Direct Mail Advertising Is Still a Powerful B2B Tool in 2018

As a business owner, it’s natural to reflect on where your company has come from and where it is going at the start of a new year. With more business functions going digital all the time, you might even wonder about the future of B2B direct mail. After all, you want to know that each new campaign will at least produce the return on investment (ROI) that you expect.

According to research conducted by the Radicati Group in 2016, B2B direct mail remains as relevant as ever. This is despite the fact that people across the world send an average of 205 billion emails every day. Today’s email inbox is overflowing to the point that the recipient never opens most of the messages, let alone reads them.

When you work with Hansel Group Marketing to plan a direct mail campaign, carefully targeted to the recipient, it is a welcome change that piques the recipient’s interest. That means, he or she is far more likely to engage with your message rather than to quickly hit the delete button, as is the case with electronic advertising.

Direct Mail Is More Personal

With multiple priorities competing for their attention, an unsolicited email is unlikely to capture the attention of an online user. It also doesn’t feel personal to them. For your prospective clients, just holding a physical postcard or catalog addressed to them personally says that your company has taken the time to go the extra mile. You or your employees didn’t load thousands of names into a database and hit send. Additionally, direct mail marketing allows you to procure different mailing lists to ensure that your prospects get the most appropriate communication based on their industry or job title.

Direct Mail Can Be Part of Your Marketing Mix

One great thing about direct mail is that it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. You can choose to use it in combination with social media, email, and even telemarketing to come up with the right marketing mix for your organization. By including ways to get in touch with your company electronically, you’re catering to those who prefer to conduct most business online.

At Hansel Group Marketing, we can help you figure out how to use direct mail and catalogs cost-effectively. We use hold-out tests to develop a custom catalog/direct mail sales attribution rate by customer segment. Reducing unproductive direct mail helps our clients save significant marketing dollars – money that can be used to fund customer acquisition or other initiatives that generate positive ROI.

Significantly Better Response Rate Than Electronic Advertising

The recent Radicati Group survey also indicates a difference in response rates that should cause any business owner to take notice. With an email campaign, you can expect one person in 1,000 to respond. That number is one in 25 with direct B2B mailings. For those of you that are new to B2B mailings, the 4% response rate most likely includes active house file customers. Prospecting response rates are usually lower but can still be very profitable if the average order is large enough or your order frequency rate is high.

As we begin a new year in 2018, it’s a good time to request a third-party review of your direct mail campaigns. We provide catalog audits and circulation planning assessments to both B2B and Consumer businesses.