According to Yory Wurmser, DMA research manager, The Direct Marketing Association’s annual Response Rate Trend Report, “provides marketers a context for response and cost metrics, letting them measure their campaigns against industry averages — an invaluable source when looking to benchmark campaign performance."

Key findings included:

• Not all campaigns have a goal of direct sales, just:
  • 38% of email campaigns;
  • 45% for mobile campaigns
  • 50% of direct mail campaigns; and
  • 55% of telephone marketing campaigns.
• Email to a house list averaged: a 19.47% open rate; a 6.64% click-through rate; a 1.73% conversion rate; with a bounce-back rate of 3.72% and an unsubscribe rate of 0.77%.
• Response rates for Direct Mail have held steady over the past four years. Letter-sized envelopes, for instance, had a response rate this year of 3.42% for a house list and 1.38% for a prospect list. 
• Catalogs had the lowest cost per lead/order of $47.61, followed by inserts at $47.69, email at $53.85, and postcards $75.32.
• Outbound telemarketing to prospects had the highest cost per order or lead of $309.25, but it also had the highest response rate from prospects of 6.16%. The highest response rate for a house list was also telephone, at 10.41%.
•  Paid search had an average cost per click of $3.79, with a 3.81% conversion rate. The conversion rate (after click) of internet display advertisements was slightly higher at 4.43%.
• Response rates for B-to-B campaigns were generally higher than for B-to-C campaigns. Lead generation and high-end average sale campaigns also had higher response rates.
• Nearly 60% of direct mail campaigns in financial services aimed to produce a direct sale. The average response rate was a comparatively low 2.66% to a house list and 1.01% using a prospect list.

DMA's Response Rate Report Trend Report was conducted through a survey that was emailed in March and April 2010. When the survey was closed, DMA had received 473 usable responses.

The full report is available for purchase at: http://tinyurl.com/2f47bxa

Source: DirectMarketingIQ.com, a division of Target Marketing Group