Borrell Predicts Demise of Direct Mail, Rise of Email

Email Marketing

Businesses are abandoning paper-based direct mail in favor of email, according to new research from Borrell Associates.

One key advantage of email over direct mail is more metrics can be measured. When an email marketing message is sent, the sender can determine (roughly) how many people opened the email, what links were clicked on and how often, and even if the message was forwarded.

With direct mail you can track calls received, but then again, that’s as long as you and your staff make the effort to note the origin of each received call. For a small business that can be a tall order! On the other hand, tracking email metrics is vastly easier.

For these reasons (and more) many businesses are switching to email marketing according to Borrell Associates. In the study published May 2009, Borrell Associates reports direct mail efforts will decline nearly 40% over the next five years from an annual spend of $49.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion by the end of 2013.

Borrell Associates also found more coupons and catalogs are being distributed digitally which will continue to spur local email advertising.

How much of your marketing budget is spent on direct mail? It’s always better to start building your email list now rather than later.