Does Direct Mail Work?

The Answer Is Found Within One Simple Question….

It always surprises me that a marketing channel like direct mail, which has been around since the 1800s, has so many people asking in 2023 if it works.  

Over the past 15 years, Mail Shark has executed direct mail campaigns for 1,000s of businesses across the country, from pizzerias, auto repairs shops, HVAC companies, to dental practices, online grocery retailers, fitness centers, salons, spas, and beyond. YES, Direct Mail absolutely works for any business where there is a quality mailing list available. 

Now I know there will be some that are still skeptical for whatever reason. Maybe they don’t believe in direct mail, think it’s old school (which it kind of is), or someone told them direct mail doesn’t work, or maybe they may have even tried it in the past and said it didn’t work, etc.  

Although the latter is the most troubling, as many things can dimmish the response of a direct mail campaign if not done correctly, so did your last partner set you up for success?? Of course, we will never know the answer to that; however, regardless of the reason you may feel that direct mail doesn’t work, ask yourself this one question.  

Would you send out a direct mail piece to everyone in your local community offering your services FREE for the rest of the recipient’s life?

So, for example:  

  • Pizza Shops: Free Pizza For Life  
  • Auto Repair Shops: Free Auto Repair Maintenance and Service For Life  
  • HVAC Companies: Free HVAC Maintenance and Service for Life  
  • Dental Practices: Free Dental Treatments for Life  
  • Fitness Centers: Free Membership for Life  
  • Insert Your Business: Free XXX For Life  

Let me ask you again, Would you ever send out a direct mail postcard offering your services FREE for Life?  

We all know the answer is, “Are You Crazy? Of course, I Would Never Do That.”  

My educated guess is that you wouldn’t ever do that because you would put yourself out of business because the response would be so high that you would never be able to fulfill these requests and stay in business.  

So, now ask yourself again, is it direct mail that doesn’t work, or is it that your offer isn’t enticing enough, or your product or services does not have enough demand?  

Josh Davis