How to Get Millennials to Respond to Your Direct Mail

For many companies that have been doing direct mail for a long time, getting younger people to respond to their direct mail offers has been difficult. It’s not from lack of trying, so what could it be? You know your list is well targeted, so why are they not buying from you? There could be several reasons, so let’s take a look at the most common ones.

5 Reasons Millennials Aren't Responding to Your Direct Mail Offers:

1. No Option to Buy Online: When Millennials are ready to make a purchase, they buy online 84 percent of the time according to a 2015 study by Quad. When you do not offer a way for them to purchase from you online, you are losing out on sales.

2. Not Mobile Friendly: Your website, your landing pages and your shopping cart all need to be mobile friendly. More purchases are done every day from mobile devices than from desktops. Do you make it easy for them to purchase from you? If not, you lose the sale.

3. Not on Social Media: Yes, social media matters to Millennials. They do quite a bit of research before they buy and social media is one of the places they look. Use social media to make yourself available for questions, a resource for research and a way to humanize your company. They like to do business with real people. How can you do social media better?

4. Real Connection: Millennials like to make a connection with your company. In order to do that you need to be authentic, open and don’t be afraid to be funny. Millennials value companies that make them feel good. How does your direct mail make them feel?

5. Use of Technology: Has your company embraced technology or are you still plugging along with old systems? Technology is second nature to Millennials and they expect companies to keep up. You don’t have to be on the cutting edge, but you do need to be in at least 2013 — not 1997. Find ways to integrate technology so that you make it easier on them. That can be in-store, in your direct mail, on your website and in the way you communicate with them.

Millennials are a very large pool of potential customers for you, so take the time to consider how your direct mail can stand out to them more. Do any of these sounds like issues you may need to address? If so, don’t feel bad you are not alone. Now that you are aware of them, what steps can you take now to start fixing them? Millennials like getting direct mail, so make sure that yours is one they want to respond to. Your offer does not always need to be different for this age group, but you do need to really look at your overall messaging to make sure you are appealing to them.

One question we get a lot is, "Should I add technology to my direct mail pieces?" The answer is that it depends. Adding technology just to have it is not going to be effective. Can you add technology such as augmented reality, video screens or something else to your direct mail in a way that gives people a better experience with your piece? Will it get them to buy from you? If so, then yes, adding technology is a good idea as long as it is well planned out. The experience must benefit your prospects and start from a place of what is in it for them. Have you had success with mailing to Millennials? If so, I would love to hear about it.