Direct mail, Email and Social media to Gen X, Gen Y and Millenials

More and more often I am asked about the viability of direct mail. Today I answered a question on LinkedIn'is direct mail deader than disco'? Catchy perhaps, but the question was generally responded to in the positive - direct mail is dead, or they don't read it, I only read email, it is irrelevant etc.

Earlier this week however I saw an article in Promo Magazine noting that 'Gen-X Persuaded by Email, Direct Mail Over Social Marketing: Study. The article published on October 27th http://www.printthis.clickability.com noted that consumers 18-34 report they are more likely to respond to an e-mail marketing message or direct mail than to one they get through a social network.

One of the things about social networking is that it has yet to be proven as an environment for selling anything. The users are there in part because they are not sold anything or offered anything. Not the most promising business model ever developed. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and all the others are feverishly looking at ways to 'monetize' their applications but understand the risks of turning off the very audiences that find them appealing.

Gen Xer's are not nearly as accustomed to direct mail as some of us more experienced folk. But the same rules apply as always. If the offer is good, the direct mail piece or email message creative and relevant, the audience will respond. Keeping up with what is relevant and will generate response is also the same old same old. Things are changing day by day and will continue to do so but what results are just many more ways to communicate with citizens that marketers would like call customers.

The main idea is for companies to communicate with people the way they prefer.