Alexis Karlin
June 18, 2012

Direct Mail Remains One of the Most Effective Marketing Channels

According to a press release from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), marketers should continue utilizing multiple marketing channels, including direct marketing, which is said to be a dying channel. DMA’s Response Rate Report, conducted in April 2012, received 481 responses and data from more than 29 billion emails and two billion online display ads.

While telemarketing dominates response rates among existing customers with a 12.95 percent rate, direct mail is one of the main players with a 3.40 percent response rate. Compared to emails sent to existing customers (just a 0.12 percent response rate), direct mail has 30 times the chance of receiving a response from the customer. However, email has the edge in ROI (28.5) against just 7.00 for direct mail.

“Even though direct mail is less effective in driving response than it was a decade ago, it still is among the best media for generating overall response,” says Yory Wurmser, DMA’s director of marketing and media insights.  “This points to its likely continued role as an important medium in the marketing mix, even as the cost effectiveness of digital channels suggests that they will continue to gain budget share.” 

This research shows direct mail remains one of the marketing channels with the highest response rate, dwarfing that of email. Because each channel is unique, marketers should leverage data to utilize the most effective channel for executing their objectives, whether it be ROI, response rate, or click through rates.

©iStockphoto.com/Alexander Shirokov

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