Marketing e-mails using a house list are seeing an average open rate of nearly 20%, a click-through rate of 6.64% and a conversation rate of 1.73%, according to a survey released June 15 by the Direct Marketing Association. Marketing e-mails are also bouncing back at a rate of 3.72% and seeing a unsubscribe rate of 0.77%, according to the survey.
Response rates for direct mail marketing pieces have also held steady, according to the organization, seeing rates of 3.42% for a house list and 1.38% for prospect lists, according to the survey.
The DMA also noted that outbound telemarketing to prospects had the highest response rate at 6.16%, and also the highest cost per order or lead at $309.25.
The group also noted that nearly 60% of direct mail campaigns in financial services aimed to produce a direct sale. The average response rate in this category was a comparatively low 2.66% for a house list and 1.01% from a prospect list, according to the DMA.
“People are using a lot of digital channels. The conversion rate of paid search and Internet display are pretty healthy,” said Yuri Wurmser, research manager at DMA. “Traditional channels are holding their own in terms of response, but it is a multichannel market out there where everyone is using a lot of different channels.”
Wurmser added that response rates for business-to-business campaigns were generally higher than business-to-consumer campaigns, and that Internet tactics were used less often for direct sales than traditional sources.
“The Internet wasn’t used to drive people to a sale immediately,” he said. “Direct mail had a much higher percentage of people making the sale right away.”
The DMA surveyed 473 respondents in March and April for the report.
