Customer Focus 2005 Automotive Direct Marketing study, which reveals that 73 percent of adults who plan to purchase a new vehicle responded to automotive direct mail they received.Date Submitted: 2/7/2005

"Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the products and services they buy, which causes them to turn to various media for information," Therese Mulvey, vice president, marketing research, at Vertis, says in a press release. "Based on the readership increase among adults, companies and organizations should consider including a direct mail component in their marketing campaigns when outreaching to new and existing customers."

According to the Customer Focus study, 35 percent of adults who have responded to automotive direct mail by visiting the Web site are planning to purchase a new vehicle in the next 12 months. On the other hand, 26 percent of adults who planned to make a purchase within the next 12 months respond by visiting a dealer in-person. Overall, 14 percent of adults plan to buy a new vehicle in the next 12 months. It is important for automotive dealerships to know how different demographics respond to their messages in order to better serve and accommodate their needs.

The study shows the following additional findings, which provide insight into the direct mail readership of consumers in the automotive industry:

How Male Consumers Respond To Direct Mail Offerings From An Automotive Company

• Of the male automotive direct mail readers, 37 percent visited a dealer in
  Person
• 23 percent of male automotive direct mail readers said they visited a sender's
  Web site for additional information
• Six percent of male automotive direct mail readers called an 800 number
  available on the mailing
• Eight percent of male automotive direct mail readers replied to an offer from
  an automotive company via mail
  

How Female Consumers Respond To Direct Mail Offerings From An Automotive Company

• 39 percent of female automotive direct mail readers visited a dealer in person
  after receiving information in the mail
• 13 percent of female automotive direct mail readers stated they visited a
  sender's Web site for additional information
• Of the female automotive direct mail readers who looked at mail in the last 30
  days, 11 percent called the 800 number on the mailing
• Six percent of female automotive direct mail readers replied to the information
  they received via mail.




---