How Can Direct Mail Impact Consumers?

A little over four years ago I bought my first home. Well, I bought a townhome. But it’s mine. Well, it’s more the banks than mine…but you get the point. I bought a home. My townhome was purchased for $142,900, a price that I felt was fair. I did all the usual things like home inspections, closing, down payments, etc. After about a month of dealing with lenders, sellers, and real estate agents, we moved in. We were “home” to stay.

In four short years (meaning I’ll have this baby paid off in only 26 more years), the value of my home has skyrocketed to $206,000 according to a recent appraisal. Only by living in the house, the value increased by $63,100. As anyone would be, I was floored by the news. But how did I come to learn this? Direct Mail.

About four months ago I received an interesting postcard in the mail. The mail piece itself was lacking (I’m a harsh critic seeing as how I work in direct mail), but the information was reliable. A couple working as real estate agents were looking to buy townhomes in our community, and they were ready to pay cash. This postcard led me to investigate the value of my home, get an appraisal, and look at the possibility of moving. Ultimately, my wife and I decided to stay put for the time being, but the mail piece I received had a direct impact on me. I read it. I reviewed it. It led to action, including getting the appraisal done.

Direct Mail Leads to Direct Action

Direct mail is still a marketing channel used by some of the most successful companies today. Less than two years ago, a postcard from Google led to ANS jumping into advertising via Google AdWords, a channel that continues to be used today. One of our customers used direct mail as its primary marketing channel to move from $0 in revenue to #43 on the Inc 500 in three years. What’s interesting about these two examples is that one involves B2B marketing, while the other involves B2C marketing. Direct mail isn’t limited to one or the other in marketing; it works across marketing lines.

Different from digital marketing, direct mail isn’t easily dismissed or hidden with the swipe of a finger. Direct mail requires your target to handle your mail piece physically, the action of discarding a mailpiece takes more thought and requires more effort. Also, since essential bills, notices, and other correspondence often come through the mail, the fear of missing out leads more consumers to review the pieces they receive.

Another benefit to direct mail is that with good mailing data (from a reputable company like ANS, for example), your message will land in mailboxes at a drastically higher rate than email or social media. There are no algorithms, spam traps, or filters with direct mail, so reaching your target market is easier than ever.

Direct mail drives consumer action because consumers are looking at direct mail. They are handling it. Direct mail reaches your audience. It’s that simple. For more information on direct mail, reach out to us at sales@a-names.com.