Savvy marketers know the best allocation of their budget is a mix incorporating multiple channels. It could be a mistake to neglect the use of one particular channel over another, and eliminating one entirely could hinder your ability to effectively reach your target audience. Success or failure of a marketing campaign can mean rapid growth or calamitous loss of money. 

Large companies with well staffed marketing departments typically enjoy the luxury of relying on data analytics and comprehensive analysis of previous marketing efforts to aid in making budgetary decisions. Often is the case that companies depend on the advice of highly paid consultants or the recommendations of ad agencies.

For small and medium sized businesses with limited resources the decisions regarding marketing spend are much more complicated. Often the decision comes down to a single marketing director or manager. Many small businesses do not even have a marketing professional on staff and it's the owner making the decision how to advertise their products and services. 

So how do you decide in which marketing channels to allocate funds? Which provide the best ROI? What form of advertising will reach your best possible target audience? 

Here are 5 reasons you should increase your spending on Direct Mail:

1. Direct Mail works.

According to the Direct Marketing Association Response Rate Report 2015, Direct Mail is more effective than all other forms of digital media combined. The average response rate for Email, social media, internet display ads, paid search, and mobile combined totals only .52 percent. Compare that to the average response rate of 3.7 percent for Direct Mail and it's clear that mail continues to be an effective, reliable marketing channel.

2. Direct Mail enables accurate targeting of your best possible prospects.

The highest response rates come from marketing to your previous and existing customers. When it comes to purchased lists, there are numerous compiled data lists containing millions of records with dozens of demographic criteria selections by which your audience may be more narrowly defined. There are also thousands of specialty lists such as magazine subscribers, Non-profit donors, registered warranties, club members and many more. The demographics of your audience can be easily matched with the right list to ensure your mail piece reaches your best prospects. 

3. Direct Mail can be easily incorporated into multi-channel campaigns.

Digital variable printing enables marketers to print each mail piece with a personalized web address, known as a PURL, which takes the recipient to a personalized web landing page with specific offers or personally relevant messaging. A common practice for multi-channel campaigns is to send an Email letting the consumer know to look for an upcoming mail piece in their mailbox. Often another Email is sent after the direct mail in-house date to inquire if the mail piece was received or to reinforce the offer or message. 

4. Direct Mail is scalable.

Common sense marketing is to repeat what has worked before. Some companies have ongoing success mailing the same piece over and over again. As a general rule, start a new campaign with a smaller test mailing. Depending on the response you can tweak the offer or message and conduct another test mailing. Once you find the right combination of piece type, copy, and offer that delivers the highest response it is simple to scale up the audience size and send out a larger mailing, confidently anticipating a strong ROI based upon the success of the preceding test mailing.

5. Direct Mail is a science.

Marketers and business owners have numerous options for advertising products and services. With so many choices and channels in which to invest it can be challenging making key decisions. The best advice is to utilize a mix of marketing channels which all tie together to produce a unified message. Direct Mail absolutely should be included in your marketing mix. Utilizing PURLS and digital variable printing, your direct mail can be seamlessly incorportated into a multi-channel mix including email, social media, as well as broadcast media. Time tested and proven, direct mail will provide bankable return on investment and help grow your business. 

Our account executives at The John Roberts Company are experienced and highly knowledgeable in direct mail and digital marketing. They would be happy to answer your questions or provide detailed recommendations for creating and implementing a multi-channel marketing campaign. Please let us know how we can help you.