A direct mail campaign is simply when a number of potential customers are sent a letter, flyer, leaflet or any other deliverable medium through the post.  It differs significantly from telemarketing in many ways. It allows each potential customer to engage with the information at their own convenience and at their own pace. Each person receives the same quality and type of contact.  There is, however, no opportunity to engage the potential customer through human contact and explain any misunderstandings or answer their questions.  One benefit is that the potential customer may be sent a gift or voucher, or indeed any physical incentive that the budget of the campaign allows.  The potential customer can also retain information they are interested in, and may be encouraged to visit a website, phone a contact number or respond by post.

The public perception of direct mail is less hostile than to ‘cold-calling’ by telephone, however, many people routinely throw direct ‘junk’ mail away without engaging with the material.  A direct mailing  campaign can be a cheaper option than telemarketing.

Other forms of direct mail are those via any addressable medium such as email or SMS.

Direct mail seeks to gain a response, and the numbers of outbound mailings can be compared to responses, allowing for accurate analysis of the effectiveness of the campaign. Other methods of advertising such as billboard or radio advertising is much harder to analyse.

Telemarketing has a role to play in following up direct mail campaigns. Direct mail can raise awareness of the campaign and make consumers more receptive to telemarketing.  Using telemarketing to follow up the direct mail campaign can improve the response rate from the consumer.

Telemarketing can be used as a blanket second step after direct mail, where every person who received the mail is called. An alternative to this is to use targeted telemarketing where only those people who have responded to the mail campaign are contacted.  This method has a higher relative success rate, and reduces costs.