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 that requires some kind of response.
While I am not claiming to be an expert in print to draw out all the comparisons, one advantage of email 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 at 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...
Marketing - Snail Mail versus E-mail, MoneyBlog...
Direct Marketing News, Views and Opinions: E-mail
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