The USPS® Direct Mail Report
The USPS Delivers™ Direct Mail Usage Report
Brand marketers want their fingers on the pulse. It’s how they read their customers and their competition. It can also be a guide in volatile markets to encourage recovery and help them thrive.
With most channels, that data is easy to find, but information on direct mail has always been less accessible. Until now.
Working with Forrester Research, USPS Delivers spoke to 324 marketing decision-makers across four major industries: automotive, financial services, travel and retail.
The survey uncovered a wealth of new information to show just how today’s marketers are using mail:
- Postcards dominated the finance world.
- Email was the preferred channel for coordination in travel.
- And digitally enhanced mail topped innovations across the board.
Together, the insights compiled in this report help create a template for marketers to maximize their direct mail output. From spend to format, customer journey stages to actions driven, the latest direct mail data has arrived. [1]
Automotive Trends
Direct Mail Tactics Driving the Auto Industry
For marketers in this high-octane industry, direct mail has been a dominant channel. See how they’re targeting new customers and purchase-ready recipients through cohesive omni-channel campaigns.
Average Spend
Direct mail nets nearly a third of overall media budget.
Popular Formats
Newsletters and postcards take the lead.
% of automotive marketers leveraged
How do you measure direct mail success?
The real question is how many people bring that [post]card into a car dealership, and that’s the number that really matters. There’s a dedicated QR Code®[2] and phone number that goes into customer CRM that will guarantee attribution goes to us.
Chief strategy officer at an automotive company
Innovations
Digital enhancements and retargeting cinch the win.
Customer Journey Stage
Marketers opt for awareness, interest and purchase campaigns.
Data highlights the channel's importance in capturing and ultimately converting first-time customers.
Digital Channel Coordination
Marketers aligned mail with emails most often.
Actions Driven
Customers steered online or to purchase.
Automotive
Key Takeaway
Not surprisingly, marketers are pairing direct mail with digital to boost efficacy. A majority are turning to innovations to do just that. Digital enhancements and CTAs have proven to be major drivers in this industry.
Financial Services Trends
Financial Firms Invest in Direct Mail
Financial firms have long turned to direct mail to reach prospects and customers. Learn the ways they’re employing its popular formats and innovations to propel customers down the funnel.
Average Spend
Direct mail accounts for nearly a third of overall media budget.
Popular Formats
Wall Street and Main Street love sending postcards.
% of financial services marketers leveraged
What role does direct mail play for you?
The ultimate goal is you want someone to invest capital and get an investment strategy. The first thing that you want them to do is read [the direct mail piece] and understand the message involved, and then the next one’s going to be some expression of interest.
We also [send mail] for retention and ... we send weekly investment commentaries or topical updates in the marketplace
Senior managing director at a financial services company
Innovations
Digital enhancements make gains.
Customer Journey Stage
Marketers zero in on interest campaigns.
Top of the funnel campaigns prove to be the most critical junctures for direct mail usage.
Digital Channel Coordination
Marketers aligned mail with web visits most often.
Actions Driven
Customers guided online or to apps.
Financial Services
Key Takeaway
The numbers make it clear. Financial companies often focus on prospects at the top of the funnel. Their bottom line? To lead recipients to the firm’s website and drive them to download their apps.
Travel Trends
Direct Mail Goes the Distance in the Travel Industry
In the travel space, direct mail has proven to be a first-class driver of engagement. Discover how it puts the channel to use in the hopes of converting customers.
Average Spend
Direct mail hovers at a quarter of overall media budget.
Popular Formats
Postcards are front and center.
% of travel marketers leveraged
What role does direct mail play for you?
Any program I am aligned with, there's usually a high dollar value associated with it – and we want to ensure we [are able to] measure the impact. And direct mail, it surprised me honestly, but it was impactful.
With digital campaigns we typically saw something like a 3 percent response rate – that’s within target. But with direct mail we were seeing 7 percent – in that range. That’s a pretty good deal for us.
