Why Marketers Should Continue to Invest in Mail?

1.How has the pandemic affected Royal Mail’s business?

While many companies have stopped sending marketing mail, posties have said to me that when they go and empty a postbox, there are a lot more letters, cards, notes and messages being sent to people. The online sale of stamps has also gone up significantly.

2.What are you doing to encourage the return of marketing mail?

There are quite a few incentives for account customers, which are encouraging them to use mail again. Marketreach has also just launched a free e-book called Physically Irresistible*, which uses facts and stats about mail, plus a series of thought pieces from top marketers, explaining why mail is such a powerful marketing medium.

3. How important is the Keep Me Posted campaign at the moment?

Very important. The Keep Me Posted campaign promotes a citizen’s right to choose how they receive bills and statements without financial penalty. As people are spending more online, there’s a strong case for people getting physical statements. I believe it’s a lot harder to keep track of where you’ve been spending your money if you don’t receive a paper statement. It’s so easy to go online, log on, buy something and you can’t remember what the amount should have been and whether it appears correctly on your statement. So I think it’s needed now more than ever.

4. Are you also seeing an increase in greenwashing?

Certainly, and thanks to Two Sides we are aware of a lot of greenwashing. Two Sides have been fantastic, jumping on organisations that overplay the green argument about going paperless, and with great success. It’s notable how often, as the result of very polite but very firm engagement, a company has backed down. They haven’t stopped trying to go paperless, but have at least changed their argument, which is great.

5. How can mail help businesses get through this crisis and come out stronger?

There are vast amounts of evidence that show that a physical communication received through the post is more likely to be read, retained and referred back to. So any marketer that’s trying to compete for people’s business should really be looking at marketing by mail. Something that’s carefully designed, targeted, lands on your doormat and can be looked at in the safety and comfort of your own home is much more likely to boost a business’s bottom line.

* To download Physically Irresistible, the Marketreach e-book on the power of mail, click here

This article has been published in the September 2020 14 issue of The Page published by Two Sides UK