I believe part of the answer lies in the quality of customers generated from direct mail and telemarketing campaigns compared to those from online-driven leads.
From my experience, direct response marketing tends to generate more loyal customers. While the cost per acquisition (CPA) for Internet-generated leads may initially appear cheaper, direct response customers often prove more cost-effective in the long run due to their higher loyalty and longer lifespan.
According to a report published by the DMA, direct mail can achieve a response rate that is 10 to 30 times higher than email, and even more compared to online display ads. However, the same study also indicates that from an ROI perspective, email is more cost-effective than direct mail or telemarketing. Despite this, many companies continue to favor direct mail and telemarketing.
Integrated direct marketing is an effective strategy that combines the strengths of both offline and online marketing techniques. Social media, online display ads, and email marketing can complement traditional direct mail and telemarketing efforts.
As a seasoned direct marketer, I've observed that companies which once abandoned direct mail are now returning to it, often investing more in traditional print advertising and direct mail than before. In my view, direct mail is unlikely to disappear in the near future, and electronic advertising will continue to complement and support traditional marketing efforts. Cross-marketing programs will enhance performance and help lower the average CPA.
Additionally, some companies are now allocating more advertising dollars to direct mail because they can use customer modeling, data analytics, and back-end tracking to more accurately select the lists and mail pieces that yield the best response rates.
In conclusion, traditional direct marketing methods offer a reliable and proven source of leads that tends to be more stable than internet-driven customer acquisitions. This may explain why companies are gradually re-integrating direct mail, telemarketing, and other direct response mediums into their marketing strategies.