LANDMARK STUDY FINDS NONPROFIT FUNDRAISERS AND RETAIL STORES REPORT TOP DIRECT & INTERACTIVE MARKETING RESPONSE RATES
ORLANDO, FL, OCTOBER 12, 2003 -- A new landmark study from the Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) found that nonprofit fundraisers, retail stores, and establishments rendering services to businesses achieved the top average response rates.
According to The DMA 2003 Response Rate Study, the average response rate for the 1,122 industry-specific campaigns The DMA studied was 2.61 percent.
The study found the industries that utilize direct and interactive marketing to achieve above average response rates were:
- Nonprofit Fundraisers (5.35 percent)
- Retail Stores (3.36 percent)
- Establishments Rendering Services to Businesses (3.34 percent)
- Manufacturing (3.17 percent)
- Personal and Repair Services (3.07 percent)
- Travel (2.98 percent)
- Computer & Electronic Products (2.86 percent)
- Packaged Goods (2.79 percent)
"As the marketplace continues to change – affected by the economy, deregulation, competition, and the need to offset expensive advertising campaigns – direct marketing techniques are now being used by a wider spectrum of audiences," said H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO, The DMA. "Over time, industries like financial services, insurance, manufacturing, packaged goods, business services and others have been increasingly involved in using direct marketing media to solicit direct orders and most especially to generate leads. As word continues to get out about the healthy returns on marketing dollars invested, we anticipate that growth trends will only continue well into the future."
OVERALL INDUSTRY RESPONSE RATE BY MEDIA
|
# In Response Rate by Industry (%) Industry Survey Average Median High Low |
|||||
|
Nonprofit Fundraisers |
48 |
5.35% |
3.07% |
26.67% |
0.19% |
|
Retail Stores |
68 |
3.36% |
1.67% |
12.23% |
0.004% |
|
Business Services |
72 |
3.34% |
1.75% |
19.61% |
0.017% |
|
Manufacturing |
68 |
3.17% |
1.88% |
12.86% |
0.01% |
|
Personal & Repair Services |
11 |
3.07% |
2.11% |
9.36% |
0.16% |
|
Travel |
25 |
2.98% |
1.00% |
15.00% |
0.0008% |
|
Computer & Electronic Products |
100 |
2.86% |
1.49% |
14.80% |
0.009% |
|
Packaged Goods |
28 |
2.79% |
1.04% |
12.97% |
0.07% |
|
Insurance Carriers/Agents |
50 |
2.54% |
0.71% |
28.00% |
0.02% |
|
Membership Organizations |
36 |
2.53% |
0.70% |
18.75% |
0.04% |
|
Communications |
30 |
2.36% |
0.68% |
14.44% |
0.002% |
|
Education |
46 |
2.35% |
0.90% |
31.25% |
0.007% |
|
Health Services |
43 |
2.32% |
1.21% |
15.00% |
0.003% |
|
Entertainment & Recreation |
29 |
2.31% |
1.31% |
13.41% |
0.005% |
|
Publishing |
45 |
2.23% |
1.00% |
20.00% |
0.013% |
|
Professional Services |
99 |
2.18% |
1.50% |
15.00% |
0.015% |
|
Catalog |
146 |
2.13% |
1.72% |
10.00% |
0.005% |
|
Financial Products & Services |
112 |
2.06% |
1.19% |
13.70% |
0.013% |
|
Real Estate |
10 |
2.00% |
0.99% |
7.67% |
0.32% |
|
Wholesale Trade |
14 |
1.77% |
0.90% |
8.03% |
0.125% |
|
Web-Only Marketers |
23 |
1.35% |
0.31% |
11.25% |
0.009% |
|
Utilities |
12 |
1.29% |
0.93% |
4.12% |
0.208% |
|
Building & Construction |
7 |
1.05% |
0.74% |
4.29% |
0.10% |
|
Overall |
1,122 |
2.61% |
1.04% |
31.25% |
0.0008% |
Direct Mail: The overall average response rate for direct mail, including mailings to both house and prospect files, was 2.54 percent. Direct mail produced the highest response rates for:
- Packaged Goods (5.36 percent),
- Store Retailers (4.35 percent),
- Nonprofit Fundraisers (3.93 percent),
- Travel Services (3.61 percent),
- Personal Repair Services (3.02 percent).
Catalog: The overall catalog "media" average of 2.41 percent is just below the catalog "industry" average of 2.52 percent. Industries that utilize catalogs to achieve above average response rates included:
- Membership Organizations (3.20 percent), which generally used catalogs to generate sales or leads for higher-ticket items,
- Retail Stores (3.17 percent), which utilized catalogs primarily for direct order and traffic building,
- Manufacturing (3.17 percent).
E-Mail: All industries that were surveyed, except real estate, are now using e-mail in their direct marketing mix. More than nine out of 10 Web marketers surveyed reported that they allocated their media dollars for e-mail marketing to their house files. At this still early stage in the evolution of e-mail marketing, the average overall response rate for e-mail campaigns was 1.88 percent. Significant leaders in e-mail response rates include:
- Wholesale Trade (3.83 percent),
- Manufacturing (3.39 percent),
- Retail Stores (2.71 percent),
- Communications (2.65 percent),
- Health Services (2.29 percent).
Notably, these five industries had particularly high results in their lead generation efforts, many of which were also for high-ticket items. With the exception of retail stores, these industries are also more focused toward the business-to-business market where spam issues are not as sensitive as they are in consumer marketing.
Telephone: The average response rates for telephone marketing were the highest of all media, yet the average promotion costs were also relatively higher. According to the study, the average response rate for telephone marketing campaigns is 7.44 percent. Industries that utilize telephone marketing to achieve above average response rates were:
- Nonprofit fundraisers, which led all industries by far (19.42 percent), most likely due to the fact that donors tend to be loyal repeat contributors,
- Education (12.46 percent),
- Insurance Carriers/Agents (8.78 percent),
- Manufacturers (8.56 percent),
- Travel Services (8.0 percent).
The full report is priced at $195 for DMA members ($395 for non-members). It can now be ordered through The DMA Book Distribution Center by calling 1.800.344.8328 (U.S.) or +1.610.461.3548 (internationally) and online at www.the-dma.org/bookstore.
About The DMA 2003 Response Rate Study:
The DMA 2003 Response Rate Study provides, for the first time anywhere, response rate benchmarks detailed by media and industry. Conducted by The DMA during the first quarter of 2003, the study measures data on more than 1,500 direct and interactive marketing campaigns. The research contains response rate information from 23 industry categories -- such as financial products & services, health services, insurance carriers/agents, manufacturing, packaged goods, retail, and travel -- broken down by purpose -- direct order, lead generation, traffic generation, and fundraising -- media, and market. Detailed information on promotional tools, free offers, shipping, rebates, and sweepstakes also are included in the study.
About The DMA:
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 4,700 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States surpassed $2 trillion in 2002, including $126 billion in catalog sales and $34 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.
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