Response Rates

Learn about Response Rates

A good direct mail response rate depends on several elements, starting with good data. Direct mailing lists are crucial components for campaign success, even if your design is excellent. A proper address list will best ensure your mailing performs well.

Your campaign’s general/geographic audience and any demographic filters should reflect the product or service you are promoting. More granular selections can often help your direct mail response rate by focusing on the most intimately relevant prospects. Drill down deeper into your data insights and/or house files in order to identify the ideal audience(s).

Hyper-targeting is also available for Neighbourhood Mail (formerly Unaddressed Admail). Troi Mailing Services can assist with both addressed and unaddressed solutions.

Canada Post’s recent neuromarketing studies confirm that people’s brains are programmed to notice and engage with direct mail, especially in the age of digital oversaturation. According to Canada Post’s whitepapers A Bias For Action, and Connecting For Action, respectively:

Direct mail achieves a 20% higher motivation response than digital campaigns. This research advises that direct mail is the more persuasive medium.

Consumers pay 39% more attention (time spent) to initiatives that incorporate both direct mail and digital touchpoints, versus single-media campaigns.

These whitepapers develop and help inform a more intelligent attitude towards direct mail. Canada Post calls it Smartmail Marketing^TM.

What is a good direct mail response rate?

The three key factors for a good direct mail response rate are: Audience, Offer and Design.

Some other factors that influence response rates are:

• Program type (loyalty, acquisition, etc.)
• Value (does your product/service have high or low value?)
• Easiness to respond or redeem the offer
• Seasonality trends
• Competition

The average direct mail response rate ranges from 1% to 3%. It can sometimes go as low as 0.25% for Neighbourhood Mail (formerly Unaddressed Admail), for high value products, or in competitive arenas.

In other cases, the response rate can increase significantly when mailing to current customers, and for wildly enticing offers.

What is a good direct mail offer?

Simply put, a good offer entices the consumer act immediately. It should be relevant to your audience, to your brand, and to the direct mail medium (like a flyer with perforated coupons for daily specials, for example). Your offer can either cost a little or a lot. Ask around in advance to verify that your offer has great perceived value.

Some types of good direct mail offers:

Free Gifts and Samples, Free Info, Contests, Discounts, Rebates, Free Sessions, Free Trials, Special Events, Offer Bundles, Membership Points, and Moneyback Guarantees.

Please call our Troi team at 1-866-486-9350 for more insights and solutions towards your specific direct mail goals.