Is Print Direct Marketing Dead in Lieu of Digital?
By Demitri Colacchio, Vice President of Sales at Real Estate Media and Design
In recent years digital marketing has made its stamp on the new world. Many businesses have switched to using this method of marketing, but many businesses stick to what has proven to work.
Like the digital world, print marketing is evolving. With new technology and printing methods such as Variable Data Printing (VDP); has significantly cut costs of printing. VDP allows for digital print and computer databases to convene together and ultimately give high-quality and full-color documents that look and feel comparable to conventional offset printing. With additions like URLs and QR codes, print marketing has even bridged a gap between the old world and the digital world. Decorative print marketing like this gives a custom and personal feel, ultimately gaining trust of a customer.
Although digital marketing is faster and can reach a wide range of consumers, print marketing and the tactile quality can tap into a consumers ‘haptic memory. This has been proven to be the most lasting form of an emotional connection. Recent studies have shown that potential clientele are likely to trust your company more if you provide high-quality print marketing. In any business it is crucial that you create a connection, print marketing allows a business the extension to a consumer in a way that digital marketing simply cannot.
Direct Mail
Direct mail is just one-way businesses can market their commodity. As new technology and different marketing channels evolve, direct mail is still effective and rising to the top. The average email open rate is 20%, the mail open rate is 90%. This is because a mailbox is not inundated, and an inbox is. Direct mail users do not have the capability to ad block like roughly half of internet users do. Therefore, your targeted audience will be reached more effectively than email.
Direct mail has been around for some time now, some say dating back to the 1800’s. It is now a 38.5 billion dollar per year industry. Direct mail allows a company the opportunity to grab a customer’s attention faster than any digital marketing on the web. Recent research suggests that 73% of consumers would rather have direct mail than to receive mail via the computer.
When sending direct mail your main focus should be personalization, a defined audience, and a clean mailing list. With these three crucial components, you can successfully make a direct mail marketing campaign that fits the client and audience’s wants and needs. Direct mail has come a long way from when it first started. Our world is evolving every day and the one thing that has continued to stay the same is the importance of direct mail and its continuous impact on the business world.
A study conducted by the Data & Marketing Association found that the average response rate for direct mail was 4.4%, which is significantly higher than the average response rate for other forms of advertising, such as email (0.6%) and paid search (0.6%). Additionally, direct mail has been shown to have a higher rate of customer retention and a higher overall return on investment compared to other marketing channels.
Real Estate
Real Estate professionals often use direct mail as a marketing tool; it allows them to target specific groups of potential clients, such as recent home buyers or homeowners in a particular area. Additionally, direct mail allows realtors to personalize their marketing messages and tailor them to the specific needs and interests of their potential clients. This will help increase the effectiveness of the marketing campaign and generate more leads and sales.
For realtors sending direct mail can initiate oneself into more of an authority, in the real estate market. Since this market is always changing it gives realtors an opportunity to not only send mail about properties but data that buyers and sellers should know about, like market updates and status change updates.
It is essential for realtors to send direct mail. To properly market oneself as well as a property. Real estate agents should be sending mail out at a minimum of once a month. At this frequency, you are able to keep in touch with the people who are of importance without annoying them. Staggering your mail throughout the month instead of sending them all out at once is also a very effective way to keep in contact with the consumer. Doing this will ensure a steadier outcome, rather than your highs and lows if sending out just once a month. Either way real estate professionals need to be sending mail at least once a month for the best ROI. Using these types of methods of marketing can ultimately give you new avenues of prospects and potential long-term relationships with your clients. Contrary to what you may have heard, print direct marketing is alive and thriving!
About the Author
Demitri Colacchio is the Vice President of Sales at Real Estate Media and Design. After earning his Communications degree from Hope International University, he entered the commercial printing business to explore his passion for supporting businesses in their development and visibility. He uses his extensive knowledge of marketing trends to formulate direct mail campaigns for real estate firms, agents, and sellers wishing to maximize their exposure.
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