What’s Direct Mail Marketing?

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Direct mail marketing is a marketing strategy that involves using postcards or other messages to promote the purchase of different types of goods or services or an upcoming cause or event in which you want as many people as possible to participate. Sometimes referred to as direct mail, this method can be used by businesses, non-profit organizations, or even municipalities that want to promote some type of event happening in the area. As one of the oldest forms of advertising, direct mail marketing is a low-cost advertising medium that requires a relatively low return to be considered successful.

Many different businesses make use of direct mail marketing. These include supermarkets that mail items for sale for a limited time by circular mail. Retailers such as electronics stores or discount department stores often use the same strategy to alert consumers to items that may be purchased at a discount in the near future. Companies that offer software and other services online sometimes use direct mail marketing to send test CDs to potential customers. Credit card providers also use this marketing medium, often sending credit card applications to a wide range of people, inviting them to apply for a new card.

One of the advantages of direct mail marketing is that the campaigns usually involve a low cost compared to other alternatives. All you need to mount a basic direct mail campaign is a mailing list, the mail piece itself, and money to cover postage. With a relatively small overhead, even a 2 to 3% return rate is often enough to cover the costs of the marketing campaign, as well as provide the sender with some additional revenue.

Using direct mail marketing can also have its drawbacks. Many people consider any junk mail as junk mail. This means that there is a greater chance that the direct mail item will be discarded without being read by the recipient. Some companies have minimized this possibility by using postcards that display an eye-catching image or slogan on the front of the card, while placing the sales field and contact information on the back of the card. Since more people are likely to look at both sides of a postcard quickly, your chances of earning a sale using cards are slightly higher than using solicitations that are mailed in envelopes.

A direct mail marketing campaign can be targeted or untargeted. A targeted campaign only involves qualified addresses in some way. Typically, this means that the recipient has indicated in the past that they are open to receiving mail requests. An untargeted campaign involves the use of all published addresses contained in a given geographical area. No attempt is made to differentiate between families who have expressed an interest in the past and those who have not. The rationale behind an untargeted approach is that even people who rarely read commercial mail might be in the mood to do so the day the commercial arrives, and thus be a candidate for a sale.

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