JICMAIL’s definitive view on warm vs cold direct mail response rates

Marketers using direct mail can expect benchmark response rates of 10.9% for warm direct mail and 1% for cold, according to industry body JICMAIL. 

The figures come from its inaugural Response Rate Tracker research*, which is released today. 

Why it matters

It’s the first time JICMAIL has assessed how responsive consumers are to acquisition- vs retention-based marketing strategies with mail. In a challenging climate in which efforts to boost levels of customer loyalty and engagement are taking on increased significance, understanding the response of known customers to advertising mail becomes increasingly important. 

At the same time, no brand grows without acquiring new customers, and understanding the effectiveness of the mail channel in driving acquisitions is critical to campaign planning efforts. A blend of warm and cold is likely to deliver the greatest success.

Takeaways 

• A 10.9% response rate for warm direct mail highlights the value of speaking to current customers in the mail channel, when the ability to target using third-party cookies is waning in an era of heightened privacy compliance. 
• A 1% response rate for cold mail compares favourably to that seen by many other channels. 
• The Response Rate Tracker reports average Return on Investment (ROI) of 14.5 for warm and 4.4 for cold direct mail. 
• Average Order Value (AOV) and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) benchmarks are also available across four different industry sectors – retail, finance and insurance, medical and charity.
• The benchmarks are a starting point for target setting, which should then be iterated upon using a unique set of brand, market and consumer factors that acknowledge the nuance of individual campaigns with different objectives.

Key quote

“These new response metrics … starkly exceed conventional digital response metrics and add a valuable layer to existing JICMAIL data, together creating new discussions on how performance can be improved through the inclusion of mail in the omnichannel mix” – Mark Cross, Engagement Director at JICMAIL.

*Based on the results of 1,017 anonymised campaigns provided by six key industry players (Join The Dots, Epsilon Abacus, Ginger Black Analytics, Sagacity, The Letterbox Consultancy and DBS Data). JICMAIL’s Response Rate Tracker is a proof-of-concept study designed to galvanise interest from the industry and increase the representation of benchmarks across industry sectors and mail types.

Sourced from JICMAIL