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10 Print Marketing Statistics You Should Know

How should you invest your marketing dollars to reach your customer base? Print vs. Digital? The answer is both.

The experts at Digital Marketing Ramblings have released some great statistics on the effectiveness of print campaigns that show the benefits of a hybrid campaign and why.

As you finalize this year's marketing plan, it's easy to become enchanted by so many promises of success made by digital marketing promoters. Digital marketing can be effective, certainly, but it's not the only solution. In fact, print marketing is among the most powerful ways to promote trust in your products and services.

The proliferation of digital media means the vast majority of bloggers, tech publishers and even entrepreneurial magazines have a heavy focus on digital marketing coverage. Just because something is newsworthy doesn't make it right for your business. Overexposure in digital marketing can be good; however, your competitors will scramble to the online environment and drop print marketing. This paves the way for you to use a blend of mediums and earn even greater return on your marketing investment.

The best strategy is to incorporate a mix of digital and print marketing into your strategy. Here are 10 print marketing statistics you should know:

1. 79% of households say they read or scan direct mail ads. Your customer base isn't just willing to read your print marketing materials; they're highly likely to read them. How many online ads do you read every day?
2. 39% of customers say they try a business because of direct mail advertising. If you've ever wondered where to find new customers, direct mail marketing is the solution.
3. Direct mail marketing yields, on average, a 13-to-1 return on investment ratio. Many small businesses are wary of print marketing due to the perceived high initial investment, but the average return speaks for itself.
4. 92% of young shoppers say they prefer direct mail for making purchasing decisions. The number across all ages is 67%, second only to newspapers at 69%. More digitally inclined shoppers are actually trusting print marketing more, perhaps due to their familiarity with the online environment.
5. Direct mail brings in 78% of donations for nonprofits. As far as fundraisers go, direct mail can't be beat! It's also cheaper than staging an event.
6. For every $167 spent on direct mail, U.S. marketers sell $2,095 in goods. That makes for a 1,300% return on average. Do your Facebook efforts pay off like that?
7. Since 2004, direct mail marketing response rates have increased by 14%. During this same period, email response rates have plummeted by 57%.
8. 56% of customers find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing. If you want to build trust, statistics suggest you should invest in print.
9. 44% of customers visit a brand's website after receiving direct mail marketing. If you knew you could get 4 in 10 people to visit your website with a simple postcard campaign, would you do it? That's 10% more than people who visit a brand's website after receiving an email.
10. 48% of people retain direct mail for future reference. Even if your direct mail marketing doesn't yield an immediate response, customers will remember you when it's time to buy.