Vice president, strategic consulting at a travel company
Innovations
Digitally enhanced mail takes flight.
Customer Journey Stage
Marketers target purchases above all else.
Conversion, conversion, conversion. Bottom funnel campaigns are the most popular in this industry.
Digital Channel Coordination
Marketers aligned mail with emails most often.
Actions Driven
Customers navigated to websites and physical locations.
Travel
Key Takeaway
Whether boosting landing page visits, phone calls or RSVPs, the channel has been a boon to the travel industry. Heavy users of direct mail innovations, this group values the efficacy and channel coordination they afford.
Retail Trends
The Biggest Direct Mail Trends in the Retail World
In retail, where loyalty programs are ubiquitous, direct mail remains a classic. Explore all the ways it has become a strategic marketing channel for this industry.
Average Spend
Direct mail nabs nearly a quarter of overall media budget.
Popular Formats
Postcards and newsletters top the list.
% of retail marketers leveraged
What role does direct mail play for you?
With direct mail, it’s just a more personalized touch, whether as part of an insert in a package or just as a one-off, it’s much more personal than email or those other channels.
And people are so saturated today, and brands and companies are so focused on them that they really tune out the noise, but not as much with direct mail.
Global brand director at a retail company
Innovations
Digital enhancements and retargeting are a hit.
Customer Journey Stage
Purchase and awareness campaigns on trend.
Retail marketers leverage direct mail to nurture potential customers and drive conversion.
Digital Channel Coordination
Retailers aligned mail with web visits most often.
Actions Driven
Companies to customers: Shop, shop, shop.
Retail
Key Takeaway
Attention marketers: Shoppers are most often targeted with purchase campaigns featuring digitally enhanced mail. By adopting direct mail innovations, brands are seeing an increase in response rates, making it a strategic marketing channel where they plan to increase spending.
Methodology
In this commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of USPS in April 2020, the research company interviewed 324 US decision-makers in marketing, with decision-making authority around direct mail marketing. They were asked the following questions:
Which statement best describes your organization’s current direct mail program as it applies to each of the following capabilities?
- Digitally enhanced mail
- Retargeted/programmatic direct mail
- Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking & Reporting
- Informed Delivery® notifications
Approximately what percent of your company’s media spend goes to each of the following channels?
- Direct mail
- Digital media (video/banner advertising, etc.)
- Organic Search/SEO
- Paid search
- Web visit
- Paid social
- Mobile app
- Mobile web
Approximately what percent of your direct mail budget do you spend against each of the following audiences?
- Existing customers who purchase frequently
- Prospects
- Existing customers who purchase infrequently
- Inactive customers
Which of the following types of direct mail are you sending to customers today?
- Newsletters
- Postcards
- Self-mailers
- Packages
- Catalogs
Which of the following kinds of customer action does your organization try to drive with direct mail today?
- Website visits
- Purchases
- Program signup
- Store visits
- App downloads
Which of the following objectives does your organization use direct mail for today?
- Awareness
- Interest
- Win back customers
- Purchase
- Drive loyalty
- Consideration
- Post-purchase cross-sell, upsell or repeat purchase
Which of the following digital channels do you coordinate (i.e., send mail or send digital content depending on engagement with the other) with your direct mail campaigns today?
- Digital media (video, banner advertising, etc.)
- Web visit
- Mobile app
- Paid social
- Mobile web
- Organic search/SEO
- Paid search
Which answer choice best describes your view on how valuable each capability would be for your organization?
- Informed Delivery® Notifications
- Programmatic direct mail
- Digitally enhanced mail
- Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking & Reporting
What types of actions are you looking to drive with your direct mail campaigns?
- Web visit
- Store visit
- Program signup
- App download
- Purchase
Answers to these questions were then analyzed and visualized for the purposes of this 2020 report.
Footnotes
- [1] “The USPS® Direct Mail Report,” based on a commissioned survey conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of MRM, April 2020. arrow_right_alt