Study: Consumers Still Love Physical Mail

What happens when you create a marketing promotion from a fictitious travel agency to test the effectiveness of standard envelopes, printed envelopes, self-mailers, wrappers, and email? RAPP Germany, a multichannel marketing agency, hired Neilsen to find out.

With all other factors equal, RAPP wanted to know, which techniques would be most successful? It found that envelopes have a tremendous impact on the effectiveness of the direct marketing piece, especially if they are personalized.

According to the study, while custom-manufactured envelopes had the highest open rate of all of the marketing techniques tested (85%), personalization was key to success. Recipients who received non-personalized mailings were three times more likely to throw the mail in the trash or delete it than recipients who received a personalized mailing.

Even when recipients were predisposed to the marketing message, recipients of personalized messaging were more likely to indicate that they intended to investigate the travel offer further online. Forty-four percent said they would investigate the travel offer further online compared to 37% of those who received static mailings.

Mailings received via personalized, printed envelope were also more likely to be passed along to friends and family. According to the survey, marketing messages mailed via personalized envelope were twice as likely to be passed along (14% vs. 8%) than personalized emails.

Want to increase your response rates? Personalize your message inside and out!

Source: “Consumers Value Physical Mail, Even In This Digital Era,” Print in the Mix (www.printinthemix.com)

Linemark is a privately-owned and operated printing & communications company headquartered within close proximity of the Washington DC / Baltimore Metro areas (Upper Marlboro, MD). Linemark is one of the fastest growing companies in the region within the communications industry. Operating 24 hours a day from a 90,000sq ft facility, the intensely customer focused company delivers solid and innovative solutions to their client base of associations, corporations and non-profit organizations.