A new report (PDF download) out from Pitney Bowes says that direct mail performs ahead of print ads, television, radio, and the Internet. Kevin Weiss, President of Customer Marketing for Pitney Bowes Global Mailing Systems says, “This research shows that direct mail does the best job of providing consumers with the information they want, when they want it, and how they want to receive it.” The report also shows that:
- “The majority surveyed (34%) said direct mail contributes most to establishing a relationship with them and keeping them informed and involved with a business, followed by print ads (30%), TV (25%), radio (5%), e-mail (4%), Internet (2%), and telemarketing (0%).
- “Direct Mail is effective at building customer relationships because it is familiar (95%), convenient (94%), interactive (93%), universal (93%), private (87%), and personalized (84%).
- “Now more than ever, consumers value organizations that make an effort to communicate and build a relationship with them through the mail (57%), up 10% since a 1998 study.”
Although the study was only done with 350 U.S. households, the results are more a confirmation of assumptions than a big shocker. It should also be mentioned that Pitney Bowes does have a bias as they are world leaders in mailing services and a huge partner with the USPS.
I’m encouraged to see that print ads came in a close second (30%) in terms of establishing a relationship.
