E-mail versus Snail Mail Communication: Best Response Rates
I am frequently asked about the effectiveness of e-mail/on-line media versus printed United States Postal Service (USPS) letters for communicating important information or for soliciting a response.
While I am not claiming to be an expert in print to draw out all the comparisons, one advantage of e-mail is that it gets past the “gate keeper” who opens, sorts and prioritizes mail, in contrast to e-mail which will often get to the actual intended recipient. In the same home you could also have multiple recipients recieving the same e-mail message directly to their desktop.
Several recent research studies have describe that higher response rates were achieved among certain audiences when using of e-mail/on-line versus paper surveys. Although customer survey responses are not a perfect analogy for determining the most effective mode for customer interaction; the studies do show a significantly higher response rate for e-mail vs. USPS when recipients are already “on-line” and have been conditioned to use e-mail as the primary means of communication with a particular vendor or service provider.
Certainly more and more home buying customers fall into this “on-line” category….but the most effective way to get a high response rate from this kind of audience is to use a combination of media…e-mail/on-line, phone and perhaps a post card or two.
Here are some helpful blog links on the subject:
E-mail versus snail mail: which ever is better for you…
E-mail vs. Snail Mail: Creative Criticism…