With the focus of marketing strategies nowadays tending to lean towards digital marketing, given the rising influence of these online platforms as successful marketing channels, it can be easy for direct mail to become redundant. In reality, direct mail continues to be a successful and effective channel for communicating marketing efforts and can be further strengthened when integrated alongside multi-channel marketing strategies. In this blog post, we will explain what exactly is direct mail and how it can be combined with a variety of further marketing strategies such as digital marketing, and consequently become an influential tool for businesses to utilise.

What is Direct Mail?

Direct mail is a traditional marketing strategy used by businesses all around the world. It is a physical form of communication between the business and the customer which involves sending and receiving mail. This mail can take the form of brochures, leaflets, catalogues, postcard marketing and more, delivering these items directly to the customer. Businesses send this mail to customers that fit their target market, data-driven information that is acquired through segmentation strategies. The initial stages of preparation, from concept to ensuring seamless direct mail production, are crucial for a successful outcome.

Despite being a very traditional, and some may argue an ‘outdated’ marketing approach, direct mail continues to prove effective for businesses. The tangibility and permanence of a physical item means it stands out in an overwhelmed digital world. Direct mail connects to the consumer like no other marketing strategy. Where it can be easy to delete and not read an email or scroll past a promotional social media post, direct mail delivers this same content to the customer’s physical hand making it undeniably effective. However, its effectiveness is intrinsically linked to two key factors: great design and clean data. Marketers must ensure they design their mailers to grab attention, and critically, maintain best practices for data hygiene to maximise deliverability and relevance.

Is Direct Mail a Successful Marketing Channel?

The traditional marketing tool, direct mail, remains a successful marketing channel for many businesses on a global scale. Studies show that direct mail gets a better response than alternative digital channels such as email marketing. For instance, campaigns utilising house lists achieve a powerful 4.9% response rate, which significantly outweighs the typical response rates seen from digital channels. The latest data further reveals rising engagement, with consumers spending a considerable amount of time interacting with mail, solidifying its place as a key communication tool. It’s clear when we look at direct mail vs. email which channel wins in 2025 for cutting through the noise.

Direct mail is also successful when assessing its return on investment (ROI). According to recent industry reports, direct mail generates an average ROI of 29%, a figure that often surpasses paid search and online display advertising. This financial performance underscores the channel's efficacy, proving it is not just surviving but thriving in the digital era. This high customer engagement rate, paired with its financial performance, evidences direct mail as highly effective. 

Maximising Response and ROI Through Testing

Achieving the best possible return on investment requires a strategic approach that involves continuous testing and refinement. Modern direct mail campaigns should leverage the principles of A/B testing in direct mail, experimenting with different offers, creative formats, and segmentation strategies to identify what drives the highest conversion. Furthermore, the true profitability of a campaign relies heavily on efficient distribution. By working with a mailing house that can secure significant postal discounts, brands can drastically lower their cost-per-acquisition, making that 29% ROI figure even more compelling. This careful management of both creative impact and logistical cost is the cornerstone of a high-performing direct mail strategy.

What is a Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy?

A multi-channel marketing strategy, also called omni-channel marketing, involves leveraging multiple marketing channels, those traditional and more modern, to reach and engage with a business’s customer base. Examples of channels that can be integrated into this multi-channel strategy include social media, email, print ads, direct mail and more. This integrated strategy aims to create a seamless experience for customers across a range of touch points, to increase brand visibility and consequently drive sale conversions.

Combining Traditional & Digital Marketing Efforts

Although digital marketing efforts have revolutionised the way that brands engage with customers, making these interactions more accessible than ever, traditional marketing efforts retain significant value. The flexibility of modern digital printing allows for small, targeted campaigns that feel personal and can be timed perfectly to align with digital touch points. By combining these two contrasting marketing channels, businesses can create a much more cohesive marketing strategy, one that maximises customer reach and the impact of these marketing campaigns. This approach bridges any gaps between offline and online interactions.

How Can Direct Mail be Used Within a Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy?

Direct mail plays a crucial role in carrying out a successful multi-marketing strategy and can both complement and enhance digital channels. Some of the ways that direct mail can be used within a multi-channel marketing strategy are as follows:

Target non-responders

An area where digital marketing efforts such as email marketing can fall short, concerns low response rates. This can be due to several reasons, such as the high volume of email marketing received by customers daily. Therefore, integrating direct mail into this strategy can be a great way to target these non-responders. A physically packaged item, expertly handled by services like envelope enclosing, is almost guaranteed to be seen, providing a crucial second touchpoint when the digital one failed.

Cross-promotion

Direct mail can be used as an opportunity to drive digital traffic. Encouraging direct mail recipients to engage with online platforms will have an overall positive impact on business performance. Including vouchers and promotional codes in direct mail encourages recipients to visit websites and make online purchases.

Brand reinforcement

As a tangible piece of promotional material, direct mail serves as a direct reminder of a brand’s presence. If this similar presence can be supported by digital platforms, this cohesive branding can reinforce brand awareness. 

Increase engagement rates

Print marketing has been shown to perform better at sticking in consumers’ brains. Research shows that print marketing engages the brain in a different way to digital marketing, showing how this integrated approach will encourage greater and deeper engagement.

Tips for Multi-Channel Marketing

When implementing a multi-channel marketing strategy that integrates direct mail, businesses should consider the following to maximise the effectiveness of this approach:

1. Provide accessible links between on and offline platforms

A great way to seamlessly integrate direct mail and digital marketing is through QR codes. Including this small addition to direct mail, customers are taken directly onto online platforms, which encourages a cohesive brand experience. For advice on implementation, review the best practices for integrating QR codes into direct mail campaigns to ensure seamless tracking and a great user experience.

2. Track and measure results

Using analytic and tracking tools is key for performance monitoring. Identifying the areas customers are engaging with allows you to refine your multi-channel strategy and optimise this with data-driven insights.

3. Experimentation

In order to achieve the best results from your multi-channel marketing strategy, it is important to try a range of formats, messages and channel contributions to identify what resonates best with your audience.

The Advantages of Using Direct Mail

There are several advantages associated with using direct mail in a multi-channel marketing strategy:

• High response rates - As demonstrated, direct mail’s high response rates positively influence customer base size and engagement.
• Tangibility - Direct mail offers a physical touchpoint that digital alternatives cannot replicate. 
• Personalisation - Direct mail provides an opportunity for highly personalised messaging through market segmentation and targeting.
• Offline integration - This traditional form of marketing seamlessly integrates a business’s online presence with its offline presence, creating a holistic marketing strategy.

Create & Send Direct Mail with DMS

At DMS, we understand how important it is to create engaging and professional direct mail, and the impact this can have on the success of a marketing campaign. We offer a fully personalised service across a range of direct mail options such as mailshots and postcard marketing, combined with our experienced team to help you deliver a successful direct mail campaign. We know how crucial it is for direct mail to be data-driven which is why we also offer an accurate and rapid data capture and response service.

To optimise your overall marketing strategy, integrate direct mail for a professional and engaging multi-channel strategy. Get in touch today for a free quote.