3 Myths About B2B Direct Mail Marketing Debunked

Thanks to the onset of new-and-now digital marketing channels, today’s B2B marketing strategists have begun shying away from direct mail marketing as their platform of choice. Because it’s a traditional platform in a sea of new and exciting digital marketing media, it gets a bad rap. If you’re forgoing direct mail in your B2B marketing campaign, you could be costing your company valuable leads. We’re here with some noteworthy statistics to dispel the rumors you’ve heard or misconceptions you have about direct mail so you can see what a highly-targeted marketing tool it is and improve your ROI.

Myth #1: Direct mail isn’t effective for B2B marketing.
The reason at the center of why direct mail gets overlooked is simple: people don’t think it’s effective.

Busted:

• A survey of over 1,000 B2B marketers found that 57% of these marketers considered direct mail marketing to be at least somewhat effective, and 22% actually said it was very
• Here at MRP, we see a 15% response rate on our direct mail efforts. This is an impressive response rate for any marketing channel.

It’s true that maybe B2B direct mail usage experienced a lull when digital marketing channels went through its initial boom, but now that every upper-level stakeholder’s e-mail inbox is stuffed to the brim while physical mailboxes remain barren, marketing experts are understanding that it has come back around as – dare we say – an innovative way to get your voice heard.

Myth #2: Direct mail doesn’t integrate well into an established B2B marketing campaign.

Some people think that direct mail is “old-school” and has no place in their campaign that distributes content through digital channels.

Busted:

Direct mail has proven to be a great addition to a multi-channel B2B marketing effort.

• In this case study on a 2014 marketing campaign by SunGard Availability Services, for example, the campaign used a combination of e-mail, social media outreach, and direct mail channels to successfully target and even re-target business executives. They experienced a 3% increase in click-to-open rates from president and owner titles, and attributed their ability to “cut through the noise” and attract interest to the direct mail aspect of their campaign.
• In another case study, Blue Pillar added direct mail into its telemarketing and e-mail campaign because “While the average businessperson receives an excess of 100 emails a day, they receive a personal mail piece once every seven weeks.” The result? A 50% success rate.
• To use ourselves as a case study, we at MRP have noticed that interactive mailers fit seamlessly into our integrated strategy of data, software, and services – in fact, direct mail is a necessary leg of our campaigns.

These are only a few examples of how direct mail can be used to supplement other efforts in a multi-channel campaign, but when you take the above-mentioned 3.7% response rate into consideration, it’s no question that it can be a team player in a B2B strategy.

Myth #3: Digital strategies save you money.
Though digital strategies sometimes have a lower up-front cost, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re less expensive long-term.

Busted:

• Not only is the response rate for direct mail better than it is for e-mail, it’s quicker, too: in B2B marketing, 79% of people say they will respond to direct mail immediately, while only 45% respond to e-mail as quickly. No one ever lost money on a more efficient pipeline. (Source)
• Direct mail lead lists are often higher-quality than the aforementioned alternatives, giving you more bang for your buck.

Just because you can launch out an e-mail to a huge list of subscribers in just seconds doesn’t mean it’s going to show you a good return on your dollar. If you’re using direct mail properly, you’re using more targeted lists which means seeing better results.

At the end of the day, the people who are most skeptical of direct mail campaigns are usually those who haven’t tried it recently (or ever). B2B direct mail integrates beautifully into modern campaigns, has proven success rates, and actually opens the door to a lot of opportunities. Whether you need to gather more information about your leads by incentivizing them to take surveys and set up meetings, or swoop in on late-stage leads and speedup the sales cycle, going back to the traditional mailbox might be just the punch your campaign needs.