Direct response marketing has grown beyond its roots in traditional mail order to embrace a host of new technologies, customer relationship-building techniques and performance measures. Today, businesses and nonprofits of all kinds use direct marketing, which now garners 25% of the U.S. marketer’s budget, surpassing newspapers and broadcast TV.
In a 2011 case study three significant-sized charities reported the following data:
#1: Percentage of donations secured from first time donors attributable to different media: 76% direct-mail, 13% social media, notably Facebook and YouTube feeds their web sites, 8% email, 3% miscellaneous;
#2: Percentage of donations secured from present and prior and prior donors: 63% direct-mail, 9% printed newsletters. (Added together = 72%). 11% email and their web sites, 9% at live events, promoted by all media, 20% other online media and 2% miscellaneous;
#3: Percentage of internal resources devoted to work on different media-admittedly, their best estimates: 60% social media, 20% other online media, 10% events, 10% direct-mail.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Hint: Study the numbers – 76% vs. 10%. This (stupid) mistake is made over and over again by people who base their marketing decisions on personal preference vs. hard data.