Although he died a few years ago, the late Rodney Dangerfield made audiences convulse when he inevitably started his monologues with "I don't get no respect."
The same could be said for for good old fashioned direct mail. Even though, according to a recent survey, fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, "snail mail," as it's known derisively, doesn't get any respect either. Although any of the new media channels - Groupon, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. - get more respect than direct mail, it's email that is automatically crowned the new king of direct consumer contact.
But that may be a mistake, some marketers say. Although email is indeed preferred by a majority of survey respondents, the study found that 25% of all US consumers thought direct mail was "more trustworthy" than email. What do you think of that, new media mavens?
But that's not all: out of the 2,226 consumers polled, 60% said they enjoyed going to their old, black mailboxes, underscoring what the study called an "emotional connection" to old-school mail.
In fact, over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year. Furthermore, 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.
Don't draw the wrong conclusions: email is rightly considered a potent marketing weapon. It's just that USPS mail should not be called the "Rodney Dangerfield" of marketing for all the reasons in this article plus this vital one: the very best way to communicate with consumers, according to industry types, is to utilize the full marketing toolbox, including both direct mail and email in a coordinated marketing effort.
When all is said and done, the over-riding take-away of the poll is that marketers should not laugh at direct mail. They just might be losing out on a very serious and powerful marketing weapon.
The same could be said for for good old fashioned direct mail. Even though, according to a recent survey, fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, "snail mail," as it's known derisively, doesn't get any respect either. Although any of the new media channels - Groupon, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. - get more respect than direct mail, it's email that is automatically crowned the new king of direct consumer contact.
But that may be a mistake, some marketers say. Although email is indeed preferred by a majority of survey respondents, the study found that 25% of all US consumers thought direct mail was "more trustworthy" than email. What do you think of that, new media mavens?
But that's not all: out of the 2,226 consumers polled, 60% said they enjoyed going to their old, black mailboxes, underscoring what the study called an "emotional connection" to old-school mail.
In fact, over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year. Furthermore, 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.
Don't draw the wrong conclusions: email is rightly considered a potent marketing weapon. It's just that USPS mail should not be called the "Rodney Dangerfield" of marketing for all the reasons in this article plus this vital one: the very best way to communicate with consumers, according to industry types, is to utilize the full marketing toolbox, including both direct mail and email in a coordinated marketing effort.
When all is said and done, the over-riding take-away of the poll is that marketers should not laugh at direct mail. They just might be losing out on a very serious and powerful marketing weapon.
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