Some universal experiences make every generation happy. One of them is receiving personalised direct mail. According to a USPS survey, almost every age group enjoys getting a piece of mail delivered to them. So, now that it’s clear that everyone loves mail, how important is it to ensure that your direct mail campaign is tailored according to several age demographics?
Well, a direct mail piece for a child age group thing will undoubtedly look and feel different than a piece for Gen Z, and the reasons may not be exactly what you think. First, let’s identify why it’s targeting a specific age demographic and then we’ll determine the preferences of each generation.
Reason your Direct Mail Campaign Should Target a Specific Audience
Each generation goes through its own shared history and experiences which define its generation’s culture. From world events, economic changes, and social movements, it’s essential that your marketing strategy can relate to each generation’s shared experiences.
Does that mean you should create different collateral for each specific age demographic? A direct mail marketing company suggests – the answer depends on your ultimate goal of the marketing campaign. Creating a random pretty piece and sending it out without a planned strategy will not deliver the ideal results. A carefully planned and executed mail piece can help you grow your business.
Let’s pause and consider a different advertising medium. Say a radio station that plays oldies will have the same ads as the Top100 station. The reason is that they know they are reaching a different audience. Sending a campaign that’s tailored to specific age demographics is likely to perform better than a generic campaign. There are more chances the customer will connect to the piece or respond to it when it’s for them.
Now that you understand why it’s essential to target a specific audience, let’s determine the different generations and strategies for each.
Strategies by Age Demographics
It’s clear that we won’t send the same mail piece to a customer who is 70 vs one who’s 28. Let’s look at different generations and their preferences to plan your mail campaign.
- Baby boomers
The generation was born from 1946-1962 and saw the invention and growth of the internet. Certainly, they are more likely to trust personalised direct mail over a digital advertisement. According to a DMA Insight, 50% of Boomers prefer mail communication. While some are comfortable with technology, many are not, so direct mail campaign companies should direct mail with calls to action that are easy to read and navigate.
- Gen X
The generation between 1965-1980. Currently the “middle-aged” group. Many members of this group are busy between their careers, raising children, and caregiving for old parents. Meaning they are busy people. Campaigns designed for them need to be direct and clear, as promotional offers tend to work best for them. You need to be straightforward with promotional offers.
- Millennials
The generation born between 1980-1996 is the largest one. This generation saw the rise of smartphones, along with major world events that shaped the economy and culture. Millennials love to receive direct mail, with 33% of this age group having some newspaper or magazine subscription.
When sending mail to this generation via direct mail printing companies, keep the message concise and design bold while mentioning a call to action to learn more on a blog, video, or website. Concise messaging and great design with a quick call to action will do the work.
- Gen Z
The generation born from 1997-2012. One that’s coming of age during the digital age. While you may wonder if direct mail is lost for this generation, think again. The direct mail marketing company in the USA looked upon some old stats and found that direct mail is basically their preference.
Many Gen Zers enjoy getting mail, with 72% saying they would be disappointed if they didn’t receive direct mail. The two biggest keys to success with this generation are to utilise personalisation on the mail piece and make the offer feel special to the customer. For them, your mail should have a big focus on personalisation and making them feel special.
In Conclusion: Create a Mail Campaign based on Data, not your own preferences
Remember that the reality may look different from the assumption. For example, consider millennials. They grew up with modern technology, know how-to’s very well, and spend a lot of their time on their tablets, computers, and phones.
This information may be enough for a novice marketer at some mailing companies in the USA to stick to digital communication, but this can’t be an effective means of communication.
These people are more likely not to check their email frequently or open messages from brands. As per research, it was found that 1 in 3 millennials start their day by checking their emails.
Another research states that millennials spend 6.4 hours a day on average using email. When a marketer will look at these data points, an email campaign may not be the best way to communicate with them.
As 74% of millennials say they receive too many emails in which most of them are frustrated by 70% of promotional emails sent by a brand, leading to overloaded inboxes. This makes physical communication such as direct mail a more appealing option and one that stands out from the usual email and online ads.
A study by the USPS states, 75% of millennials said that receiving direct mail that’s personalised makes them feel special, in which 62% of those same respondents visited a store in the past month because of what they received from the mailbox.
Final Words
Age is not just a number. General segmentation is the first but big step to creating personalised and targeted marketing campaigns. While it’s not necessary to put age groups in the mail, using data and insights from generational research collected from direct mail campaign services providers can prove to be an effective option as it will help you understand consumers’ motivations, values, and references.
By leveraging these factors, marketers can tailor their message and offer in a more meaningful way to their customers of all age groups.