It’s no secret that online marketing is incredibly popular. In today’s increasingly online world, it seems there are new e-marketing strategies that emerge every day. But while having an online presence as a business or organization is undoubtedly important, is there still a use for direct marketing? Is the traditional mailbox still as important as the online mailbox? Is sending a postcard worthwhile?
Postcard printing has been a popular form of direct mail marketing in the U.S. for decades. And though we don’t expect a 1,000-page Sears catalog in the mail anymore, some of our most important messages still come via the Postal Service. In fact, research suggests that direct mail is still one of the best ways to market your business or organization and listed below are some of the reasons why.
Direct Mail is Easier to Understand and Remember than Digital Media
Just a few years ago, the Canada Post Corporation did a study that used detailed eye-tracking and brain imaging software to measure participants’ responses to advertisements in both printed and digital form. The study found that printed materials, including postcards, requires 21% less cognitive effort to understand than digital media. This ease of cognition also translates to an ease of recall, as people who had seen a printed advertisement were 70% more likely to remember the brand on the advertisement that those who had seen a digital ad.
Postcard printing puts a physical message in the hands of your recipients. Even if someone throws your postcard in the trash, they had to look at it and understand it before they did so, and they still might keep your message in their mind long after they’ve seen your printed postcard.
People Enjoy Checking Their Mail
Another reason why postcard printing is still a great option for marketing in today’s world is that people enjoy receiving mail. According to a recent Gallup poll, 4 in 10 Americans look forward to getting mail every day. Even in our digital age, many Americans actively look forward to receiving something physical in their mailbox.
Compare postcard printing to an email “open rate.” According to the Data and Marketing Association’s 2018 Email Benchmark Report, business-to-consumer emails have an average open rate of 19.7%. That means that 4 out of every 5 people who receive a marketing email don’t even bother to look at it. Now think about a mailbox. With postcard printing, the “open rate” is almost always 100%. When people open their mailbox, they’re guaranteed to see your postcard. Of course, what they do after they see your postcard is another question—and that’s our next consideration…
More Persuasive/More Response
What does it matter if postcard printing makes messages easy to understand if no one takes the next step? And who cares if people enjoy getting their mail if they don’t take act on the messages they find in their mailbox?
You needn’t fear. Direct mail’s response rate stands behind its ease of understanding and its attractiveness to consumers. Postcard printing, when done using a compelling design including a clear call to action, can result in an excellent response rate.
According to the same Canada Post study mentioned above, people were 20% more motivated by physical mail marketing than by digital marketing. Additionally, the DMA Response Rate Report conducted in 2018 found that the response rate for sending direct mail, such as postcards, to a prospect mailing list was nearly 5%, five times higher than email and social media response rates.
Using postcard printing to get your message out isn’t just more desirable for people to receive, it isn’t just easier to understand and remember, it produces a much higher response rate and is proven to get results. So when it’s time to plan your next marketing campaign, remember: even in today’s digital world, postcard printing is still one of the best ways to spread your message.
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