It's All in the Mix

Hoping to find the silver bullet that would spell marketing success with one shot is like investing in the Lotto retirement plan. Most likely, neither will happen.
The new routes to customers via the internet with its e-mail blast engines, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and other social networking sites are currently driving the communications revolution. Each new channel attracts an army of proponents who sing its praises, exalting the “new reach.” Early jumpers, who over rate the value of these new vehicles, soon realize that they might have been a tad too hasty in casting aside the some of the more traditional techniques that have always worked.

While digital marketing is certainly an incredibly powerful selling tool, it is not the only — or even the best — approach for every audience or business. The are many demographic groups, and they all respond differently to the diverse forms of marketing. The willingness to embrace digital channels is a positive, forward thinking approach to selling, but it shouldn’t happen in a vacuum or to the detriment of other proven techniques. Truly, for the best results, it’s all in the mix.

A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article chronicled several businesses that had made the leap to e-commerce and abandoned their traditional direct mail efforts. Each reported a negative effect on overall sales. One comment attributed to Alicia Settle, President of Per Annun, Inc., in New York says it all: “We realized we had made a huge mistake.” She quickly sent a direct mail “reminder,” which recouped the 25% loss the company had incurred.

The article also quotes Professor Eric Anderson of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management: “The introduction of new media has forced [business owners] to go back and revisit the whole playbook on what’s the best way to communicate with customers.”

The strongest statistics point to the fact that a combination of direct mail and digital activity demonstrates the need to embrace a wide array of marketing channels:
• A consumer study by England’s Royal Mail revealed that 55% of web users prefer to be contacted by a combination of direct and digital mail. Nearly two thirds of those surveyed said they often ignored emails due to the huge amount of spam, and over half believed that direct mail creates a more professional impression. Most important, 84% said there’s a place for both media in today’s marketing environment.
• A Household Diary Study showed that 82% of direct mail recipients “do read or scan” their direct mail, while the average click and open rate is about 5%.
• Six in 10 agreed that they would prefer a company to approach them first by mail rather than email.
• Eight in 10 believed that email is best for communicating brief messages, while 66% preferred to receive detailed information by direct mail.

Take a look at these comments recently posted on blog.nextmark.com. They certainly underscore the statistics:
“I personally never used to pay much attention to direct mail offers, but with the proliferation of email marketing, my attitude has changed and I’ve responded to a few postal offers this year.” –Jeff Veesenmeyer, December 17, 2009
“I LIVE on my computer 8-10 hours/day…I now look forward to mail delivery (again) and opening traditional envelopes and reading traditional postcards. Beyond the visual impact — it’s tactile and it’s (now) DIFFERENT! … I own a business that needs to make decisions on which medium to use, and based on this personal experience, I continue to use at least color postcard mailings in my mix…backed up by a duplicate digital mailing.” – Chris DeMartine, December 17, 2009.
“Many people get loads of unsolicited email messages…I usually delete 95% of them without reading…Direct mail is much less threatening and can lay on the kitchen counter for days, but eventually it gets opened.” – Jane, December 18, 2009.
William Kapas, President of J.C. Kapas Real Estate Co, Rochelle Park, New Jersey, quoted in the WSJ article says, “I think it’s easier to delete the electronic junk mail without taking a second look.”
So, what’s the answer to successful marketing? There is no one answer. Understand who your customers are, recognize the specific and different benefits of online, email and direct mail, and mix it up.