Integrated digital and direct mail campaigns win consumer vote
Integrating digital advertising with direct mail campaigns can increase customer spend by almost 25%, new research reveals.
Royal Mail's consumer study to understand the best uses of different advertising methods also revealed nearly seven in ten people believe that direct mail supports online advertising.
And those who prefer to engage with both direct mail and online advertising spend on average £105 a month on goods and services after receiving a combination of the two – £19 more than those who like online ads only and £34 more than those who would choose only direct mail.
The research identified specific circumstances in which it makes sense for companies to use DM and online when communicating with customers:
- More than half of confident web users (55%) prefer to be contacted by a combination of DM and online
- Nearly three times as many web users think direct mail is more personal than online communications and 50% more said it was more professional
- Only 14% of consumers mostly or always click on online advertising
- Whilst 50% of people were found to rarely, if ever, look at or interact with online advertising.
The research also revealed compelling arguments for a combination of email and direct mail:
- 84% of people agree that there is a place for both post and email from companies
- 69% feel that email is best used for supporting or clarifying the mail they receive
- Six in ten agreed that they would prefer a company to approach them first by post, than by email
- Over half of respondents (52%) believe that DM gives a better impression of a company than email
- Eight in ten believe that email is best for communicating brief messages
- 66% prefer to receive detailed information by direct mail
- 69% prefer to receive important or sensitive messages by direct mail
- 71% would rather receive vouchers, brochures or catalogues by mail
The research also sounds a loud warning bell for anyone using email only to communicate with their customers. Nearly two thirds (64%) of consumers surveyed claim to have started ignoring their emails as a result of the huge amount of spam they receive.
PCD over the last 12 months have invested heavily in integrating our business to ensure we deliver effective campaigns on behalf of our clients that combine, when appropriate, all or some of these channels. We have long recognised the benefits of combining online, email and direct mail in delivering communications strategies to our clients’ consumers. From acquisition to retention, the quicker companies understand how to use these channels effectively to promote services and products, the quicker they will see increased sales and loyalty.
For more information on the services provided by PCD please contact Steve Moncrieff (steve@pcdagency.com) for more information and details of our relevant case studies.
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