Combating Digital Fatigue with Direct Mail

After several years dominated by pandemics and remote work, it should come as no surprise to anyone that digital fatigue is starting to set in. Microsoft released a study earlier this year reporting that Teams — the digital meeting platform many businesses have turned to as a replacement for in-person meetings — has seen an increase of 252% in weekly meeting times since February 2020. And the number of weekly meetings themselves has risen 153% in that same time period. In short, people are spending a great deal of time staring at screens, and it’s starting to wear them down.

And the strain of too much screen time is carrying over into personal lives as well. Deloitte’s 2021 Connectivity and Mobile Trends Survey found that the average household now has an average of 25 connected devices, with 38% of households connecting additional devices since the onset of the pandemic. Deloitte also found that 32% of consumers are feeling overwhelmed by technology — and that number has only continued to climb.

All of this represents an opportunity for direct mail printers. 

Digital marketing is just getting lost in the crowd right now, with consumers pulling away from connecting with brands on yet another platform that requires the use of a screen. This is a great time to put direct mail back on the minds of customers struggling to stay relevant in this day and age, and the numbers support it. According to the Direct Mail Advertising Global Market Report 2022, the average response rate of the direct mail is around 2.7% to 4.4%, while the email has around 0.6%. The average open rate varies between 57.5% to 85% — a far cry from the newsletters, web banners, or other digital marketing mediums brands are using. And in fact, the Report notes that the direct mail industry is expected to reach $73.57 billion in CAGR by 2026, compared to $71.57 billion in 2021.

This is the perfect time to go back to your customers with ideas for direct mail campaigns to help them improve their ROI on every marketing dollar spent, increase engagement, and at the end of the day, help them grow their profits. And if you — as a partner for their business, rather than just another vendor — are the ones to help them conceive and execute such a campaign, they will be far more likely to stick with you in the long term, instead of being seduced away to a competitor offering them a few cents lower pricing.

Whether you’re currently offering traditional direct mail and want to explore options for more personalized and versioned campaigns for even better results, or you aren’t currently offering direct mail at all but want look into adding it to your mix, this is a great time to be at the show. On the PRINTING United show floor there are a number of vendors offering a range of both hardware and software upgrades to make the most of the direct mail opportunity, including HP Indigo and Pagewide (Booth C4256), Rollem International (Booth N503), Melissa (Booth N1415), iJetColor by Printware (Booth N1955); and AccuZIP (Booth N2365) — just to name a few. And don’t forget to stop at the Mailing & Shipping Pavilion (Booth N2347) sponsored by Pitney Bowes (Booth N2343), which is comprised of mailing and shipping partners and associations focused on education and networking.