Measuring results and value is probably the most difficult part of any campaign, be it direct mail (DM) or digital. If an item of DM prompts the recipient to react positively it is not necessarily obvious, however a click-through from an email can be easily measured. Delivering post to the right person is important to it being valued and personalising DM is getting much targeted. For direct mailers, the immediate effect of marketing that is valued can be hard to measure.
An article in Printweek recently detailed research by Royal Mail MarketReach’s Mailmen campaign and has been received with open arms. In a research document released in January The Private Life of Mail, the division tracked thousands of items of mail in a study of 12 households and analysed thousands more academic studies. In its latest piece of research MarketReach has examined what happens when post becomes valuable to a recipient. This Time It’s Personal, found that valued mail generated a strong incentive to act in the recipients.
Independent research agency Quadrangle asked 3,000 people to self-select up to three items of post they found valuable. The items chosen came from across the board. 92% of respondents had an emotional response to such mail, and 92% of them took action as a result. 42%, purchased, renewed or donated. The mail also prompted indirect action: 37% decided to search for more information online, 33% discussed the mail with others, 29% planned a future purchase, 18% recommended the brand to friends or family, 7% posted a positive message on social media and 6% downloaded an app. 73% kept the post for future reference. 85% of respondents were most likely to perceive mail as having value when it comes from an advertiser with which they have an existing relationship.
Mail is expensive and with declining response rates, everything has to be put into context. In the charity sector DM is used for ‘warm’ supporters, they must find some engagement otherwise they wouldn’t donate. The numbers look cost-effective in electronic communications but over time removing DM from the marketing mix does affect lifetime value and in particular donations.
The research is useful. Anything that is making positive noises about direct mail is valuable, at least half of the cost of DM is post. Research like this is helpful to try and get people back on board and get people spending again. Incorporating DM into a campaign gets results. Email gets an okay result, DM a reasonable result. Combining them gets the best results.
Research confirmed that preaching to the ‘warm’ converted is easier than converting ‘cold’ outsiders. Beyond this the research did not try to quantify how much of the mail people received was considered ‘valuable’, or why, other than it coming through an existing relationship.
What is not covered by the research is the increase of cyber gangs using stolen data to rip off customers or attempt scams based on the data stolen. Last month, the phone and broadband provider Talk Talk became the latest target. It admitted that hackers had infiltrated their networks and accessed dates of birth, account numbers, sort codes and addresses of some of its four million customers. Thousands claim to have been ripped off. The result of this and other data theft is a decline in emails or digital communication being opened due to fears of scamming or viruses.
What makes direct mail valuable? An existing relationship helps. Piggybacking on someone else’s existing relationship is also useful, such as putting inserts into deliveries of goods bought online. Making mail valuable is all about personalisation and relevance. Marketers must use relevant personal data with their mailshots to make an impact. If they are addressed ‘to the homeowner’ or the name is spelled wrong then they’ve failed.
Badly targeted DM can cause distress and offence, as anybody who has received marketing for a deceased loved one knows. Recently charities were forced to agree to stop trading data and to propose opt-in lists following a series of news articles about vulnerable pensioners being over-targeted after their personal details were traded between charities and commercial organisations. From a warm point of view DM is very important. Where it’s a problem is where cold data is purchased, you have to be very careful it has been properly maintained and managed.
Printers are in a unique position but need to understand their customers’ real need is to communicate relevantly across multiple channels. The savvy printer’s opportunity is to offer a wider service that uses data to cohesively drive personalised communications across multiple channels including email, landing pages, social media and mobile, as well as print.