Direct mail survey reveals industry optimism

W8 Data, a specialist in direct mail and data cleansing, believes that the direct mail channel is still regarded as a valuable business channel by senior management teams.

The company referenced the recent 'Direct Mail Attitudes Survey' conducted by 'Marketing Week' in October 2009.

The research revealed that 56 per cent of marketers believe that direct mail has influence with the top executives or board members at their companies.

Direct marketing basics such as targeting and measurability are still viewed as pivotal to commercial success.

'Direct mail still provides one of the highest returns on investment when carried out in a targeted and controlled way,' a marketer from a large retailer told the survey.

Another marketer from the financial sector said: 'Direct marketing if often overlooked as "expensive".

'But in terms of offering measurability of campaign and marketing spend effectiveness, it is second to none as a channel for customer acquisition,' the marketer added.

The survey also revealed that marketing optimism is still holding up, with just five per cent stating that the economic climate has had a 'very bad' effect on the industry, while seven per cent think it has not been affected at all.

According to the survey, 45 per cent of marketers use interactive direct marketing methods, with 33 per cent using physical direct mail and 22 per cent using both together.

Forty-two per cent consider a 5-10 per cent direct marketing response rate to be acceptable to their business, while 34 per cent are satisfied with less than five per cent and two per cent demand a more than 30 per cent response rate.

In practice, just 22 per cent see a 5-10 per cent response rate, while 52 per cent of respondents see less than five per cent response to their direct mail.

Most marketers (38 per cent) use direct marketing as a 'call to action', 24 per cent use it for new offers or discounts and 16 per cent use it for general brand-building duties.

Sixty-one per cent believe the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) should be in charge of regulating direct marketing, 22 per cent favour the government, nine per cent think brands should self-regulate and two per cent believe that Royal Mail should take on the role.

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