Direct Mail is Still Alive & Well Today

For all the talk about electronic marketing replacing print, someone forgot to tell an important constituency--the customer. How else can one explain why the $167/person that advertisers spend on direct mail yields $2,095--a 13-to-1 return on investment?

At Build Texas Media, we feel print is still an excellent interactive medium, especially as a precursor or follow-up to e-marketing efforts. And more than most other channels, it still grabs attention. Between TiVo and other digital video recorders the shift-delete button for email and website ads have become too easy to ignore or delete en masse. But print media like direct mail requires a second glance to see if there's a check, bill or something of value to the recipient.

Build Texas Media content writers avoid old personalization models--the "To our client/dear valued client/dear insured/greetings/misidentified statement/addressed to children or the deceased" school of thought. As marketers, we'll determine where your company falls along a seven-level continuum of personalization, and then move your company forward on that continuum as business grows. The seven levels of personalization are:

1. Short-run, static applications that are cost prohibitive to offset print due to short run lengths or multiple paper types.

2. Version printing applications that follow a common "branded" design with unique content or language changes for specific audiences.

3. Personalized print applications that integrate recipient names and addresses into the copy.

4. Customized printing and personalized applications that incorporate text and images relevant to target audiences.

5. Transactional or informative communications, such as financial and other e-applications, which incorporate personalized and customized content plus informative, data graphs and charts.

6. Complex personalized, customized applications designed using unique text, images and graphics.

7. Personalized, customized applications where entire messages are tailored based on individual preferences, transaction histories, buying behavior and other demographics.

Customization activities pay off. Average rewards for customization include increases in repeat orders, rises in the value of placed orders, and dramatic jumps in your ROI (Return on Investment) rate.

CALL US TODAY TO REQUEST A BID FOR YOUR NEXT PRINT & DIRECT MAIL PROJECT.