KJS We Are Direct Mail

For many years now the assumption has been that digital marketing is the future and print is taking second or even third place as a marketing tool. However, there are continuous signs of consumers experiencing digital fatigue. You only have to check your inbox to see how many marketing e-mails you receive. How many of these do you actually take the time to open and read, or pass on to friends and family?

This digital fatigue of consumers offers people who favour print as a marketing tool an opportunity to stand out from the crowd, strengthen their company’s brand and acquire new customers. Here are 8 reasons why print rules:

1. Print breaks through digital noise

Research revealed in 2017 business users sent or received 121 emails each day. These emails originated from the 269 billion sent out daily from the 3.7 billion worldwide email users.

Whichever way you look at it this, it's a lot of digital noise. Printed marketing collateral can cut through this noise and and get your message noticed.

2. Print evokes strong emotions

With less physical mail hitting the mailbox than the number of emails that hit your inbox, printed matter can have a stronger emotional appeal than emails. 56% of consumers feel print is the most trustworthy form of communication and 70% believe printed mail makes them feel more valued.

As well as trusting printed material, it also stays in consumer’s memories longer, making it easier to remember when deciding to buy.

It has been known for some years that, contrary to some people’s opinion, people do not ignore leaflets that hit their doormat. 27% of mail stays in the home for over four weeks and is read and revisited on average 4 times. Many people even have special places in their home where they keep the leaflets to be read at some time in the future.

3. Print supports digital media

Although we may all be suffering from digital marketing overload, it does not mean it can be ignored. Digital media is a valuable channel and part of our everyday lives. Pivotal to any future business success is a multichannel approach to marketing. Print is the natural channel to work alongside digital, it's a great tool for driving prospective customers to a website to make a purchase or to raise social media engagement.

The key is ensuring make sure you have a strong and compelling CTA on your marketing piece.

4. Print strengthens branding

Given that 70% of people who receive direct mail and print advertising open it, and 79% of it is read for a minute or more, printed leaflets are an excellent way of strengthening your company’s brand and keeping your TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness) high.

Whether you choose to use postcard mailings, leaflets, or brochures, print and direct mail will keep your business at the top of your customer’s mind and can stand our more than sending out thousands of emails. However, you have to make sure your leaflets are well produced and aimed at the correct target market.

And, how the item is produced can reflect your brand, and the message you want to give. Whether you print on coated or uncoated paper stock, use a standard size format or have a die cut/bespoke shape or size, with print there's no better way to portray your brand message.

5. Print is engaging

Consumers want to feel special and print and direct campaigns can make that happen.

A well-planned campaign, aimed at a specific target audience will engage a prospect far more than a generic email. If your message is relevant to your readers, they will not discard your leaflet. With digital print,  personalised direct mail can reach far beyond just printing a variable name. Images, colours, messages, offers and promotions can all be bespoke to each recipient.

6. Print establishes trust

Research shows that many people perceive a message printed on paper is more trustworthy than a digital message on screen.

There is a myth that milllennials ignore print and only react to messages they receive online, but research has found that 88% of this audience actually feel something printed on paper is more official than digital. Over half of young people referred to as ‘millennials’ ignore digital ads and consider a printed message more trustworthy than an electronic one.

7. Paper and print is leading the way on sustainability

The European paper industry is a world-leader when it comes to sustainably-sourced raw materials, renewable energy and recycling rates.

Paper is a uniquely renewable and sustainable product. The main raw material, wood, is grown and harvested in a carefully controlled and sustainable way – so sustainable, in fact, that European forests, where most of the raw material comes from, have grown by an area the size of Switzerland in just 10 years. At KJS, all our stock paper is FSC/PEFC certified, ensuring the paper you use has come from a sustainable forest source.

We also invest in the latest technology to ensure our production methods have minimal impact on the environment. From keeping everything under one roof to reduce carbon footprint, to the state of the art machinery so we can offer our customers choices and carbon offsetting our paper purchases, to how we dispose of waste, all contribute to ensuring we print and mail in a sustainable way.

Whilst we can take responsibility of our own actions on sustainability, the environmental impacts of our ever-increasing digital world cannot be ignored. The ICT industry accounts for around 2.5-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and this is predicted to rise to 14% by 2040. So when it comes to communication many organisations are using greenwash statements in a misleading manner which can lead to a misconception about print and paper.

8. Print triggers a response

When all the reasons mentioned above are combined, it's not surprising the 31% of addressed advertising mail results in commercial action.

Print, and in particular, direct mail, has a physical presence, it has been found to have a more powerful effect on long-term memory than email and TV advertising, and stays in the home and revisited more than other channels.

Don't believe us? Give print a go and test your marketplace!

To find out how we can work with you in creating successful printed marketing material, give us a call today on 01733 342 321.