Direct mail

Direct mail is the use of letters, brochures, samples, postcards, catalogs, and other printed material sent by mail to potential and current customers. Direct mail is a multibillion- dollar industry in the United States. If one person set aside all the direct mail received in a month, in one month he would probably have a huge pile of solicitations, depending on how many lists he is on.* Marketers use direct mail because they can be highly selective in deciding which TARGET MARKETS to send MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS. The other advantages of direct mail as compared to other traditional media (television, radio, and magazine ADVERTISING) are as follows.
• The circulation can be controlled by the advertiser.
• Each mailing can be personalized.
• Consumers see only the company’s message, not a competitor’s as well.
• It is relatively easy to measure response rates.
• It can be used to stimulate a direct response.

Disadvantages of direct mail:
• It is considered “junk” by many recipients.
• It is expensive.
• It can be considered an invasion of privacy.
• It is only as effective as the list being used.
Mailing lists are the “lifeblood” of direct-mail marketing. Lists come from many sources: internal company lists of customers and requests, associations, and list-service agencies. Each issue of DMNews, a weekly newspaper for direct marketers, includes advertisements for thousands of direct-mail lists. List brokers represent businesses and organizations willing to rent out their mailing lists. Rental rates vary, but lists usually cost $100–$200 per thousand names. List renters usually agree to pay only for new names and addresses: the names remaining after they “merge and purge” the list received against their existing database. The selling of information about people is an important issue in business PRIVACY. In the United States, direct mail traditionally has been used effectively by companies offering CREDIT CARDs, through magazine subscriptions, and via music clubs. With today’s increasingly sophisticated database systems, many small businesses and nonprofit organizations are using direct mail to identify new customers and supporters and to sell their products. Contests are often a great way to generate names for future mailings. Direct mail is expensive. In 2001 the U.S. Postal Service offered discount rates for bulk mailings of 200 or more pieces of mail. But bulk-rate mail is easily identified by recipients and often is not even opened. Direct-mail marketers know the typical piece of direct mail is evaluated for only four seconds before people decide whether to throw it away or consider it further. The design of direct mail— including whether a label or hand-written address is used, a message on the outside of the envelope conveying the benefits of the product or service being offered, and the material included in the mailing—are critical to the effort’s success. Direct-mail campaigns are often considered successful if the response rate is 2 percent. Direct e-mail is becoming an increasingly effective form of direct mail. Companies are starting to ask consumers for their e-mail addresses and permission to send messages, then are collecting and renting lists of consumers who have agreed to receive direct e-mail solicitations. On-line newsletters and message-alert services allow companies to collect addresses and expand marketing communication using e-mails.

* To reduce the amount of direct mail received, write to Mail Preference Service, DMA, PO Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008. Consumers should specify whether they want their names to be removed from commercial lists, nonprofit lists, or both.