Dimensional Mail Makes an Impact. Use It to Your Greatest Advantage.
Attractive and exciting, dimensional mail makes an undeniable impact in the mailbox. But are 3D mailers just impressive, or do they really produce results? The research is hard to ignore: Dimensional mail is not just effective; it is arguably a better way to connect than any other form of direct mail outreach. Let’s look at why dimensional mailers are a highly effective way to grab attention, tell an important story, deepen relationships, and multiply your return rate.
Grab Attention
The immediate goal of any direct mail campaign is to get people to read your messaging. Which brings us to the first reason to use a dimensional mailer instead of traditional mail or postcards: People open them. According to the 2017 Direct Marketing Association’s Response Rate Report, dimensional mail campaigns with prospect mailing lists get average response rates of 5.3 percent.
You can intuit the reason this is the case. Pick up a stack of mail and you’ll find mostly standard envelopes, a postcard or two, and, rarely, an oversize envelope with your insurance policy or something. If there’s a tube in there, or a pop-up booklet, or a box – you (or your gatekeeper) will see it. You will examine it. If the sender has followed best practices in design, you’ll probably turn it over and read any messages on it. You will almost certainly open it.
Remind Folks That They Matter
Beyond that, a dimensional mailer will contain something truly special that your recipients will see and use every day. That reminder of you and your team’s creativity cultivates a different level of relationship in a way that traditional mail doesn’t do.
Since a dimensional mailer can captivate and delight your audience, this medium affords an excellent opportunity to communicate directly with your most valuable customers and leads, to deliver your most important messages, and, most important, to elicit action. Those statistics on open and response rates are compelling, but so is the human factor: Who isn’t more likely to respond positively to a request when the asker has just given them a nice little gift? Dimensional mail promises the short-term payoff of high response rate, but it reminds your recipients that they matter – and that is what generates long-term value.
Add Value and Win Response
The flip side of that is that not every one of your clients and prospects is a VIP. By nature, it’s a selective status. (It would also be quite expensive to do a dimensional mail campaign for every one of your constituents.) A dimensional mailer shows the recipient they are valued because you’ve made this investment in them. As such, it also showcases the potential of their investing in their relationship with you.
Ultimately, the purpose of any mail campaign is to generate a level of interest that leads to action. Because dimensional mail gives you the highest ROI, it’s a great strategy for lead conversion and for bringing existing customers to the next level by boosting their motivation not only to visit your website but also to pick up the phone or book an appointment with you. And when they do, they may already feel a stronger affinity with your company, be more engaged with your brand, and more open to your services and offerings.
Find out how dimensional mail fits into your direct marketing strategy. Contact us to get started.
About Katrina Denk
Possessing over 10 years of experience leading strategic and tactical marketing efforts of some of the area’s most respected businesses, Marketing Director Katrina Denk brings a wide breadth of knowledge to every initiative she oversees. Whether it’s a product launch or a multi-touch email campaign, she understands all the ins and outs of the marketing mix. In her free time, Katrina is an enthusiastic world traveler and animal lover.