Direct Mail or Hybrid Mail: What’s the Difference?

Mail has always had a key role to play in communication strategies – and remains vital to this day. However, the way we handle mail is changing and there are cost and resource savings to be made by choosing the right option for your business. The two most popular ways to send mail are direct mail and hybrid mail – but is there a difference?

Direct Mail vs Hybrid Mail

There is considerable overlap between direct mail and hybrid mail, which is why this can be a confusing distinction to make. However, direct mail is the more traditional approach to mailed communications. It is essentially the way many organisations have handled mail in the past – by physically printing it out and then putting it into envelopes and posting it. Obviously, in order to do this a business needs to have access to printers and the staff available to handle the packing process. Hybrid mail shifts this into a secure online process where documents are produced, managed and sent out straight from a laptop or desktop.

Why is hybrid mail increasingly the most popular choice?

Efficiency has become a key benchmark for organisations today, especially when it comes to communication strategy. Hybrid mail essentially offers an opportunity to streamline communications, with a one-stop shop for all outreach material. Not only that but the online management that is key to hybrid mail also offers opportunities for tracking analytics and performance that are not readily available through the use of direct mail. It’s this combination of insight and efficiency that means hybrid mail is increasingly the most popular choice for businesses keen to enhance and improve communication strategies.

What’s the biggest benefit of hybrid mail?

Essentially, having a partner that will take care of every aspect of mail for your business. From printing documents to getting them into the right envelopes, addressed to the right people – all of this is taken care of by a hybrid mail solution. Plus, there are advantages when it comes to following up with digital communications as well as being able to focus on inbound approaches too.

The process of setting up a direct mail campaign via hybrid mail

• What’s the strategy? Start by doing a deep dive into your target audience to identify what kind of communication (e.g. mail or email) they are most likely to engage with – and what you want them to do after that engagement.
• What are the goals of a direct mail campaign? It will be key to be clear about what you want someone to do with the mail you send them.
• Who are you going to choose to handle your hybrid mail? The right provider will ensure that you have access to effective direct mail campaigns, all the channels that work for you and a way to clearly and concisely engage an audience to generate the results you want.

Hybrid and direct mail do have a lot of overlap – the key difference is that investing in hybrid mail can help your business reach direct mail goals in a much more productive and efficient way.

How can CDP help?

Get personalised direct mail and efficient hybrid mail solutions all in one place. Maximise ROI and elevate your marketing efforts today!

Contact us by filling our contact form and revolutionise your mail strategy with CDP.