Friday, September 3, 2010

Direct Mail Vs Email Marketing Strategies

Email marketing strategies are more economical than their traditional direct mail counterparts. However, do they really deliver the desired results or is there still room for the old form of advertisement to prosper?

Direct Mail Strategies: Pros and Cons

Direct mail campaigns are commonly referred to as 'junk mail', although almost everyone prefers them to the more aggressive 'spam mails.' These types of campaigns provide unlimited creative opportunities as there is no limit on the size of the content or the quantity. One can truly feel free to go into details in terms of describing products and services, add emotional and commercial dimensions to it and even present a picture that will compel the reader to read on.

This form of marketing typical provides a 2% standard response rate on the first mail and a staggering 35% on the follow up mail. Depending on your product and target market, this strategy may not be a cost effective marketing strategy due to the costs of paper, printing, and postage.

The effectiveness of these types of campaigns varies substantially by demographic. Younger demographics continue to be more and more attached to electronic media.

Email Marketing Strategies: Pros and Cons

Email Marketing strategies are a far cheaper alternative to direct mail services. With email campaigns comes the option of reaching out to a larger group of prospective clients at blazing fast speeds and at very low costs. Another added advantage is that the administrator can actually trace the response of the email receiver based on what he/she does after opening the mail.

The standard response rate is very high for email marketing, ranging from 40% to 60%. The only disadvantage with this form of marketing is that it limits creativity, since there is only so much one can convey through an email.

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