By Erwin Busselot, Business Innovation & Solutions Director, Ricoh Graphic Communications, Ricoh Europe
We have all spent far more time online for work, entertainment and shopping than ever before.
We have learnt to adapt to working and communicating differently. That includes tuning in, and more importantly, tuning out, unwanted communications, especially emails. Just 18% are opened and the click through rate is 2.6%.
How can brands reconnect with the disconnected?
How can they establish or restart relationships with the more discerning customer?
One medium that consistently saw higher response rates in 2020 was direct mail. Great Britain’s Joint Industry Committee for Mail (JICMail) reported that 8.4% of all ad mail, which includes direct mail, door drops and business mail, encouraged traffic to advertiser websites, a near 50% year on year increase. In Q4 5.7% of all ad mail and business mail prompted a purchase, up 19% growth year on year. Royal Mail figures showed 25% of British adults in the previous 12 months bought something, made a payment or donated after receiving mail.
We also know that Direct Mail and partially addressed mail has a higher longevity and interactivity in the home than any other marketing communication.
But there are a number of technology supported trends that can elevate the medium further and drive impressive results.
Sophisticated variable data supporting hyper personalisation
Studies have shown relationships with brands have changed during the pandemic. Loyalty has been tested. Mail that connects can rebuild that relationship. We know that personalised mail is 35% more likely to drive an actual purchase than unaddressed mail. While 94% of addressed mail is opened, read or set aside for later. The next evolution is hyper personalisation. Insight driven marketing using data analytics, buying behaviour, website browsing history and mobile app behaviour, combined with digital data driven production capabilities, can provide mail recipients with a highly tailored Direct Mail experience. Ricoh has a long experience with hyper personalisation due to our Precision Marketing practice, which is available through Ricoh Business Booster Edge, our business development programme.
Programmatic mail enabled by digital print solutions
A highly tailored approach is also delivered by programmatic direct mail – a single direct mail piece is automatically printed and mailed following a specific event or action. Data driven digital presses can produce the communication, in varying volumes, to new customers, website visitors, online shoppers who abandoned their purchases, leads and many more depending on the goal.
Integrated call to action and measurements
Elevating customer engagement are QR Codes. Who’s Mailing What! reported an increase in their adoption to tie physical and digital worlds together. Signage, restaurant menus, and print ads all use them to provide helpful, up to the minute, contactless information. There is also the Voice Activated Call To Action (VACTA), or the QR code for voice. Marketers can connect their mail piece to a smart speaker interaction adding an audible experience. The recipient can request a text to complete the transaction.
Additional specialty branding features
Noticeability and recognition with branding in mail can be achieved with additional elements that engage the senses. People value something they can both touch and see 24% more highly than something they can only see. Metallic inks, textured paper, specialty folds and die cuts, and even scent, can capture attention and help convey the message the mailing piece was designed to present
Developing targeted, creative and well considered campaigns delivers exciting results. How will you help your clients connect the disconnected with print?
