Recent findings by AccurateLeads discovered which outbound marketing channel consumers prefer to receive their advertisements. The findings were conclusive and revealed what many direct marketers already believed to be true.
Every day consumers receive marketing materials displaying fellow shopper references, telling them which service is the best, or product is superior. At the exact same time, businesses are working to outperform their competitor’s advertisements by varying mediums, messages, and deals offered. Over the past years the number of channels used for marketing purposes has substantially amplified. In days past companies basically had to choose between radio, mail, and television. Today, however, Americans are being advertised to through email, websites, blogs, online videos, smartphones, video games and more. This naturally begs the question: what are consumers most likely to pay attention to when they are being inundated with information?
In 2011, Epsilon, a multi-channel marketing service conducted a survey of roughly 2200 people to find out what type of marketing channel they preferred and were most likely to give attention to. The findings were consistent and surprising. In what seems to be an internet driven world, more than a third of the population still prefer direct mail. In fact 60% of those surveyed found going to the mailbox and receiving a piece of mail provided an emotional boost. This is especially true when the mail piece is personally addressed rather than “current resident” or the like. Those surveyed looked forward to seeing what they received in their physical mailbox, a characteristic not found in regard to email reception.
The survey revealed the reason such a large portion of the group favored advertising in the form of direct mail to email, social networking sites, or blogs was an overwhelming belief that mail is more trustworthy. Only roughly 6% of those asked found the internet to be a trustworthy source when provoked with an advertisement. To send out 5,000 emails marketers basically have to click a button but sending out 5,000 physical mail pieces take a little more legwork. The study reveals that even though the population may be turning more to the internet for information, they remain skeptical of the information being accurate.
AccurateLeads purpose is to analyze a business’s target market and provide the most prudent data available. We know just how successful a mail campaign can be when it reaches the right people. Entrepreneurs know that people can often be overwhelmed with the amount of digital advertising they receive in any given day. Consumers must weed through emails, video ads, pop ups, false information and many other obstacles before they reach their goal. Even if there is an ad that is substantial and interests the consumer, it will most likely become whitewash. This same group of people that are overwhelmed by digital ads stated they were much more likely to examine a postcard or brochure simply because of the manageable quantity.
Trends constantly resurface and economists can find cycles in nearly anything. It seems that at this point in time consumers are more open to a form of advertising that is more trustworthy and can provide more meaning. As the internet progresses, digital security improves, and search algorithms change this may notion may alter but for the time being research has revealed the preferred outbound marketing medium.
What is your preferred marketing medium?