earlier email, be sure to remind them of this so they don't think the letter has come out of the blue. (Even though, as marketers, we know that no direct mail piece ever goes out to anyone "out of the blue.")
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 might as well ask, which kind of wine is better: cabernet or chardonnay?
The answer, needless to say, is "it depends." When it comes to print vs. email , both have pros and cons in certain circumstances.
But unlike the cabernet vs. chardonnay match-up, where you ordinarily wouldn't drink both with the same meal, the print/email comparison is often a distraction from the real insight, namely, to use both in the same campaign!
That's right -- studies have shown that campaigns which use both media do better than campaigns which use just one. To put it simply, direct mail and email complement one another.
While 90% of consumers strongly prefer one medium over the other, combining both does not seem to annoy most of them. In fact, they are 50% more likely to respond to their preferred medium when paired with its counterpart! This number rises to 62% when digital campaigns are combined 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 right away, while direct mail may linger on kitchen counters and tables;
* Printed mail can generate responses for weeks while email responses peak quickly, then fade away just as rapidly
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 direct-mail a long letter to your target market, then email the same group a reminder about it. Or, alternatively, you might email your audience and tell them an a special package is on its way so they can keep an eye open 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 utilizing both snail mail and email, it's vital for each medium to reference the other. In other words, if you mail a letter to a customer who has responded to an earlier email, be sure to remind them of this so they don't think the letter has come out of the blue. (Even though, as marketers, we know that no direct mail piece ever goes out to anyone "out of the blue.")
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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