The latest research international says direct mail is seven times more effective than other communication channels, and an independent UK-based study figure says 57 per cent of people feel more valued when they receive direct mail.
According to the first survey conducted by Australia’s Direct Marketing Association, with its 2015 Response Rate Report, the median response rate for DM was 3.7 per cent, compared to 0.2 per cent or less for all marketing avenues. Mobile was the best other at 0.2 per cent, while email, social media and paid search were at 0.1 per cent and internet display languishing at 0.02 per cent.
The UK Royal Mail has also released its latest figures, which shows a slightly less optimistic number but nonetheless valuable for marketers. The Royal Mail’s 2015 Private Life of Mail research project revealed that the ‘physical nature of mail triggers largely subconscious responses that are based around deep, scienti?cally established, psychological instincts’.
The research was based on an analysis of up to 2000 cases from a number of databases and academic articles, with the primary research consisting of 12-households, which were observed with CCT in their homes, 14 focus groups and 99 in-depth interviews. The primary research also included 213 participants within the neuroscience and tactility research and more than 9000 respondents across telephone and online quantitative surveys.
The results revealed that people valued something they can see and touch 24 per cent more highly than something they can only see. It says the lifespan of mail is extended in terms of both time and space. It found that mail flows through a household. It is filtered, passed around, discussed, displayed and filed in diverse ways.
The Royal Mail study also showed that 57 per cent of people feel more valued when they receive direct mail – helping to create a real two-way relationship between brands and consumers.
