Direct Mail's Reach: Connecting with Consumers Everywhere

Where are you reading this? In your office? In a coffee shop? From your hammock?

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, a third of people there now work from home or follow a hybrid model. Meanwhile, global research company Forrester reveals that 49% of employees in the five largest European countries prefer working from home – and predicts that, “The majority of European businesses will move toward a hybrid workforce and anywhere-work approach.”

This shift in ways of working presents marketers with a golden opportunity to reach consumers via direct mail and doordrop.

For homeworkers, at least, mail is no longer something to tackle after work: they will read letters over breakfast, use a quick break to check out a leaflet, and flick through a catalogue while the coffee brews.

Money-off vouchers can be especially well-received. When the European Letterbox Marketing Association commissioned research into consumer preferences across Europe, 47% of respondents said vouchers and other offers significantly improved the shopping experience – and 60% preferred to receive offers through the letterbox.

According to the UK’s Royal Mail, people who receive DM go on to spend 30% longer looking at a brand’s social ads. Also in the UK, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)’s Effectiveness Database reveals that campaigns that include mail are 40% more likely to deliver top-ranking acquisition results than those that don’t.

Compare that to the all-too-numerous, daily marketing emails that tend to be closed and never looked at again – assuming, that is, they’re among the one in five marketing emails that, according to email automation platform Mailchimp, are even opened in the first place.

3 work styles of today’s consumer – and how to get their attention…

The homeworker

Make the most of homeworkers’ off-screen coffee breaks and desire for connection with personalised DM and vouchers for shops and entertainment within walking distance. Because… printed mail is almost twice as likely as email to get the recipient's full attention (WARC Advisory).

The social worker

Some people prefer the buzz of co-working spaces, enterprise hubs and city-centre cafés. Shareable print is your friend here. Think catalogues and creative DM, because… printed mail is read an average of four times (Royal Mail).

The blender

Many of today’s consumers take a fully blended approach to working life. Whether they’re in their kitchen, a co-working space, on a train or spending time at the office, they appreciate longform content they can escape into. Because… 58% of consumers like to give magazines their solo, undivided attention (Bournemouth University).