If you’ve let good ol’ fashioned direct mail fall by the wayside, you’ll be surprised to learn that 61% of marketers increased their investment in direct mail from 2023 to 2024. This trend continued as 54% also pledged to increase their investment in the 12 months following the survey. 

The biggest surprise? That direct mail topped the list of marketing strategies where businesses are increasing their investment—even over heavy hitters like email, paid social, and influencer marketing. 

If this piques your interest, read on for some more takeaways from our sister company, SeQuel Response, and their 2024 Direct Mail Marketing Benchmark Report. 

Takeaway #1: Consumers enjoy receiving direct mail

According to consumers, direct mail is the second most enjoyable form of advertising following TV/video streaming. 

Mail is unique in a world of mostly digital communication—getting something in the mail is more of an event than receiving yet another email, and it’s also something you can hold in your hands. This type of tactile experience is an excellent way to cut through the digital noise of everyday life to reach someone. 

People also pay attention when they receive mail, with 72% of consumers engaging with mail every week and a third doing so every day.

Takeaway #2: Direct mail is particularly strong for customer acquisition 

Building on the notion that people enjoy direct mail, there is also a flipside:  

Consumers actually see direct mail as less overwhelming than other forms of advertising, with 44% agreeing that email marketing, social media, and paid online search/banner ads take more of a mental toll. And if you’re focused on earning new customers, the last thing you’d want to do is overwhelm them. 

The effectiveness of mail for customer acquisition is further emphasized when you consider the lower cost per acquisition (CPA) compared to other forms of marketing. In fact, a full two thirds (66%) of marketers shared that they are spending less than $150 per acquisition with direct mail compared to only 29% in 2023. 

This is compared to 61% of marketers who spend that amount for all other forms of digital marketing. This 5% difference may seem small, but the advantage is clear—especially when you consider the increased ability to personalize direct mail.

With direct mail, marketers can reach their intended audience with personally relevant messaging and offers that build trust and loyalty, encourage engagement, and ultimately drive more sales. 

Takeaway #3: Personalized targeting is direct mail’s top advantage 

The strength of personalization with direct mail can’t be denied, and this bears out in the data as well. When asked about the top advantages of mail, 38% of marketers named audience targeting capabilities as their top choice—a substantial jump from fourth position in 2023. 

Amongst the factors contributing to this is the disappearance of third-party cookies in digital marketing, which has made first-party customer data the most valuable resource a marketer can have. Interestingly, there’s a near-even split as to where marketers are getting this data: 

• First-party CRM data: 33.9% 

• Agency partners: 33.7% 

• Data brokerage/vendors: 32.4% 

Regardless of the source, the increased importance of first-party data coupled with other factors like easy-to-track attribution and scalability moving up the list signal a shift in focus towards an integrated approach with direct mail and digital working hand in hand. 

Supercharging your marketing with tried and true direct mail 

There’s no question that integrating direct mail with digital tactics is the right move, with 9 out of 10 marketers agreeing. In a do-more-with-less climate, over three quarters (76%) of marketers are combining (or plan to combine) the two most valuable forms of direct response: email and direct mail. 

This is also supported by the fact that QR codes are seeing increased use as well (to the tune of 5% year over year). Being used on 26% of mailers already, this figure is likely to increase and further cement the symbiotic relationship between digital and direct. 

How we can help 

The results you can get from direct mail are hard to deny. If you’re ready to explore how to supercharge your sends, reach out to us and we’d be happy to chat.