Should Companies Move Away From Direct Mail Marketing?
My mailbox is flooded daily with postcards for lawn work, clipper magazines, credit card offers, etc. My response to these well placed ads consists of tossing them directly into the trash can. It is not that I am disinterseted in saving money or trying new services, but this outdated mode of advertising does little to nothing to encourage me to utizile a specific product, service, or company. Now John Robertson disagrees with me in his article: http://biznik.com/articles/eulogy-on-the-death-of-direct-mail-marketing. While I do like his point about reading postcards, I would still consider this too costly and ineffective as more companies would just start to flood mailboxes with postcards, thereby reducing their effectiveness.
It is my contention that if these companies were to better utilize their resources and move to a more online approach that my chances of "buying" would increase ten-fold. I at least scan over every email that is sent to me, and I have repeated purchases at stores that offer online coupons and discounts. In fact, my android phone notifies me of every email and displays the first few lines automatically until I clear it from my notification bar, read the email, or delete it. Companies are also advancing green initiatives to entice environmentally sensitive consumers to them, so why not put direct mail marketing "out to pasture" and move to completely digital advertising?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this. I have read many articles against letting go of direct mail marketing because it is described as incorrectly executed, but I think it is time to let go of the past and expand into new horizons. Please feel free to share any thoughts, questions, links, etc...
I think they should just do away with it. Like you, I'm constantly getting things in the mail that I could care less about. I think they have things they send now called valuepaks (I think that is how they spell it), that have a whole bunch of deals and coupons in one envelope. Most of the time I get those, I just throw them in the trash. I think now that you can just get those same deals online, wasting paper and ink on deals that most people are just going to throw away just seems dumb. I believe this way of marketing will soon become obsolete as technology becomes more and more advanced.
ReplyDeleteI think direct mail advertising should be discontinued. Direct mail advertisements rarely get looked at and usually end up in the garbage. In the end, direct mail advertisements are basically just a waste of paper. Most people use the internet and smartphones the majority of the time, so internet advertising would have the better chance of being viewed.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we're on the same page. I think companies could push to do away with direct mail if they stopped using it. It might even force some people who are not internet saavy to learn to leverage this resource. Problem is that there are still many people who coupon clip and even scam this process to make money, so it will be difficult to move them away from it. Retailers could cut back spending on paper ads and show savings through lower prices. Manufacturers and distributors could work much the same way.
ReplyDeleteI work in the direct mail marketing industry. I thought when I started in this industry about 6 or 7 years ago that it would be going away. Believe it or not, we are busier than ever. A lot of companies want to put their marketing in people's hands. How many times have you gotten an email and deleted it without opening it? That's kind of the same thing you do with junk mail but you see the logo in full color or maybe see one of the specials they have advertised on it. When you see an email in your inbox, all you see is the name in black and white. It is much less effective.
ReplyDeleteI think that direct mail should stop. Because I am frustrated every day from random emails that I just have to waste time going through and deleting all of them. I am not sure why companies think that this practice works. If they would spend their resources on something new that it would be more acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree only for the fact that a postcard CAN hang around longer than an e-mail. I get more emails in my spam or junk mail box than I could ever hope to scan. I look at the subject and if it is of interest I may open it. These days a lot of internet advertising (email) is lost in the phishing scams, enlarge yourself, diet pills and online pharmacy ads that get deleted instantly. If I get a well done postcard in my mailbox, I will probably scan it on the way into the house. If it is of interest, I will put it on the fridge or in some other place that I keep note cards for reference. I think there is just too much noise on the internet as far ad advertising(email) goes.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with moving away from direct mail. I have a mailbox that I set up just to receive email advertising. If I have to sign in or sign up for something that I am not really interested in keeping up with I use my ad email address. I don't look at those emails too often. It is full of Facebook notices, LinkedIn updates, and emails wanting me to buy stuff. However, if I get a catalog in the mail from a store that I like to shop at, I usually will hold on to it until I have a chance to flip through it. I would think a lot of people operate this way and ignore most of the email advertisments.
ReplyDeleteSame here i get a lot of emails from companies and sometimes i read them sometimes no. The idea here is at least i get to decide if i want to use them or not; however, i dont like when ads are send through the mailbox because it gets fool of papers that i dont read or even i dont care about. We should decide if we want to receive this ads through the mailbox or no because they ended up at the trash and i feel bad for wasting their money.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Email advertisements may be the most annoying thing in the world. Constant vibrations in my pocket bug me everyday, and with some sites, even trying to get my email removed from the list doesn't always work. In this case, i just highlight the email and delete it, without even opening it. I just don't have time in my day to worry about something i'm not fully interested in. I feel like these feelings would just be duplicated with direct mail also. I don't even think that i would personally take the time to even open some letters. So i would say do away with the direct mail. Everything is just easier digitally.
ReplyDeleteWhile direct mail marketing does fill my mailbox with annoying mail, I must admit it is an effective method for firms to reach customers. Every day, without fail, my mailbox is cluttered with "junk mail" advertisements which I would never pay attention to if I didn't have to search through it to make sure there was no important mail lost in it. Too many times have I lost important mail by simply throwing away all the junk in my mailbox. After learning to take the time to search through all the mail, I have found that I can find useful coupons and deals. I do admit that email is a more effective approach to isolate prospective customers, although for me, it is much easier to just delete an email than it is for me to nonchalantly throw my physical mail in the garbage.
ReplyDeleteEmail advertisments just end up in the spam box. My fiance and I scan all the direct mail we get because we are always getting coupons for food at all the places around us. When we first moved to NC we use to scan the weekend distribution for sales at the grocery store. I honestly don't foresee myself going to harristeeter.com and scanning for sales. I think email advertising and direct advertising serve two different purposes and should both be used depending on the situation. Grocery stores for example probably benefit more from direct vs. email. Online ads, although annoying, will benefit American Eagle or online vendors a lot better the direct mail. It really depends on the company.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the advertising method really depends on the individual. Some people like having something tangible in their hands and are more likely to read or review them. If those people get emails as referenced above, they will probably get deleted immediately or just be in the spam box. Others however prefer digital advertisements. These are probably younger generations who are more tech savy and do alot of activities online. The online advertisements have a better opportunity to reach this audience in a variety of places. Advertisements pop up on almost every site you visit, they are even able to specialize them by tracking other sites you have visited. Then of course there is email advertising which may be the most common. There just seems to be more opportunities for advertisers to reach people electronically, but for older generations direct mailing seems to still be effective.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Nicole that the effectiveness depends on the specific individual. My issues with direct mail concern the cost to companies and the environment (landfills, trees, etc.). I find most unsolicited advertising to be annoying regardless of the form it is in. I have used the dual email addresses mentioned by Kristy. I think if we cut out direct mail advertising entirely, then people would simply switch to digital marketing because they still want the bargain prices. I just don't see any benefit to keeping it around aside from satisfying those who are just unwilling to change.
ReplyDelete