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Can you compare direct mail to
electronic mail?
No. They’re not the same fruit.
Let’s take a look at the numbers in the most basic way. If a company
utilizes direct mail to advertise services, products, specials and
events, this is typical of what one mailing event might cost them:
Apples (direct
mail)
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Printing cost for
1000 6x4 postcards, 100 pound cover stock, file furnished, 4/4 color, 2
sides
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$548
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Postage cost to mail
1000 postcards
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$270
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Labor to label and
apply postage to postcards (4 hours at $10 per hour)
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$40
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TOTAL (not including
design work)
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$858
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With electronic communications, there’s no cost to print the postcard.
Once a basic design is developed, the new information is simply dropped
into place and it’s ready to go. So in our comparison certain line
items show zeros.
Oranges
(electronic mail)
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Printing cost for 1000 6x4 postcards, 100
pound cover stock, file furnished, 4/4 color, 2 sides
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$0
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Cost to e-mail 1000 postcards
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$450
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Labor to label and apply postage to
postcards (4 hours at $10 per hour)
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$0
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TOTAL (not including design work)
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$450
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But what this comparison doesn’t show is the benefits available only to
electronic marketing:
- Determine how many people are opening
your communications.
- Track what links are followed and learn
what customers are really interested in.
- Know who your customers are forwarding to.
- Allow customers to segment themselves
into different interest groups.
- Have nearly instant turnaround from
decision to communicate to implementation.
Check out our list
of 11 reasons why you need to use electronic relationship marketing.
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