Email marketing has been a significant trend over the past few years. Many marketers are drawn to it because of the low (or non-existent) start-up costs. We agree that Email can be a useful and effective marketing tool. However, we think it’s important to understand its limitations. Email is great for in-house lists or if people opt-in for emails on your website. Purchased consumer email lists, on the other hand, aren’t as powerful. If you’re trying to grow your customer base, buying Direct Mail data is a better route. Unfortunately, many marketers fail to see this, which is why we’re comparing the efficacy of using consumer email lists versus direct mail data.

Accuracy
One of the biggest flaws of purchased consumer email lists is that it’s hard to guarantee their accuracy. The average consumer has several personal email addresses, which means that a list may not contain prospects’ primary emails. On the other hand, direct mail data is known for its accuracy. Direct mail databases are regularly updated, typically on a monthly or weekly basis. Also, people don’t change their addresses that often (unlike emails, where people often create new accounts all the time). Basically, this means that if you buy your list from a reputable source, you won’t have to worry that the addresses or contact information are incorrect or inaccurate.

Consumer Preferences
Most consumers get hundreds of emails each day – bill reminders, bank statements, payment receipts, online order confirmations, newsletters, etc. Because of this, many hate getting unsolicited emails. They don’t want their inboxes to get so overcrowded that they don’t see an important email. Often they mark these unsolicited emails as spam. If you get marked as spam too many times, your domain could get blacklisted. A blacklisted IP means that your emails are more likely to bounce and get sent to the junk folder. Of course, you wouldn’t have to worry about this with direct mail. Some people do sign up for mail opt-out lists, but they wouldn’t be on your data list. Also, people are less likely to be annoyed by direct mail since they probably only get a few pieces of physical mail each day, compared to hundreds of emails daily.

Results
If that’s not enough to convince you that direct mail performs better than email, consider the results. A Data & Marketing Association study found that the direct mail response rate is 5.1%, compared to 0.6% for email. Some reasons why people respond more to direct mail than emails are that many don’t check their email regularly, abandon accounts because they get too many emails, and people are more likely to remember a piece of mail than an email.

Interested in making the switch to direct mail? Contact us today and we’ll help you find the right consumer data list for your needs.

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