Print is not just surviving, it’s thriving

You may think that the effectiveness of print marketing has diminished due to the widespread popularity of digital marketing channels, but think again. Consumers are constantly bombarded with digital marketing, so much that they start to become blinded by the constant onslaught of web advertisements, and never-ending emails.

This has created a space for print marketing to reach customers in a more authentic and engaging fashion, through tactility. It is the tactile nature of printed material that helps customers feel more connected, more comfortable and most importantly, more engaged with brands.

“Printed material is tactile. Except for the laborious task of turning pages, dealing with something printed is almost passive; you don’t have to sit in front of a computer, type anything to search. You can hold a catalog in your hands, mark it up, put it down and pick it up again a day later. It can, and often does, stay in the house for weeks.”

Print marketing is a tried and true method of effectively engaging consumers and produces high returns on investment. Harnessing the power of print proves to boost the effectiveness of other marketing channels as well.

Print's Growing Response Rate

Over the past 15 years, print marketing has seen a considerable increase in response rate. Since 2004 print marketing’s response rate has increased 14%, nearly 1% every year. Email response rates have declined by an outstanding 57% in the same time period.

Some marketers, are experiencing dramatically higher response rates with print marketing than they did in the 1980s, the height of print marketing.

The fact is, consumers receive well over 115 emails daily, many of which are automatically transferred to their spam or junk folder.

Return On Investment

The return on investment for direct mail is one of the highest of any marketing channel. For every $100 spent on direct mail, an average of $1250 is spent by consumers. That’s a 1,300% return on investment. Direct mail is responsible for acquiring more customers than email, search, and affiliate marketing combined based on ROI.

Surveys show that 70-80% of consumers will open or glance over every piece of mail they receive. 51% of consumers enjoy and appreciate receiving direct mail from local shops or organizations, creating a sense of community and belonging in their city.

Boost Web Traffic

If web-traffic is your goal, print and digital marketing can work in tandem to drive traffic to your businesses website. 44% of consumers end up visiting a brand’s website after recovering print marketing materials. That number goes up to 57% when the consumer has received an email. Receiving a direct mail piece may remind a consumer of the email they received a few days before.

Direct Mail Is King

A majority of email is consumed while at work or while out and about thanks to mobile. Sometimes consumers may find your marketing interesting, but may not have a chance to act on it. Sending a reminder in the mail will give consumers a chance to sit down and react to your call to Action if they find you offer to be beneficial to them.

The fact that you can expect most consumers to read through their mail while at home can ensure that they are in a position to act on an offer.

Consumers react in different ways when they receive a direct mail piece. Keeping these reactions in mind can help you design and develop more effective campaigns. Surveys have found that direct mail marketing triggers a massive online response rate. After receiving a direct mail piece, customers are 44% more likely to visit a brand’s website, 34% more likely to search for them online and 26% keep the printed piece for a future date.

Make it personal

70% Of Americans say mail is more personal than the Internet. Print is generally perceived to be a hands-on medium, and is more personal than digital mediums. 19% Businesses who use personalized messages see an increase in sales by 19%. This fact alone shows that personalized messages are well worth the investment.

Personalized print media has a more powerful presence than a personalized email because the audience can recognize that it takes more effort to customize print media than digital. Personalization can come in many forms, from creating messages based on a consumer's purchase and geography, to demographics. Personalized messages help to target your audience in order to reach them with valuable information that they’re more likely to respond to.

Put Print to Work

Utilizing all the advancements in commercial printing technology, and investing in the development of a quality print marketing strategy has proven results that continue to grow year

over year. By putting print to work for your business, you will increase brand awareness, attract more customers and ultimately, increase your revenue.

For even more information on print and direct mail marketing, download the full report. 

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Print Marketing Report

You may think that the effectiveness of print marketing has diminished due to the widespread popularity of digital marketing channels. The fact is, print is not just surviving, it’s thriving. Consumers are constantly bombarded with digital marketing, so much that they start to become blinded by the constant onslaught of web advertisements, and never-ending emails.

By Conquest Graphics