2015 looks promising for Irish
business. Improvements in the economy, more favourable growth forecasts, and a
budget for the upcoming year which supports small business all lead to the
promise of an increase, in disposable income. Nevertheless, while we look at
almost any market, we still find deep demographic variations, social class
divisions and a geographic disparity in terms of recovery between Dublin, the
commuter belt around it, and the rest of the country (a). This scenario urges
marketing decision makers to continue to place their budgets wisely and to
choose their communication channels based on measurable key performance
indicators, such as attracting new customers, converting leads into sales and/or
maintaining existing customers.
Integration Gives the Multiplier Effect
Every channel
of communication has its own strengths and weaknesses. The thing that makes marketing
channels powerful is the multiplier effect when integrated in a multi-channel marketing
mix. A single channel approach is simply not smart. Two channels often identified as
effective when it comes to integration are mail and email, a combination that often
delivers big results. In fact, according to recent research (b), campaigns
including mail achieved over twice the market share growth than campaigns without
mail in the mix; of campaigns delivering high sales performance, 27% more included
mail than those that did not; and campaigns that drove high acquisition levels,
40% more included mail than campaigns that did not. The reason for this is
direct mail’s effectiveness in driving traffic online. 54% of Irish consumers
are more likely to click a search link for a company if they have received
anything from them in the post (d). A behaviour that increases with age, with
those between 45 and 64 years old the most predisposed to do so (64%). (d)
Irish Consumers Love Receiving Mail
In Ireland, we love post. 72% of
the Irish consumers enjoy the routine of receiving the household mail so much that
they would feel lost without it (a). That’s why 73% say that they put time
aside to go through it and 62% enjoy when they have direct mail in their
post-box; becoming particularly relevant to them if its addressed (69% vs. 35%
when unaddressed) (a). No wonder that no other form of advertising is as relevant
to the Irish customer as addressed mail (75%) (c): It is the strongest advertising
channel at making Irish consumers feel valued (48%), and that’s not just the
over 30’s: 47% of 18-25 year olds reported the same sense of feeling valued. The
48% score for addressed direct mail is followed by email at 30%, then by TV at
22% (e). But it’s not just about how direct mail makes those customers ‘feel’,
it’s also what they get from it: 60% consider direct mail to be really useful
for finding out about special offers and promotions, and 56% for finding out
about new products and services (a).
Young People Love It
So this year, make it your
marketer’s resolution to carefully consider the channels that will deliver the
best results for your business and its brands. And, as part of an integrated marketing
approach, I bet direct mail will deliver.
(a) An Post Communications Panel Wave 21 Feb-Apr 2014 prepared for An Post by B&A
(b) IPA Databank meta-analysis conducted by Peter Field and Royal Mail, 2014
(c) An Post Corporate Image Tracker April-June ‘14 for An Post carried out by Millward Brown
(d) An Post Communications Panel Sep-Nov 2013 for An Post carried out by B&A
(e) Amarach consumer research for An Post 2013
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