12 Outstanding B2B Direct Mail Examples

Direct mail advertising, or marketing your business by sending physical mailers to your target audience, is an ages-old advertising strategy. Despite the way things may appear – that print is dead and advertising is limited to the internet – post advertising is alive, well, and experiencing a bit of a recent resurgence for a number of reasons.

Though the term “direct mail” or “mail marketing” is most often associated with business to consumer (B2C) advertising, it’s just as powerful for business to business (B2B) marketing. It’s a great way to help your business stand out and grab attention, is an effective option for advertising locally, and is highly affordable.

Table of Contents

What is B2B direct mail advertising?

The Numbers Behind Direct Mail’s Success

Is direct mail for B2B advertising trackable?

B2B Direct Mail Advertising Cost

Does direct mail work on a local level?

Direct Mail for Small Business Advertising

Can I target my direct mail campaign to a specific area?

Is B2B direct mail marketing worth it for a small business?

What is B2B direct mail advertising?

At their core, all direct mail campaigns are advertising campaigns at some level – whether a mailer is publicizing a time-bound event, a new product or service, or simply aiming to announce a new business opening. The driving idea behind sending mailers in the first place is to ultimately make money.

Direct mail is one of the most under-used advertising services available to businesses. And while B2C direct mail tends to get all the attention in the direct mail world, B2B direct mail is equally as powerful.

The Numbers Behind Direct Mail’s Success

Many of the statistics supporting the success of direct mail in the B2C realm still hold true for B2B advertising:

• People trust print ads more than they trust online ads. 

• Direct mail has an excellent average response rate – often higher than that of email marketing.

• Direct mail open rates are as high as 90% compared to an average email open rate of just 21%.

• Personalizing your mail pieces can result in response rates going up by as much as 135%.

• On average, for every $167 advertisers spend in the US on direct mail, they make $2,095 in sales. 

• According to a study conducted by Canada Post, “Direct mail is more likely to drive behaviour than digital media.”

These statistics remain valid regardless of the fact that you’re advertising to other businesses rather than direct consumers. If anything, your audience stands to be more captivated by your direct mail piece because they may receive less of it already. 

Is direct mail for B2B advertising trackable?

A common myth surrounding B2B direct mail marketing is that unlike digital advertising – where every open and click is logged – direct mail can’t be tracked. 

It’s time to debunk this myth: B2B direct mail advertising campaigns are totally trackable (as are B2C campaigns, for that matter). How? There are a few ways. 

• Customized “tracking URLs” are web addresses leading your audience to landing pages specifically set up to track inquiries resulting solely from your direct mail campaign. These URLs don’t exist anywhere else in your marketing materials, so there’s little concern of a prospect landing there by accident.

• Specialized phone numbers forwarded to your main phone line create a clear way for you to track how inbound leads found your business. 

• Campaign-specific coupons give you a straightforward tracking device: Mail coupons out to your prospects and track how many are cashed in. 

These tracking systems aren’t perfect, but they’re certainly not deal-breakers, either. Combined with an online marketing strategy, you may find you get an even better return on your post advertising investment. 

B2B Direct Mail Advertising Cost

Contrary to popular belief, direct mail advertising costs are quite affordable depending on the type of mailer you choose to send. Options range from postcards, letters, or advertising flyers to magazines and catalogues or “premium communications.” 

For example, colour-printed postcard and flyer pricing generally starts around $0.23-25* per piece (based on a 5,000 piece mailing campaign). Direct mail letters generally start at $0.54* per piece (also based on a 5,000 piece mailing), excluding reply devices and personalized envelopes, both of which will increase the final cost. Simply put, direct mail translates into cheap advertising – that is, cheap and effective.

Of course, you’ll need to factor postage costs into your direct mail budget, but bulk mailing campaigns are often eligible for discounted postage fees. Your direct mail team can help you determine what to expect.

*Prices per piece listed above are based on mailings of 5,000 pieces. As with higher volumes decreasing your cost per piece, lower volumes may result in minimum fees that could increase the final cost.

Does direct mail work on a local level?

While it’s possible to send a national campaign, post advertising is at its strongest when it’s local. 

Sending direct mail pieces to other local businesses places emphasis on your own community involvement and helps drive “shop local” campaigns across the country. 

Direct Mail for Small Business Advertising 

Direct mail is especially powerful for small business advertising because it provides a tangible connection to your own locally-based business. In fact, this tangibility factor is one of the things that makes direct mail such a successful marketing tactic.

Unlike marketing emails that quickly get forgotten or deleted and social media or other digital advertisements that are easily ignored, direct mail is often saved for a later day. On average, people hold on to physical mail pieces for 17 days before even considering tossing them in the trash. This means if they don’t answer your call to action immediately, there’s still a chance they will later.

Can I target my direct mail campaign to a specific area?

The short answer: Yes. 

“Geotargeting” refers to using a specific geographic area in marketing campaigns. This is nothing new in the world of advertising and it’s used in both print and digital marketing strategies. 

You may choose to target a specific postal code, region of the city or province, and beyond. You can get even more detailed, depending on your target audience. Determining where to advertise based on a geographical location will depend largely on what type of business you have, who your ideal clients are, and how close in proximity they are to your business. 

Is B2B direct mail marketing worth it for a small business?  

Does direct mail work to get local customers? Yes!

Once again, it’s important to remember that sending mail locally helps remind your target customers that you are local, too. In this time of “big box stores” and massive conglomerates, people recognize the repercussions that come from spending their dollars with the “big guys.” More and more, folks are willing to buy local. 

When every advertising dollar counts, you need to spend where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck. Not only is direct mail affordable, but it has a great return on investment. Post campaigns help your business stand out among the noise of other digital advertisements and pique the interest of your target market, regardless of your industry.