Direct Mail Marketing vs Email Marketing: Which One Is The Best Choice
Updated: 07 Nov 2024
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Direct mail marketing and Email marketing are two different forms of promotion of a product, brand or service. Email marketing is considered as the key in promotion of a brand, business or service in digital marketing because of it is very specific method to reach targeted audience in one on one conversation. While on the other hand direct mail marketing offers even more accuracy in targeting potential customers through physical appearance.
Most people say that direct mail marketing is dead and investing in it is only a waste of time and money, but in this article I am going to prove that direct mail marketing is still a better choice for small and large businesses and brands with outstanding mailer ideas that are impactful in 2024. Due to excessive use of mobile phone email marketing is considered as the best option and direct mail marketing is completely neglected.
Thus it is very important for us to know about the positive and negative sides of direct mail marketing and email marketing. Let’s uncover direct mail marketing vs email marketing in detail in this article.
Direct Mail Marketing
It can also be said as the physical promotion of a product.
Marketing technique in which promotion messages are directly delivered to the audience mailbox through mail or other delivery system is called direct mail marketing.
Consider delivering your messages to each and every person of your local city through their mailboxes.
Direct mail marketing is a type of tangible outreach in which customers have physical hold and more memorable impacts as compared to email marketing.
Businesses use direct mail marketing for promotion in a specific geographic area by having a complete list of houses to deliver the message.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is very famous in this modern world in which email features are used to promote products, brands or services. It is all about sending personalized marketing messages to direct customers on their emails for generating sales, leads and brand awareness.
Email marketing is useful when it is done correctly, if not then it will behave very harshly even if it will not allow you to get to the problem where you were wrong. Consider your emails are shown to be sent and delivered but they will be out of sight in the spam folder which is a complete disaster in email marketing.
Email marketing campaigns can range from newsletters, promotional offers, and announcements to customer surveys and transactional messages. Its flexibility, low cost, and ability to deliver timely messages make it a cornerstone of modern digital marketing.
Email Marketing vs Direct Mail Marketing: Comparison in different Aspects
If we compare direct mail marketing with the email marketing we come to know that both of them are very useful in promotion of a product, in fact for a new business which is looking to boost sales through email marketing needs a well structured list of prospects which is the most difficult task in email marketing because it will determine whether your emails will be read or not. In such a case a business can invest in direct mail marketing by providing offers at very less price than online which can force the customers to do purchases online through your platform. In this way you can make emails compulsory for purchase and can make your own list for email marketing.
The benefits and drawbacks of direct mail marketing vs email marketing from different aspects in a digital marketing campaign are given in detail.
Budget
Email Marketing: In email marketing we will have to pay for email marketing platforms, tools and designs. If we don’t have a list of prospects then it can be purchased from the market which will be an extra cost.
Direct Mail Marketing: In direct mail marketing we will spend money on banner designing, printing and postages. Which can be more expensive than email marketing cost.
If we compare email marketing and direct mail marketing from a budget point of view, we find that there are expenses in both of them.
As investments in direct mail marketing is more than email marketing and if we compare their ROI, reports show that email marketing has higher ROI. (Source ROI in Email Marketing vs Direct mail).
Thus it is better to go for email marketing according to the needs of modern life.
Reach and Targeting
Direct Mail: In direct mail marketing reach is only limited to a demographic location in which you will post your advertising message to the mailboxes in a limited area. Precise target audience is a benefit in this type of marketing.
Email Marketing: Emails are taken after purchase history based on needs, demands and engagement levels which offers more subscribers in the list. Through email marketing we can attain maximum reach and target audience.
From the above comparison we can summarize that email marketing offers more predictive results in terms of reaching and targeting our potential customers.
Open Rates
Direct Mail: In direct marketing messages are delivered in the mailbox in a city. Time has changed but everyone pays attention to physical reading more than online. That’s why it leads to almost double open rates than email marketing.
Email Marketing: Due to online burdens everyone wants to limit its phone activities and rarely check email inboxes. Thus it leads to a very lesser open rate as compared to direct mail.
