Is print more powerful than email marketing for a business?

There’s no doubt that the world we live in is becoming more digitally focused, but that doesn’t mean it’s always best. All around the world businesses are using email as one of their main focus areas for brand awareness and getting their product in front of consumers. However, it’s crucial to understand the thought process of the consumer, and this is often a challenge.

Here, with Direct Letterbox Marketing, which offers a leaflet distribution service, we look at how you can reap the rewards of correct marketing.

Communication is key

In the UK, 70% of us think we receive too many emails. In fact, 74 trillion emails are sent every year and have an average lifespan of two seconds. With this knowledge, it might be time to rethink your email marketing strategies to ensure the best results possible from your campaign.

The number of letters sent is much lower, with only 13.8 billion letters sent each year year (over 12 million are direct mail). In this form, they have an average lifespan of 17 days in total — considerably longer than emails that arrive in our inbox and don’t take up any physical space. Does this mean that a delivered letter is more effective than something we have at our fingertips at all times?

Direct mail is more memorable according to research, with 75% of those asked saying they could remember the brand after reading. This is an astonishing figure when you look at the amount of people who could remember the brand after reading a digital advertisement — which was as low as 44%.

In the same research, it’s stated that direct mail marketing hugely outperforms email. 79% of consumers action direct mail straight away, while only 45% of people do so for email. This is probably down to the opening process — if you’re opening a physical letter, you have the intention to read it. Tapping a screen to access a new email in your inbox is effortless, and deleting it forever takes no real time either — this could be the reason why it is proving to be less effective.

You can also expect a 4.4% response rate from direct mail. A response rate for an email is only 0.12%, showing that more people interact thoroughly with a physical object than with something that just appears in their online inbox and can be deleted instantly.

Further to note, direct mail can generate more custom, with 34% enticed by this form of print marketing, whereas email only pulls in 24%. This is a shockingly low figure when 57% of all email addresses are abandoned because of too many emails.

Imagine this: you have 1,000 members on your mailing list, but more than half don’t respond. This does not make a good investment, especially when the cost per acquisition is higher for email at £42.55 in comparison to direct mail which is only £39.59.

The Royal Mail indicates that 51% of people prefer to receive a mixture of emails and letters. However, 56% said that they felt valued when they received a letter in the post. It is beneficial to know that when both are used together, it can inevitably increase brand awareness, ROI and the overall customer experience.

But what should your printed materials give to your audience?

You must know what your audience wants and needs before you target them; marketers shouldn’t be thinking about what they need from them. They’re the focus, so don’t try and sell them your product — sell them an idea. Your customer doesn’t want new shoes, they want to look stylish.

If you create a marketing piece that has no substance or anything to offer, it’s pretty much pointless. You must find an existing audience and know what appeals to them. Play on their emotions, because once they become invested into your product, they will make the logical decision to convert.

It’s important to give your audience the urge to know more when they view your direct marketing, such as a saddle stitch brochure. This can be achieved through the use of bright and bold colours throughout your printed piece. It’s important that you make your leaflet, brochure or poster stand out!

Keep your copy sharp and concise; give your potential customers a greater insight of what you want them to know. Be persuasive, be intriguing and don’t forget to accompany this with bold and beautiful lettering.

Your design is also crucial. You don’t want to make any mistakes because one mistake could cause all of your produce to be flawed, which would equal a waste of your marketing budget. Are you now thinking about changing your strategies?