When asked about the likelihood of buying a product or service from a mailpiece versus a telephone solicitation, U.S. consumers who respond to direct marketing stated a preference for mail by a four to one margin (74% for direct mail versus 18.5% for telemarketing.
This was the finding of a national study commissioned by Pitney Bowes Mailing Systems, a division of Pitney Bowes Inc.
This preference for mail over telemarketing is supported by the fact that 76.5% of the respondents feel that direct mail offers the best information to base a decision on. Furthermore, nearly 56% of the consumers surveyed feel that mail is more convenient that telemarketing when placing an order.
Nearly half, 49.3% of the consumers surveyed, said that most of the direct mail they receive is informative and/or entertaining, while only 13.9% of consumers said the same for telemarketing calls. In fact, nearly 74% of the consumers interviewed found the telemarketing calls they received to be “annoying. “
The survey was conducted by International Communications Research by telephone in August among 485 U.S. households that have ordered goods or services as a direct result of responding to a mailpiece, a telemarketing solicitation, or both.
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