Direct mail isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

It’s undeniable that technology has changed the direct marketing industry. However, it has not irreparably damaged direct mail marketing. To the contrary, direct mail has been enhanced by web technologies in many ways. Direct mail is great at getting leads to visit your web-page, encouraging customers to buy online or collecting information (including email addresses!) from prospects. To prove it, here are four reasons why you should use direct mail in place of email to get the best results.

Inbox Overload.

Our inboxes are overloaded with personal communication, updates, news and offers. While these may all be great, we don’t have the time or desire to click into each and every email. Many people don’t even sort through their emails daily. And that means your marketing message, and therefore the basis of your livelihood, might be sitting at the bottom of the “stack.” So what happens to it? Well, when your prospects finally get around to their inbox they’re likely to just “Select All” and “Delete.” Say goodbye to any good your sales message might have done. Sending it was a waste.  Sure, you could argue that people throw away physical mail too, but the numbers are in favor of direct mail here. A study by Epsilon showed that 77 percent of consumers sort through their physical mail as soon as they get it. Even better, data from the U.S. Postal Service showed that 98 percent of people check their mail daily.

The Personal Touch.

Getting the letter past the garbage shoot is just the first step. You need your sales piece to connect with your customers on a personal level. Unless you plan to take up door-to-door sales, you’re not going to get any closer to your prospects than direct mail. With a strong sales piece, you will walk right into their home, sit down at their dining room table and pitch your product with expertise that only you can deliver. Direct mail is all about talking directly to your prospects. Direct mail allows you to step right into prospects’ lives as soon as they open the piece. A strong sales piece meets your prospect’s train of thought and runs with it.  Once they have your sales piece in their hand, it’s time to let the sales copy do its job.

Increased Trust.

With increased technology comes an increased concern for privacy. What with hackers constantly breaking into “secure” sites and identity theft being a real threat, people trust electronic communication less and less. So how are you supposed to get your email to stand out?  In short, you can’t. You don’t get options with email. When your message drops into their inbox, you get a subject line or headline. That’s it. Direct mail is not faced with these same problems. You can “attach” as much as you want without setting off alarms. Bells and whistles of a fancy package are added bonuses instead of red flags. Consumers are bound to trust your direct mail sales piece more than they would a suspiciously fancy email.

Enhanced Delivery.

A direct mail piece has the opportunity to be much more impressive than a simple, bland email. While this is not always necessary (sometimes a straightforward postcard can suffice), it’s definitely nice to have so many options.  There are also dozens of envelope shapes, sizes and dimensions to pique curiosity instantly.  You can also include freebies in your packages that help promote your business while providing the recipient with a small gift. Pens, stickers and even coasters can all be printed with your business name and included in direct mail.   –Innovate Dental Marketing     Source: 4 Reasons to Use Direct Mail Marketing Instead of Email Marketing