Introduction
It’s 2010, and marketing departments everywhere are planning out their strategies for the year ahead. 2009 was a tough year for many companies, who were forced to make do with smaller budgets. However, sometimes reduced direct marketing budgets result in greater efficiencies. Many of the predicted trends for direct marketing in 2010 build on the efficiencies, experiences, and best practices of 2009.
This paper provides some insight into some trends that are expected in direct marketing for 2010, including specific trends related to lists, direct mail, and
email marketing, based on the predictions of direct marketing industry experts.
Trends in List Marketing
Direct marketing resources are pushing several new trends in 2010. These trends focus on taking advantage of data and efficiencies to get a better ROI on direct marketing activities, whether it’s direct mail or email.
More Robust List Content
The success of the marketing efforts of any company is directly related to the quality of their lists. By knowing as much as possible about their leads, companies can tailor their efforts to provide the highest probability of turning a lead into a sale.
There are two major trends in list-based marketing that will grow in 2010:
• Increased Detail in List Content – Companies will be looking for data beyond gender, age, and contact information. New data fields such as marital status, hobbies, past purchases, and ethnic information will be included in lists in 2010.1
• Using Detailed Lists to Perform Targeted Campaigns – Companies will take the increased detail found in marketing lists and use the data to create more targeted marketing campaigns. These campaigns will focus on specific demographics or other factors, rather than blanketing the whole list with the same marketing campaign. A report by the Winterberry Group reported that the “organizations struggling hardest are those that have depended most heavily on batch blast style mailings that use the mail as a saturation tool with little or no regard for rich personalization or the particular needs of the individual recipient.” For example, leads above a certain income level may see one approach, while leads under that income level may see a different approach.
Rebound in List Marketing
According to DMNews, list marketing saw a downturn in 2009 as companies reduced the number and scope of their mailings. In turn, businesses were renting fewer lists. Even though email marketing is continuing to grow, marketers still see value in direct mail marketing and list marketing. As companies look to integrate email and direct mail, they will be looking to rent lists that provide multiple modes of contact, such as a mailing address plus an email address or a phone number.
In addition, companies will take advantage of the content of more detailed lists to perform targeted mail campaigns to specific demographics within the list. According to Jay Schwedelson, corporate VP at Worldata, “Instead of mailing 100,000 names, they’ll mail the top 5,000 or 2,000 highest-performing customers.”
Trends in Direct Mail Marketing
Although direct mail volume has shrunk in recent years, new technology and
tactics will allow direct mail to experience a bit of a rebound in 2010.
Improved Print and Production
According to DMNews, the shift from analog to digital printing methods has dramatically changed the printing and production of direct mail campaigns. Digital technologies provide greater flexibility to companies in terms of designing marketing pieces and faster turnaround in printing.4
In addition, digital printing methods result in less waste and reduced inventory, both of which save the company money and help the company embrace “green” concepts.