With these facts we can see that direct mail marketing offers more open rates and higher chances of conversion rates.
CTA Performance
Direct Mail Marketing: Due excessive use of mobile people usually give more attention to physical writing and thus CTA Performance in direct mail is higher.
Email Marketing: As the people in this modern world are bombarded with hundreds of mails daily thus they avoid checking marketing emails which can lead to less CTAs.
CTAs performance is fairly more in direct mail marketing as compared to email marketing because of physical tangibility.
Personalization
Direct Mail: Designing advertising messages and then printing banners according to our customers needs and demands offers more personalization, but there are limitations in direct mail.
Email Marketing: Email Marketing offers more precise marketing ways to market our products in the form of dynamic content and mentioning recipient’s names in the body of the message.
Due to physical limitations, direct mail marketing looks less personalized as compared to email marketing.
Environment
Direct Mail Marketing: Due to physical delivery of advertising messages and use of paperwork in direct mail marketing it has a higher environmental footprint.
Email Marketing: As the paperwork is not included in email marketing and mostly we do our campaigns online thus it offers less environmental footprints.
Environment effects are more appropriate in direct mail rather than email marketing.
Difference Between Email Marketing and Direct Mail Marketing
| Email Marketing | Direct Mail Marketing |
| Use: It is easy to conduct | Use: It is relatively needs time and hazards |
| Learning: It is relatively difficult to learn | Learning: It doesn’t need much attention for learning |
| Budget: There is very little cost per sent email as compared with direct mail marketing | Budget: It needs more expenses on printing posters and banners |
| Reach and targeting: It allows global and instant reach | Reach and targeting: It allows physical limitations by addresses and geographical locations |
| Delivery Time: There is an instantaneous speed for delivery within a second | Delivery Time: Speed of delivery is very slow due to physical conditions, production and mailing time |
| Engagement: Email marketing allows less engagement in which emails can be deleted quickly | Engagement: Direct mail marketing offers higher and long lasting engagement with physical trends to be retained |
| Analysis: It is relatively easy to track and get analysis on opens, clicks and conversions | Analysis: It is difficult to track such matrices in physical marketing |
| Tangibility: It doesn’t have physical experience, purely digital | Tangibility: It is tangible and create a sensory connection |
| Spam Risk: There is risk of being spam without reaching inbox in front of audiences | Spam Risk: No concerns of being spam in direct mail marketing as plus point |
| Flexibility: It is highly flexible and can be changed anytime | Flexibility: It is limited to printing process and doesn’t allow quick customization |
| Response Rate: Email marketing allows quick responses and with immediate feedback | Response Rate: It is very slow in responding which comes in mail or in person |
Conclusion
| Conclusion |
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After a critical analysis of direct mail marketing vs email marketing we came to know that email marketing is the best possible way of getting benefits from this online world. But if we do it in the wrong way then it can behave very badly and bring less effective results than the direct mail marketing. Although time has changed and letters are replaced by Whatsapp and emails however there is still a potential in delivering our marketing messages at least physically on the initial stages. |
FAQs about Direct Mail Marketing vs Email Marketing
The most common FAQs about direct mail marketing and email marketing are given below;
Which is better direct mail marketing or email marketing?
Email Marketing is better than direct mail marketing due to excessive use of mails and technology in this modern world and better ROIs in email marketing.
What is the difference between email marketing and direct mail marketing?
Direct mail marketing is delivering messages directly to the audience mailbox in the form badges or banners while email marketing is all about sending marketing emails to prospects.
What is direct mail marketing and its example?
The promotion of a product by delivering advertising messages directly into the customers mail boxes is direct mail marketing. A local restaurant sends discount offers in the form of a Manu to nearby residents for gaining potential customers.
Which is easy email marketing or direct mail marketing?
Email marketing is easier than email marketing because it can be done from the comfort of your home without physical hurdles in direct mail marketing.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of direct mail marketing?
Direct access, High open rates, high conversion rates and more promotion are benefits while high budget, less repetition, environmental impacts and physical limitations are the drawbacks of direct mail marketing.
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