Conventional wisdom in marketing circles is that nobody does direct mail marketing anymore, direct mail is too expensive, direct doesn't work today. 

The conventional wisdom says:  Shift your marketing investment to email, social media and the new darling, mobile media.

"Direct mail is probably the most cost-efficient method for reaching the truly affluent, i.e. the wealthiest U.S. households — These are the households with a net worth of $800,000 or more and incomes of $200,000 plus." – Ron Kurtz, AARC

With my contrarian bent, that is all the reason that I need to recommend old-fashioned direct mail to my clients.  If nobody is using direct mail anymore, then the marketer that swims against the tide will get noticed.

When I open my mail box each day, I see proof positive that marketers haven't yet abandoned direct mail.  But I do think those marketers that are getting results through direct mail want their competitors to believe the conventional wisdom in order to keep the secret that direct mail can be a powerful tool in the 21st century luxury marketer's arsenal.

The fact is direct mail is still an important vehicle to deliver sales directly, but also it works with other marketing platforms synergistically to connect with customers.  For example, I shop catalogs quite frequently but never order by phone or mail – rather, I always go online to make my purchases.  Statistics from the Direct Marketing Association confirms the synergies between direct mail and other multichannel strategies:

• Fifteen percent of customers receiving a catalog and 12 percent receiving a letter, postcard or flyer from a company made a purchase on the company's website.

It all comes down to the best way to get in the customer's door and capture their attention.  Direct mail continues to deliver on that score, particularly among the affluent luxury consumers. 

Ron Kurtz, of the American Affluence Research Center (AARC), says that "Contrary to conventional wisdom, direct mail is probably the most cost-efficient method for reaching the truly affluent, i.e. the wealthiest U.S. households — These are the households with a net worth of $800,000 or more and incomes of $200,000 or more."

Ron Kurtz knows where the wealthy live – and he can help you find them too

Ron's company offers marketers direct mail lists based upon detailed customer specifications, such as of wealth (defined by net worth and/or income), age of householder, gender, various life style and recreation interests, and geography (state, county, metro area, or zip code).  And these mailing lists are not just for big businesses with huge marketing budgets, either.  Just think about the power it gives local businesses to target the richest folks in their neighborhoods with customized marketing communications that talk to their special needs and interests?

Ron has written a white paper that explains more about the power of direct marketing to reach the affluent luxury consumers, entitled Direct Mail: Becoming Extinct or More Effective for Luxury Marketers?, which you can download by clicking the link: http://bit.ly/nJqsXI

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Direct mail is still a viable marketing vehicle and should be part of a luxury brand's multichannel strategy

Luxury marketers still get results through direct mail. It both supports other marketing efforts, as well as producing results immediately and directly.  Luxury marketers, in particular, need to be mindful of how the touch and feel of their mail packages reflects on the brand.

Ron reminds us, "Direct mail is a tactile medium that can communicate the quality and imagery of your luxury brand."  Because of this, the quality of the product imagery can be far superior in print than online.  That is why direct mail so powerfully drives shoppers to websites to buy or to the store to try on. 

Yet some luxury marketers can't track orders to the mailed piece directly unless orders come via phone or mail.  So these marketers can't directly measure the effectiveness of their mailed campaigns as inspiration for shopping via other channels.         

Specialty Retailers:  Are you using direct mail to attract new shoppers to your store?

For retailers looking to attract shoppers in their local communities, direct mail is too frequently ignored in favor of less effective and less profitable options.  

Rather than go after a very broad audience with a space ad in the local newspaper which often promotes a sale, retailers that hanker after a more affluent customer would be better served to buy a local list and create a special mail package for these high-value customers emphasizing products and services tailored to their discerning tastes or special needs.

For example, the Christmas shopping season is rapidly approaching and husbands notoriously hate shopping for gifts for their wives.  Why not send a special V.I.P. invitation to affluent married men in your area, offering special evening men's-mostly shopping hours or private by-appointment hours with trained personal shoppers to pick the right gift?  (If any of my local jewelers are reading this blog, be sure to add my husband Greg to that list).

Of course, you'd offer the same services to your current customers (assuming you have a list of them and shame on you, if you don't), but with the help of an outside list like Ron's group can provide, you can to reach out into your community and invite the right kind of new customers into your store.

It all comes down to whether you are using your marketing and advertising budgets to make sales (e.g. running a newspaper ad) or to create customer relationships.  Specialty retailers need to be focused on building those relationships.  A carefully crafted and executed direct mail program tailored explicitly for the needs of the customer will take you far in creating such a relationship, which is money in the bank for your business' future.

For more ideas on ways to market your specialty retail business, get a copy of my book, Shopping:  Why We Love It and How to Create the Ultimate Customer Experience - http://amzn.to/iFCSlW

For those marketers targeting the luxury consumers, my new book, Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury, is written specifically for you. 

www.unitymarketingonline.com