• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 17, 2005

Gender and Generation Impact Direct Mail Success in Autos

According to the Vertis proprietary Customer Focus® 2005 Automotive Direct Marketing study, 73 percent of adults who plan to purchase a new vehicle responded to automotive direct mail they received.

Thérèse Mulvey, vice president, marketing research, at Vertis, said "Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the products and services they buy, which causes them to turn to various media for information."

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 total adults are planning to buy a new vehicle in the next 12 months.

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

• 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
• 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

Response to Direct Mail Offerings from Automotive Company read about or looked at in past 30 days:

	Total Adults	GenY (1977-'94)	GenX ('65-'76)	Boomers2 ('56-'64)	Boomers1 ('46-'55)	Young/ Olds ('30-'45)
Did not respond	45%	33	40	44	50	59
Visited dealer in person	38	38	41	46	29	36
Visited sender's website	19	32	24	12	15	9
Called 800 no. on mailing	8	13	8	10	7	4
Replied via mail	7	14	3	7	7	4

Source: 2005 Vertis Customer Focus DM 2005

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