Mail Or Email Marketing?
You may feel like it’s impossible to grab your patient’s attention, especially if every other practice is trying to do the same.
There is a strong argument for businesses to go back to more traditional marketing methods to grab the consumer’s attention, but in this digital world with social media and email marketing, is there room for the old ways like door drop campaigns?
Here at Software of Excellence, we have collated compelling evidence that postal mail ) could be a favourite method for dental practices to reach new and existing patients, compared to emailing.
We have run campaigns using both channels, tracked and measured the results and compared these to business usage across the UK.
This is what we found out when it comes to email versus direct mail:
Fighting out of the red corner, with an impressive 13.8 billion letters sent every year, with 17-day average lifespan, the paper powered, stamp collecting, the letterbox rattler, the paper cut king…. introducing the traditional style of marketing, THE MAIL.
When the mail hits your mat, it makes an impact! Direct mail generates a 4.4% response rate, compared to email’s average response rate of 0.12%.
This method may be slower than email but it has got a lot going for it. When it delivers its message, it’s not easily forgotten; with 75% of people who can recall the brand after receiving direct mail. Compared to its competitor, The Email who can easily be forgotten; a piece of mail around the home is a constant reminder.
Customers consider Mail perfect for formal, official, considered, believable, important, reliable, informative and personal way of communicating with consumers. It is also GDPR friendly which means it can slip those heavy blows to personal data but still needs to be careful on how to use that data.
Fighting out of the blue corner, with an average of 74 trillion emails sent every year, with only a mere 2 second average lifespan. The digital don, the inbox brawler, the fierce file sharer, the sonic, electronic mailing system, the subject line saboteur, introducing the modern master of messaging….THE EMAIL.
This lighting speed way of sending messages, that pack a powerful hook to knock your customers over. The email is not looking as good as it used to, after taking some heavy blows from GDPR, the email is a bit on the back foot.
Mail can generate 10% more customer enquiries than Email but Email boxes are being clever by collecting data to help improve its performance, finding ways to become leaner and sharper than Mail.
Email has gained a reputation of being spammy but by carrying a heavyweight of intellect with it, directing patients to fresh content and driving traffic to websites, it’s a quick way to respond and deliver a hard-hitting message.
People are calling Email quick, spontaneous, interesting, informative, smart and informal. With everybody having constant access to smart devices and having the ability to connect to the internet anywhere at any time, email certainly has the advantage when it comes to reach which is higher than Mail’s.
The Fight
– In this fight we put Mail and Email toe to toe, in this no hold barred brawl to find out who is the people’s choice of the preferred way to receive their messages.
Mail Throws the First Punch
– As you can see Mail is a strong contender, a real heavyweight when it comes to communicating the people’s message.
– According to our research patients prefer to receive Brochures, Loyalty rewards, Welcome Packs, Bills and Statements through the mail.
Email Knows How to Work the Ring
– Email is quick with the response, throwing counter attacks as quick as they come.
– Patients prefer to receive News and Updates, Follow Up messages, Information about other products and sharing new information via email.
– It’s near enough a straight split of preference when it comes to communicating Reminders, Issues and Complaints.
– As you can see from the information, these have given a great match.
The Decision
It’s a close fight, both sides put their heart and soul into it. The Judge’s decision is………
It’s a draw!
Both put up an impressive fight but it’s hard to call, both have their advantages and disadvantages, it depends on what you wish to achieve as a practice and what your budget is.
Have both of them fighting your corner, with 51% companies preferring to use a killer combination of mail and email.
With 56% of people who like to browse through both print and online content before making a purchase. Royal Mail research shows consumers want to choose their media and digest communication differently, depending on where they are, what they are doing, or their purpose.
Software of Excellence recommends using both methods to communicate with your customers, with Campaign Plus you can also run both forms of communication to reach new and existing customers, whilst measuring the impact.
Like we have said before it is tough out there to grab people’s attention, so if you want to make sure you win your marketing battle, then make sure you keep up to date with our latest blog content.
If you have found this blog interesting, then take a look at our infographic about Email vs Mail.
