Study Gives Insight Into Direct Mail/E-mail Consumption

Eighty-five percent of women between the ages of 25 and 44 read “snail mail” direct marketing pieces, while 53% of women in the same age bracket who have access to e-mail read e-mail marketing messages, according to new data from the Verttis Communications Customer Focus 2007 survey.

The study further found that exclusive deals and coupons boost direct mail’s effectiveness. Nearly three in four adults surveyed have replied to direct mail containing a “buy one, get one free” offer. Separately, 63% have responded to direct mail collateral offering a percentage discount on merchandise, up from 54% in 2005.

Among the study’s other findings:

* 46% of adults visited a store or Web site, called an 800 number or responded by mail to a direct mail piece, compared with 47% that did so in 2003. But Hispanics saw significant increases in actions take, from 38% that performed at least one response in 2003 to 54% that did so this year.

* While 45% percent of total adults are open to receiving personalized follow-up e-mails, younger men and women seem to be more responsive to this tactic, with 52% of men ages 25-34 and 56% of women the same age stating e-mail is an acceptable form of follow-up communication

* Text messaging was the most-desired method of follow-up communication in younger men ages 18-24, with 23% desiring contact via this channel from a company they are interested in, compared to 5% of women the same age

*Adults’ level of comfort with providing credit card numbers online has steadily increased throughout the years, with 42% of total adults being “very” or “somewhat comfortable” in 2007, up from 32% in 2003

* Conversely, 40% of adults in 2007 indicate they are not at all comfortable providing credit card information online, down from 52% in 2003

Vertis surveyed 2,500 adults via phone during August/September 2006.