1. Millennials Trust Direct Mail
Millennials are perceived to not trust direct mail because they grew up in the age of the internet. In reality, that could not be more wrong. About twice as many millennials actually prefer paper coupons as ones that don’t. In 2021, everyone digests more information than ever and millennials in particular have been bombarded with marketing messages their entire life. So how do you reach them?
Cutting through the clutter with something tangible that is personalized and customized to them can be extremely effective. Sending personalized messages not only builds trust and awareness with this demographic, but it also yields higher response rates than campaigns that don’t.
2. Millennials Open Direct Mail at a Higher Rate than Email
While millennials may be the first generation to grow up with digital advertising, that doesn’t mean they prefer it. According to USPS, In one survey of Millennials, 62% of respondents said they had visited a store in the past month based on information received in the mail. eMarketer published a study in 2018 that concluded millennials are more than twice as likely to have an ad blocker installed vs their boomer generation counterparts. It’s true, millennials have and will consume more media than any previous generation. But any savvy marketer would agree when only 19% of a generation “always” or “frequently” open marketing emails, there has to be a better approach.
Millennials are sometimes accused of being self-centered and wanting everything custom. Nothing is less of a turn-off to this generation than blast emails and static messaging. So, while your competitors are busy spinning their wheels, use that fact to your advantage. The Direct Marketing Association concluded in 2019 that messaging targeted at the 1:1 level net a 50% increase in response rates.
3. Millennials Respond to Direct Mail Offers
Millennials are actually high responders to direct mail. While this does vary slightly by segment, the key difference is they don’t always bring the postcard with them to the store. A multi-channel approach with a digital response mechanism can bolster results. Inviting prospects to join your loyalty club, SMS offers or online discount code are all highly trackable. QR codes that allow them to scan the offer on their phone is another way to allow them to respond to your offer.
If a customer abandoned their cart online or visited your website or store, but didn’t purchase, you can retarget them using direct mail. Millennials aren’t strangers to digital retargeting. Any time they go to Amazon or another site, they see that item pop up everywhere on their screens. However, direct mail retargeting gets in front of them without competing for attention on a screen.
