Direct mail and e-mail still top the list of most used media for business-to-business marketers, according to a new survey from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
According to the DMA’s 2010 Response Rate Report, released in mid June, direct mail and e-mail were each used by 67% of B-to-B services respondents. What other popular media was top of the list for B-to-B marketers? View the chart at right or click here for a larger view.
Trailing with less than 5% each were DRTV (4%), mobile (4%) and fax (1%).
B-to-B Response Rates Higher
One hundred fifty-three of the 473 respondents identified themselves as B-to-B, representing the largest vertical in the study, conducted via e-mail this spring.
Yory Wurmser, DMA research manager, says one of the biggest surprises for him in the B-to-B data was the fact that B-to-B response rates for direct mail overall were higher than B-to-C. The average response to a B-to-B housefile letter-sized envelope mailing was 4.28%, versus 3.03% for B-to-C.
Looking at dimensional mailings (non-flats in boxes or large packages, often containing samples or gifts), the gap was even wider: the average housefile response in B-to-B was a whopping 8.51%, compared to only 3.52% for B-to-C.
This could be because consumer-targeted mailings are typically geared to generate sales while B-to-B pieces are often focused more on lead generation, says Wurmser. “That could explain the higher response rate.”
The continued popularity of the mail in B-to-B didn’t surprise Wurmser.
“Direct mail is still a workhorse,” he notes, adding that while volumes might dip, budgets for direct mail will likely remain flat or even inch up a bit.
The majority of B-to-B services respondents (63%) used two-to-five customer segments for their average mailing; 27% didn’t segment, 6% used more than five segments and only 4% were doing personalized mailings.
The typical desired outcome to a B-to-B services mailing was a direct sale for 35% while 29% cited driving a prospect to a Web site for more information. Other outcomes included:
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