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Providers of marketing communications—messages that are sent to promote a brand/product/service or develop a relationship—are seeking ways to differentiate themselves and further engage their customers. Consumer preferences are evolving all the time, and businesses must remain nimble and responsive to these shifts if they hope to retain existing customers, attract new ones, and improve the overall customer journey.
Keypoint Intelligence has just released its 2023 direct marketing communications primary research to better understand how businesses’ direct marketing practices are changing over time as they strive to meet their customers’ needs. Over 300 business leaders qualified for participation in this research, and all respondents worked in marketing or customer experience. This blog provides a brief overview of the top-level results from this year’s survey. It discusses the transition to paperless communications, the ongoing focus on customer experience, and how business marketing practices are changing over time.
In total, 318 senior-level business professionals responded to our 2023 research. All worked for companies with at least 500 employees, but the overall mean number of employees was about 3,500.
Although respondents operated within a wide range of vertical industries, nearly half (47%) were e-commerce and/or brick and mortar retailers. The shift toward digital communications is undeniable, with the vast majority of respondents (93%) having an official policy or strategy to reduce/eliminate the use of printed and mailed direct marketing communications. Despite this shift, nearly all respondents were still sending some printed direct mail to customers or prospects via the US Postal Service (USPS). Business respondents also recognize the ongoing appeal of traditional direct mail among consumers. At this time, the percentage share of printed direct mail vs. digital communications was estimated at about 36% vs. 64%. Even in 2 years’ time, businesses expect nearly a third of their marketing communications to be printed and mailed.
Businesses also recognize that printed and digital communications can be combined for greater effectiveness. A strong majority of respondents (83%) always or frequently included a call to action with their printed direct mail to pull the recipient into a digital experience. What’s more, those who were combining print and digital reported an almost 9% increase in response rates with print campaigns that included digital links. Along with providing a tactile experience that many consumers enjoy, printed direct mail plays well with digital channels.
It is now more important than ever for brands to enhance their marketing with cross-media campaigns, while also developing a clearly targeted omni-channel strategy to capture consumer business. Businesses understand the importance of marketing across multiple channels, but multi-channel marketing can be a struggle. Among this year’s survey participants, the top challenges associated with running marketing campaigns across multiple channels included choosing the best channel(s), using customer data to personalize the message, and keeping the message consistent across all channels.
Today’s brands recognize that when it comes to communication channels, honoring consumers’ preferences is paramount to a positive experience and continued loyalty. The key message is that consumer preferences are changing all the time and will often differ from one customer to the next. The march toward digital is undeniable, but print has a role to play too. Brands must get to know their customers on an individual level so they can continue to deliver the right communications, in the right format, at the right time, and with the right frequency.
In addition to the top-level findings highlighted here, our new direct marketing business research covers data privacy/regulations, the role of outsourcing, and artificial intelligence (AI). Survey results are broken out by vertical industry, number of employees, and marketing budget.
Subscribers to Keypoint Intelligence’s Customer Communications Advisory Service can access additional information, including brand new business and consumer research, on the evolving role of marketing communications. If you’re not a subscriber, contact us for more info by clicking here.