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The ROI Gap That Could Undermine Direct Mail’s Comeback

Letters sent in the post, whisper it, have increased in volume recently.

This is good news for a marketing tool that has all too often been left in the toolbox or used only in a limited fashion.

However, despite the countless posts on LinkedIn proclaiming that DM is back and stronger than ever, that’s not entirely the case.

Look beyond the shouty headlines and you’ll see that much of the recent letter traffic was transactional, rate changes, utilities, and similar. It certainly helped bump up the figures, but let’s be honest about what’s driving the increase.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m delighted to see any increase in postal correspondence, whether it’s a bill or a money-off voucher.

But it strikes me that a lot of the recent good news around volumes is masking a more fundamental issue in direct mail.

Too few people truly understand the return on investment (ROI) they get from direct mail.

And linked to that is a clear knowledge gap among clients about how to get the best ROI from their mailings.

It’s a subject that can get me a terse response or a frosty look when I bring it up with some clients. As if I’m stepping outside my remit. “Why do you care about that? Just produce the mailing and let me do my job!”

I still meet and speak with too many marketers who are under-resourced or, more frequently now, outshouted or outvoted by their digital teams.

ROI is the standout feature of direct mail.

And when we all promote direct mail as passionately as this sector does, let’s make sure some of that energy is focused on ROI.

Because if we’re not confident that our clients can track their return on investment, how confident can we be that they’ll continue to invest in mail at all?