Direct mail is a marketing approach in which potential prospects included on a list of names and addresses are sent information about a company or product. It is a controversial means of generating prospects, but has been used effectively for years. Some marketers rate it very highly and some hate it. According to the SBS web site, "direct mail addresses four stages of consumer purchasing patterns including:.

             Developing and identifying a need for a particular product or service.

             Examining alternatives that are available to them.

             Making a purchasing decision.

             Reactions and impressions once the purchase has been made" .

             It is not appropriate for every situation or company, but when used properly for the right product or service, it can yield good results.

             The cost of direct mail is high compared to other means of marketing. In addition to the cost of producing a letter, brochure or other material, the major cost of direct mail is postage. According to the United States Postal Service (USPS) web site, the cost can range from $.37 per item to $.12 per item. The discounted rate can be used if the sender is willing to perform some of the tasks the USPS performs, such as bar-coding and sorting. An annual fee is also required. There are also minimum amounts of pieces in order to qualify. However, the disadvantages of bulk mail (no correction of incorrect addresses, slow delivery, extra labor, lower response rate by recipients) can sometimes outweigh the savings.

             Given the expense, why would a telecommunications company use direct mail? There are several guidelines for creating a successful direct mailing campaign. One of these is using a mailing list that is appropriate for the product or service offered. Here there is a tradeoff between cost and effectiveness. On one extreme, a telecommunications company could use a scanned copy of the telephone book generated for very little cost, which would probably yield a very low success rate.