Americans are TIRED of digital media. Years of being mostly stuck inside with little aside from digital media to quell our boredom could result in little else. Even B2B buyers are tired of them. “For too long marketers viewed customer attention as a cheap, exploitable resource, leading to a customer attention deficit,” says Forrester in a recent report. Now, no one is saying that digital ads don’t still have their uses. But you need to get creative with how you get your client’s potential B2B customers to notice and pay attention to them. That, Forrester says, is where B2B direct mail ads can come in handy.

Digital Fatigue Drives B2B Direct Mail

Direct Mail’s Impact

According to Forrester, B2B direct mail ads could be the cure to digital fatigue. During the pandemic, 80% of marketers say that their reliance on digital touchpoints grew. Another 76% of marketers also say that, now, consumer engagement with their digital ads is dropping.

The way to get consumers to interact with digital ads is to create an omnichannel marketing strategy that includes B2B direct mail ads. Forrester reports the attitudes B2B businesspeople have toward direct mail:

They’re more likely to open packages they receive at work or that are obviously work-related as opposed to regular mail: 81% of B2B buyers agree
B2B marketers say that their analog touchpoints such as direct mail have been performing better year-over-year: 78%

Overall, “direct mail improves efficiency and effectiveness of use cases across customer lifecycle,” says Forrester.

Making Direct Mail Ads Effective

Your client can’t just send anything in the mail and expect it to drive engagement. Successful B2B direct mail ads are personalized, the same as with other advertising media. Yet, only 17% of B2B marketers personalize their direct mail ads. Why? The main reason is that marketers believe that they can’t measure the outcomes of direct mail marketing efforts.

One way to solve this dilemma is by using SaaS-based direct mail platforms. “Modern, SaaS-based direct mail platforms marry the measurement, orchestration, and optimization traditionally associated with digital marketing with the analog engagement that direct mail can deliver,” says Forrester. The benefits of taking this hybrid approach to B2B direct mail ads include the ability to:

“Scale direct mail delivery up or down based on budget or financial requirements
Automate mail creation and delivery tied to buyer purchase signals and behavior
Tie direct mail planning and execution to buyer journey insights
Orchestrate direct mail with other buyer touchpoints and marketing channels
Know when sent mail has been delivered so we can time experience delivery against customer signals
Measure and optimize direct mail through existing marketing technologies
Scale direct mail delivery up or down to suit the campaign”

The key to effective B2B direct mail ads is the hybrid component that allows for personalization.

Future Direct Mail Investment

Since B2B direct mail ad efforts are yielding good results, many marketers plan to increase its portion of their ad budget going forward. So far in 2022, over 50% have already increased their direct mail ad spending. And in 2023, 69% of marketers says that they plan to increase their direct mail ad spending. 18% of marketers will increase their B2B direct mail budgets by 20% or more next year.

Direct Mail and Your Client’s Target Audience

Not sure how well your client’s target audience interacts with direct mail? You can find the answer as well as more information on their views on direct mail ads on their audience profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. Compare that data with digital media engagement and you have your client set with the beginnings of a hybrid direct mail campaign!

Photo by Handy Wicaksono