Why Direct Mail Isn’t Dead

Technology is everywhere. Between email and phone calls to video chats and social media, there’s no denying technology plays a major role in our daily lives. So, why are so many dealerships skipping digital marketing in favor of traditional forms, such as direct mail marketing?

To answer that question, the marketing experts at Aspen Automotive have compiled a list of the 20 reasons why direct mail isn’t dead for car dealers. Keep reading to find out!

1). It Offers a High ROI

The purpose behind a marketing campaign is likely to increase profits. Direct mail is a great way to achieve this goal, thanks to its high return on investment (ROI). It’s estimated that direct mail offers a 29 percent ROI.¹

Check out our blog post: What Is a Good ROI with Direct Mail

2). It’s for Everyone

When starting a campaign, you don’t want to leave out large groups of people, which may occur if you use digital marketing. Not everyone has social media or email. Direct mail is for people of all ages, since everyone checks the mail, no matter how old or young that person is.

3). It’s Less Competitive

Per year, individuals can expect to see about 454 pieces of marketing mail.¹ With digital marketing, individuals see anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 ads in a single day.² The numbers speak for themselves: direct mail is the way to go for less competition.

4). It’s Easy to Target

Targeting your mail usually requires using demographics to sort your client list into smaller, more specific groups. Direct mail makes targeting mail easy, especially when utilizing services offered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Aspen Automotive.

5). It’s Easily Personalized

Something that commercials and social media ads can’t offer is personalization, which is a big factor in marketing. With direct mail, you can add the recipient’s name to the top of a letter, sign your name at the bottom, or even handwrite the envelope.

6). It Elicits Emotion

Receiving a letter in the mail elicits nostalgic feelings. It reminds people of simpler days. Playing off this positive emotion may make someone more inclined to visit your dealership.

7). It’s Interactive

When someone receives mail, they physically interact with it. They hold it, open it, and flip it over. Physically touching and interacting with the ad is exclusive to direct mail marketing.

8). It Gets Attention

Since it must be interacted with and takes up space in the home, direct mail gets attention. With digital marketing, it’s much easier to scroll past an ad or flip the channel when a commercial comes on.

On average, a mailer has a lifespan of 17 days.³ This leaves more than enough time for everyone in the house to view and interact with it. Email, on the other hand, has a lifespan of 17 seconds.³

9). It’s Highly Creative

Your creativity isn’t confined with direct mail. You have the option to create nearly anything. Experiment with the size, colors, and textures of the mailer. You can also play around with 3-dimensional mailers to help it stand out even more.

10. It Uses All the Senses

Incorporating as many senses as possible into your mailer is another exclusive ability of direct mail. With digital marketing, sight and sound are the only senses that can be used. If done properly, you can incorporate all five senses into your direct mail campaign.

11). It Builds Brand Trust

By putting time into creating a mailer and sending it, recipients may find your dealership more trustworthy than other dealerships who only market online. That’s because it shows you’re willing to put the extra time in to build personalized relationships with the recipient.

12). It’s Trackable

Tracking your mail is essential. This helps you see areas of improvement and areas of strength, so each new campaign can be better than before. By adding coupon codes, call numbers, or personalized URLs (PURLs), you can see how many people followed through with your call to action (CTA).

13). It Complements Digital Marketing

Incorporating digital elements into your campaign can help boost the results of your campaign even more. Thanks to its flexibility, direct mail complements digital marketing, meaning they likely work better together than individually.

14). It’s the Preferred Marketing Method

In a study, it was discovered that direct mail is actually the preferred marketing method compared to other forms of marketing, such as digital. This study found that 73 percent of people would rather be contacted by mail than email.³

The reason for that is because of the added convenience of reading the mailer at any time, compared to the urgency of digital marketing.

15). It Has Many Resources

The USPS offers several resources that make direct mail easy to set up and track. Some of these include:

Every Door Direct Mail®: Lets you send a mailer to all residential homes and/or businesses within a certain range. They’ll make sure your mailer is delivered to your recipients.
Informed Delivery®: This digital feature lets recipients view their mail before it reaches the mailbox. This helps ensure individuals can take advantage of online sales, even when they’re away from home.
Direct Mail Promotions: Throughout the year, the USPS offers several unique promotions that’ll help you save money on your campaign and allow you to experiment with new and emerging types of direct mail strategies.

Thanks to these resources, you’re more likely to get the most out of your marketing campaign.

16). It’s Memorable

Due to its tactile abilities, you may find that direct mail is a more memorable marketing strategy. This is due to a few reasons.

First, the recipient must interact with the mailer. This ensures you have their undivided attention when using direct mail.

Second, with the use of bright colors, unique designs, and with its overall flexibility, direct mail is more likely to leave a lasting impression.

Finally, campaigns that are super creative are worth sharing with others. This way, you’re not only advertising to the intended recipient, but also to anyone he or she mentions your mailer to.

17). It’s Less Likely to Be Viewed as Spam

The internet is a great place. You can find nearly any piece of information out there, but not all of it is from a credible source. It’s simple enough to create a fake website or send spam emails to unsuspecting individuals.

With direct mail, recipients are less likely to view the information as spam because of its high authority status.

18). It Has a High Authority

Direct mail helps build brand trust and awareness. It’s seen as the most authoritative and credible form of marketing. Before the age of the digital world, direct mail was one of the only marketing strategies around.

Now, with many businesses turning to digital, not only has direct mail withstood the test of time, but it also remains one of the most impactful strategies, thanks to its reduced competition.

19). It Gets Read

With individuals encountering thousands of ads every day, it’s nearly impossible to stay up to date reading through emails and other forms of digital marketing. It’s quite the opposite with direct mail, though.

The USPS estimates that 53 percent of Americans read their mail fully, while 21 percent of Americans at least scan their mail.

20). It’s Simple to Get Started

Direct mail is straightforward and easy to set up, especially when you have a team of experts from Aspen Automotive on your side.

We can help with everything from coming up with a CTA to sending your mailers to the post office for delivery. What’s even better is that everything is done in house. That way, you can rest assured, knowing that your mailers are of the highest quality possible and will be delivered in a timely manner after approval.

Get Started with Direct Mail Today in Chicago, IL

Are you ready for your marketing materials to stand out from the crowd? Do you want to test the creative limits of marketing? Then it’s time to start a direct mail marketing campaign for your dealership.

With the help of our marketing experts at Aspen Automotive, you don’t have to start this alone. We’re here to help with everything from data solutions to production and everything in between. To get started, simply give us a call or send us an email today!