Ever since the economy hit a major road bump more than a year ago, investment from most companies in its direct mail similarly has slowed. Meanwhile, new, cheaper channel players like e-mail, social media and mobile marketing are hogging the funds and growing in popularity.
Thus, many questions arise. Are these new players friends or foes to direct mail? Will the latest fashion—e-mail, social media and mobile—fade over time, with direct mail making a comeback of sorts? Or will trends of declining mail continue?
I asked these questions to some leading experts in direct marketing and direct mail. You may be surprised by what they had to say.
1. What Is Old Can Be New Again
"There's been some evidence that all the e-mail we're sending is hurting its efficacy," says Nancy Harhut, executive creative director at Harhut for Hire. "At the same time, direct mail has 'rested' long enough so that now it's working even better than before—what's old appears new again."
In other words, Harhut envisions a peaceful, and even profitable, coexistence between direct mail and the new channels. She says neither have to fade, but rather simply find their rightful places in the communications mix.
2. Mail May Be Old, but It's Wise
Many direct marketers think mail can make a viable comeback, but only if it is used intelligently rather than the "spray and pray" method. "Don't think vast quantities (mass media mind-set). Think in terms of segments (relevant messaging mind-set)," recommends Grant Johnson, CEO of the direct marketing agency Johnson Direct.
Gary Hennerberg, president of The Hennerberg Group, a direct marketing agency, agrees wholeheartedly. "As marketers get smarter about how their customers respond, there will be a movement to segmentation of customers by those who respond well to e-mail compared to direct mail."
For example, some customers may need only an e-mail to buy. Others may require the mail piece. "Another metric that will be important is average order values by e-mail vs. direct mail," Hennerberg predicts.
3. Each Channel Has Its Strengths, Marketers Just Need to Play to Them
"I think there are certain things each channel does well ... depending on the type (B-to-B, B-to-C, nonprofit, etc.) and stage (from cold call to advocate) of the relationship," states Bob Merrigan, president of the fundraising agency Merrigan & Co.
He says the challenge for marketers is to develop a fuller appreciation for the uniqueness of those relationships and to avoid the temptation to have all of the channels be everything to everyone. For example, Merrigan urges marketers to get past the broadcast mentality. A separate example is staying with a consistent multichannel plan of using direct mail for acquisition, e-mail for retention and social media for CRM.
"Clearly, this is a time of experimentation. Marketing directors are busy probing the weaknesses and leveraging the strengths of each marketing platform," relates Ruth Sheldon, a freelance copywriter. She says these marketers hope to discover which communication platform performs best on its own, and which are more effective as team players.
The difficulty? "They want answers BEFORE things start to change once again," remarks Sheldon. "It's like solving an equation with moving parts or changing numbers. You can never quite nail it."
4. In Some Markets, Online Remains Small Potatoes
"My impression is that donors have NOT come to favor e-mail over [direct] mail. Nor do I think they are likely to do so in the years immediately ahead. Habits die hard," asserts Mal Warwick, founder/chairman of fundraising agency Mal Warwick Associates.
Even if response rates to direct mail (principally in acquisition) continue to decline, Warwick doesn't anticipate that response online will pick up the slack. He's seen no such signs, in fact, "despite the self-interested boosters of online fundraising and the wishful thinking of organizations that want to cut costs drastically by switching to e-mail."
In some way, it's very simple. "I think social media will work for some companies but not for others. I think right now you have a big rush of people that are trying it because it is free and the hot new craze," states Keith Goodman, vice president of corporate solutions for Modern Postcard, a direct mail solutions company specializing in postcards. Like Harhut, he isn't sure if it'll fade but will soon find its place and settle in.
Johnson concurs, largely. "Social media is great, but still hard to measure. Mobile will still struggle in North America. And e-mail will become less and less effective over time due to misuse/abuse."
In other words, the workhorse called direct mail certainly is not being put out to pasture.
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