DMIS is shortly to publish Consumer Trends 2003
Saturated mats? DMIS is to shortly publish Consumer Trends 2003–its biennial survey of attitudes to direct mail. Although it will show that consumers still respond and purchase on a regular basis, saturation point cannot be far off.
The Atkins Diet has gained popularity because it is claimed to be effective at achieving a single goal: weight loss. Cramming in the proteins can shed inches from the waistline. But proteins do not provide the body with everything it needs.
In particular, it has been claimed that carbohydrates–banned by Atkins–are essential for the brain to produce serotonin. This is the 'happy drug', the absence of which can lead to irritability and depression. So if you follow a protein-rich, carbohydrate-free diet, you may get slim. But you might not end up feeling as happy about it as you expected.
Direct marketers could be reaching this point with their own media diet. Consumer direct mail volumes have boomed, doubling from 1.7 billion items in 1993 to 3.9 billion in 2002 (the last year for which full figures are available). Marketers have traditionally seen direct mail as the protein that produces what they crave: response and sales.
Yet there are signs that consumers are reaching saturation point and becoming irritable. DMIS is to shortly publish Consumer Trends 2003–its biennial survey of consumer attitudes to direct mail. The study has been carried out by BMRB International since 1985, and during 2003 involved a representative sample of 598 adults.
One of the most startling findings is the sheer weight of direct mail consumers receive. Some 52 per cent of the weekly mail is mailshots (see Figure 1).
This is the first time direct mail has dominated consumers' weekly post. It explains why Royal Mail's rivals are so keen to move into the market. Eighty-three per cent of consumers received direct mail in the past week, up from 32 per cent when the survey began in 1985, and 56 per cent ten years ago.
Perhaps the most stunning growth has been in super-heavy receivers–those who get more than six items of direct mail per week. In 1993, just 7 per cent of consumers fell into this group. By 2003, 34 per cent had become super-heavies.
A further 28 per cent are heavy receivers, getting between three and five items a week. What used to be the exception has become the norm for most consumers,
Nutritionists will tell you the best way to stay healthy and maintain a stable weight is a balanced diet. Constant ingestion of just one type of food can only have negative consequences.
It is not surprising, then, that the direct mail-rich diet consumers have been put on by marketers is starting to have a bad effect. You cannot double the amount of items they receive without some of them starting to choke.
Direct mail volumes may have gone up, but the opening of items has fallen steadily, although six out of ten mailshots are still opened (see Figure 2). The biggest problem facing marketers is getting the public to read them. As recently as 1999, most mailshots were looked at. This has now fallen to four out of ten. (Respondents were not asked to supply this information in 1985 and 1987.)
Socio-demographic differences between consumers affect how they treat direct mail. Women open more items than men, at 63 per cent compared with 57 per cent, and they also read more: 43 per cent as opposed to 36 per cent. And while you might expect ABs to be more resistant than other social groups, since they tend to receive more items, they open 65 per cent–the same proportion as 2001–and read 40 per cent. This compares with 56 per cent opened by C1s, who read 40 per cent, and the 64 per cent opened by C2s, who read just 34 per cent.
But direct mail volumes have a big effect. Heavy receivers have the lowest level of opening (56 per cent) and reading (36 per cent). This compares with 79 per cent opening among light receivers, who read 53 per cent. Companies which use direct mail need to dig deep into their data to find groups that have not been over-mailed.
They also need to lean heavily on existing relationships and consider a broader marketing communications approach–or mail cold prospects. Items where the recipient knew the sender but not the content were opened by 80 per cent and read by 57 per cent of respondents.
This is rivalled only by completely cold, unsolicited items where the recipient did not know the sender or what was in the envelope. These items were opened by 73 per cent and read by 62 per cent.
Marketers' ultimate goal is to achieve a response. Despite the high volume of direct mail, 6 per cent of consumers say they responded to the last item they received. In fact, the UK is a nation of direct mail responders, with three-fifths of adults having responded at some time (Figure 3).
A significant minority of consumers–four out of ten–make purchases. This proportion has declined, but there is an important distinction between warm and cold mailings in achieving both response and sales.
Where the recipient knew the sender, 52 per cent of consumers have responded at some time. This is on a par with most previous years. This stood at 50 per cent in 1993, for example. The proportion of consumers who have never bought anything is also stable, at 38 per cent, which also compares favourably with most previous years. Ten years ago, 40 per cent had bought at some point.
Cold mailings have seen a recent decline. Twenty per cent of consumers have responded to these at some point–a decline from 22 per cent in 2001, but up from 17 per cent in 1993. Purchasing has fallen to 9 per cent, from 13 per cent in 2001, but was only 10 per cent in 1993.
Cumulative response can be deceptive, however. What marketers want is recency, and this has held up well. In 2003, 37 per cent of consumers had responded in the previous 12 months. This is the same level as 2001, and up slightly on 36 per cent in 1993. It is a positive finding, since it indicates that nearly two-fifths of consumers are active responders.
Recency of purchase is also strong, although cold mailings have suffered. Where the recipient knew the sender, 28 per cent of consumers bought in the previous 12 months, close to the 27 per cent found in 2001. For cold mailings, 5 per cent had bought in the previous year, down from 8 per cent in the previous survey.
The financial services sector now has the third most purchased items, with 18 per cent of consumers buying direct. This compares with 24 per cent who have bought clothes, and 22 per cent books. Non-purchasing responses are dominated by charitable donations, which 19 per cent of consumers have made.
Response occurs within a context–consumers are either responsive to direct mail or not. The good news for marketers is that three-quarters have responded to responsive advertising at some time. Six out of ten have done so in the past 12 months (see Figure 4).
Overall, direct mail is top response-generating medium, just ahead of press advertising, although newspaper and magazine ads are slightly more likely to have produced a response in the past 12 months. TV and door-drops run each other close in terms of responsiveness and recency, with the Internet challenging both for response in the past 12 months.
Fifty-six per cent of consumers have made a purchase as a result direct ads at some time, with 46 per cent doing so in the past 12 months. Direct mail is still the lead medium, with 37 per cent of consumers having bought from press ads, 29 per cent in the last year. TV, Internet and press all have similar levels of purchasing activity.
It is evident that direct mail is still a very sustainable medium for direct marketers. Consumers both respond to and buy on a regular basis. The huge rise in volumes is having an effect, however. Saturation point can not be far off, and with it the possibility that consumers will choke on any more mailshots. To avoid irritation, direct marketers need to find ways to vary the diet.
