Direct mail marketing might seem outdated in the tech-focused world of today, but just because direct mail marketing has been around for a while does not mean that it isn’t effective. These campaigns still prove to be very successful at promoting businesses across a broad range of industries.
That being said, it is important to build your campaign around your targeted audience. Members of different generations have different preferences, values, backgrounds, and upbringings—which means members of one generation won’t respond to direct mail marketing in the same way as members of another generation.
Generations X, Y, and Z include members of the population who were born between 1965 and 2010. Most businesses want to target potential customers within that age bracket—approximately 10 years old to 55 years old. If you’re interested in targeting
members of any of these generations with your direct mail marketing campaign—which is likely because these generations include most adults—it’s important to make sure your marketing strategies align with the values and interests of each generation in order to draw in more customers from each of these generations.
Whether you’re targeting one of these generations or all of them, keep reading to learn more about Generations X, Y, and Z and how to cater to members of each of these generations to make your direct mail marketing campaigns more effective and successful across the board.
Generation X
Members of Generation X were born between the years 1965 and 1980. They are currently between the ages of about 40 and 55. They are not yet senior citizens, but most members of Generation X already have established families and careers. They also experienced their early upbringing before the age of the Internet, so they tend to be naturally more accustomed and receptive to direct mail marketing strategies than members of later generations.
Individuals who are a part of Generation X tend to be more practical than younger generations. They do not need gimmicky content or bright colors to respond to direct mail marketing. Instead, members of Generation X want to know how the products or services your business is offering will benefit them and help enhance their already well-established lives. Be very purposeful with your content and focus on the clear benefits of becoming a customer of your business when you target direct mailer content to members of Generation X.
Generation Y
People who belong to Generation Y—who are also known as Millennials—were born between 1981 and 1996, which means the vast majority of them are currently in their mid-twenties to late-thirties. Generation Y is an in-between generation. Members of this generation grew up with some technology—some more than others—and many were born after the age of the Internet had already begun.
Generation Y can be a tricky generation to target because it spans a wide age range within which a lot of changes occur in most people’s lives. Some members of Generation Y do not yet have families and are just beginning their adult lives and careers, while others are married with children and have established careers that they have maintained for more than a decade.
Members of Generation Y are still fairly easy to reach through the mail—less so than Generation X but more so than Generation Z—and actually tend to be excited when they receive letters in the mail. Personalizing your direct mail marketing content and including links to your business’s website and social media platforms within this content can help you effectively reach members of this in-between generation through a direct mail marketing campaign.
Generation Z
Generation Z includes people who were born between 1997 and 2010. This means that many members of Generation Z are still children, while the oldest members of this generation are just beginning their adult life and are in their late teens and early twenties. All members of Generation Z grew up with the Internet and other technology that members of previous generations did not have access to until later in life; most members of Generation Z already had smartphones by their early to late teen years.
Individuals within Generation Z are generally more accustomed and receptive to digital marketing campaigns than they are to direct mail marketing, but that does not mean that they cannot be reached by direct mail marketing campaigns as long as these campaigns are targeted specifically toward this young generation.
Members of Generation Z have relatively short attention spans, which means that brief and to-the-point direct mail marketing campaigns tend to be the most effective for members of this generation. They are also used to bold multimedia content, so they are more receptive to direct mail marketing that stands out and is visually pleasing with plenty of graphics and color.