Nondigital Funeral Home Marketing Part 1: Direct Mailers

Name something people do almost every day consistently. Brushing their teeth, eating, drinking, and sleeping are likely top answers, but getting the mail in is another common daily task.

Most people do it at least six days a week—depending on where they live, they might get mail on Sunday too. According to the USPS, 98 percent of people bring their mail in the day it arrives, which means the majority of Americans prioritize this task.

Maybe it’s time for your funeral home to prioritize good ol’ snail mail too. You can do so by investing in direct mail marketing, which is the first nondigital method we’re covering in this four-part blog series.

Do Direct Mailers Still Work?

The post office conducted a survey to find out how much time people spend with their mail, including direct mail. The average answer for direct mail was 25 minutes for every session—not necessarily when someone gets their mail in, but when they sit down to go through it. Compare that with the literal seconds you might have to get your message across online and you can see why direct mailers might still be powerful.

Now add in these facts: More than 50 percent of adult Americans want to receive mail from businesses that have relevant products for them, and direct mailers have a 5 percent average conversion rate (the average conversion rate for website landing pages is only around 2.35 percent).

Add it all up and the answer is: Yes, direct mailers still work.

3 Tips for Putting Direct Mailers to Work for Your Funeral Home

• Show up with the right message. Landing in someone’s mailbox with a message about at-need services may not be the ideal use of direct mailers. But offering information about preplanning services that can save families time and provide peace of mind may help you connect with local residents.
• Get personal. Personalized direct mailers get more responses. At the very least, include the name of the people you’re mailing to rather than “current resident” or another vague form of address.
• Integrate with digital. Make it easy for people to find out more or connect with you. Include email addresses, social profile handles, and a short URL in your mailers. If possibly, print a QR code so people can connect directly to your landing page with a click of their smartphone camera.

For more information on nondigital marketing methods that still work, check out Part 2 of this series, which covers how funeral homes can use radio advertising.