I was recently asked by a magazine editor about the differences between snail mail and email. Is one replacing the other? Is one better or more effective than the other to accomplish my company’s corporate marketing objectives?
At JMG we use both email and snail mail effectively in reaching prospects. So it is not an either-or situation. It really depends on our communications objective. There is no question that the primary challenge with both methods is cutting through massive clutter. If messaging is not unique, relevant and motivating, it won’t matter how its delivered…it will not be effective.
Email
Email requires careful upfront planning for effective use. The sender has to be sure they are using proper authentication tools that help inbound-email servers classify which of the messages they receive are authentic and which are not. If receiving networks cannot verify the source domains can be blacklisted. Consequently emails sent are not delivered. Then there are opt-in opt-out issues that must be addressed. On to the subject line. A good subject line (unique, relevant and motivating) is the most important driver of open rates. Once opened content is key.
For simple messaging, short copy can work. For more involved messages or newsletters, longer copy is involved. The more personal the relationship with the prospect, the more likely it is that longer copy will get read. Call to action. We typically want to drive a prospect to our website or a microsite on a given topic. That way we can track interest in our topic and do personal follow-ups with prospects who show interest in our message. Finally there’s integration. Email campaigns should be consistent and integrated with other digital efforts…Twitter, website, likepages, etc. to be most effective. Email is definitely not a one trick pony.
Snail Mail
Most of our snail mail efforts to prospects have one major objective: To reinforce our creativity as a company. So snail mail for the most part is limited to dimensional mailers that stand out and beg to be opened. Inside there is a something unique that reinforces the message we are trying to convey. For example, several years ago we pitched an aviation client who thought that the biggest challenge they had was the managing the complexity of the markets they served. So we sent them a dimensional mailer that contained two three dimensional airplane puzzles…one in pieces and one already built. The message on the top of the box said, "We understand that your business is made up of many different parts."
When the box was opened, the recipient saw a bunch of loose parts in a tray.
Removing the parts they saw another message, "But we’re confident we can figure out how they all work together."
When the tray was lifted from the box a fully assembled airplane was revealed.
This mailer proved to be a very intrusive and engaging approach which addressed the prospect’s biggest challenge.
Another technology we have used for our clients that has made snail mail more effective is the ability to personalize and customize messaging to prospects with variable data printing. This highly personalized approach allows for high quality brochures, mailers and postcards to have much more impact because each mail piece is not only personalized with the recipient’s name, but may also include copy that speaks to their special interests. Once again there should be a call-to-action to a website, a personalized URL or toll free number so tracking can be monitored.
In summary both methods have a reason to exist as part of any marketing program. The challenge is to carefully evaluate the big picture communications objective and then determine the best strategic and tactical elements to deploy based on available budgets. Obviously email is generally less expensive to implement since there is no print production or postage involved. But there could be a strong rationale to spend extra dollars on snail mail to impact high value targets. So, for best results always choose your mail-weapon carefully.
What’s worked best for you?