This is a piece that is focused on the value and return on investment of direct mail. Our hope is that after reading this piece, you will feel inspired to implement direct mail into your marketing mix in a way that drives sales or donations and increases profitability for your organization.
We will cover three common misconceptions and their counter-arguments that will make you think twice about the affordability of direct mail.
Misconception #1: Adding personalization to my mail means adding a huge expense to my budget.
Counter-argument: We often have clients ask us to quote projects with personalization and without – but the way our technology is designed, there is no significant cost difference.
Misconception #2: Postage costs a ton of money.
While it is true that postage can account for 40% of a direct mail campaign’s budget, there are ways to find save money on this non-value added expense. We work closely with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Canada Post to ensure that our clients receive the lowest possible postage rates, including nonprofit rates where applicable.
Misconception #3: Direct mail does not get much of a response.
Direct mail is seeing the highest response that it has in decades, and it is outperforming digital marketing by a landslide. (But see why it’s not direct mail vs. digital)
An important consideration to think about before sending direct mail is how many sales or donations you need to make to break even or make a profit. When you consider your average order value (AOV) or average order size and the total number of sales or donations that you need to break even, you may find that your magic number is lower (or higher!) than you may have first anticipated.
The Bottom Line
Direct mail is more affordable than you think, and the more strategic you are in your approach, the better the results will be.
