Target the CEO of the mail

New opportunities are emerging in direct mail marketing. Some are due to technology, and privacy laws. The improvements in database management have helped marketers target better prospects. The do-not-call list and spam e-mail have forced many businesses to redirect marketing dollars and embrace direct mail.

The growth of direct mail has encouraged more market research. George Hurst, the Brand Manager for USPS, provided some interesting statistics at the National PCC Day and Expo. The Mail Moment is a research study that the USPS performed recently. “People do it every day”, said Hurst. “They bring in their mail.” What happens during that mail moment is crucial to the success of direct mail offers. Here is what they found.

• 98% of consumers bring their mail into the home the same day it is delivered.
• 72% of consumers bring the mail in at the first opportunity, when they first get home or when the mail arrives.
• 77% of consumers sort their mail immediately.
• 75% value the privacy of their mail.
• 63% said an interesting looking piece caused them to open and read it.

Hurst said, “we need to start thinking of the person who empties the mailbox everyday, as the CEO of the Mail.” The person who sorts the mail and makes decisions, influences how or if it is read. That person in most households is female. That person in most businesses is female. If you want your direct mail piece sorted into the read pile, it better get the attention of the “CEO of the Mail.”

Finding out what will get the “CEO of the Mail” to put your mailpiece at the top of the read pile could be the next great breakthrough in direct mail success.