Why Personalized Direct Mail Makes "Cents"
Direct mail sometimes gets treated like a marketing strategy straight out of the Stone Age, but it continues to be successfully used - even in a digital world. Among many marketing professionals, it remains a worthwhile component of any multi-faceted marketing strategy. But what many marketers don't realize is that the performance rate of direct mail can be improved by one-third or more just by adding a little personalization.
Too many mailings end up in mailboxes with little or no customized target. This generic approach to direct mail costs far more than you may realize. When generic mailings are 25 percent less effective than their personalized counterpart, why not take the extra steps to create a personal touch?
Still, when you consider your budget, you may believe that personalization is too expensive to make the efforts worth the rewards. But it's worth another look. Here's why generic direct mailings should be a thing of the past.
It's all about the data
Some marketers may think of "personalization" as letters using handwritten fonts and a great deal of time-consuming work. That's simply not the case. In reality, personalizing direct mail is more about creating the illusion of a personal touch. And those personalized elements can be drawn from your database.
Most marketing departments use these databases all the time. While it's true that maintaining up-to-date databases and customer lists can be painstaking work, it's critical to ensuring efficiency in your marketing efforts. If these lists are well-maintained, there's little extra work involved in personalizing your mailings.
Ultimately, your goal should be to develop an emotional connection between the customer and your organization. It doesn't take sweeping personal touches to achieve this -- in fact, in many cases it might be the subtle touches that make a big difference.
