23rd November 2011

UK adults trust printed door-drop leaflets and vouchers more than any other medium according to new Royal Mail research.  A study conducted by FreshMinds shows that 43% of those surveyed trusted printed literature delivered through their letterbox.

40% of those surveyed trusted radio marketing, 7% trusted unsolicited emails and only 5% showed confidence in online pop-ups.  According to the company's findings, door drops are considered to be a “more legitimate type of voucher” for potential customers.

Philip Ricketts, Royal Mail head of strategy for the sales and marketing for door to door, said building trust with consumers was vital for brands to sell successfully.  "What’s clear is that consumers are still nervous by the ‘virtual’ nature of online when it comes to trust, particularly when receiving and redeeming vouchers," he added.

Lance Hill, sales and marketing director at 4DM Group, said the findings are in line with the company's experience with some of its direct mail clients.  He said: "We produce a large quantity of direct mail that contains vouchers. One security conscious client is aware of the possibility of counterfeiting vouchers which would be much easier to replicate online.  The vouchers we produce do have security features, although nothing clever, which means they cannot be replicated due to their highly personalised nature."

According to Hill, click through rates on unsolicited emails continue to decline due to the high volume of emails an individual will receive.  "Where email is powerful and proven to work is when it is used in conjunction with a piece of targeted direct mail as a follow up. In this instance we have seen campaigns have significant uplift in response” he added.

Source: PrintWeek - November 2011

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