Recently, Chantal Tode blogged about the ICOM research showing that younger consumers prefer direct mail and newspapers over online channels for receiving marketing information. The study, titled "Finding the Right Channel Combination: What Drives Channel Choice?" (download here), conducted by ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, surveyed over 2500 U.S. and 2200 Canadian households and found that, when asked their preference, consumers prefer direct mail over online media for marketing communications. What's particularly surprising here is that the study wasn't conducted among older consumers but among younger ones. The coveted 18-34-year-old bracket, in fact. That's very encouraging data in an industry that can struggle with discouragement. My question is, what are you doing with that information? Keeping it under your hat? Or using it to market your services to customers? Of course, one of the reasons 18-34-year-old prefer direct mail could be that it is easier to ignore. It doesn't flash in their faces and interrupt what they are doing. They don't have to look at it, click out of it, or navigate around it to get to whatever it is they want to do. Just because someone prefers direct mail doesn't automatically mean it's more effective. That said — and not knowing why 18-34-year-olds in this study prefer direct mail — this is still some great data to drop on your customers. Try it during your next phone call or the next time they drop in the door. "Hey, did you hear about the study that showed direct mail beats online media for marketing communications?" Chances are, they'll say, "No, can't say that I have." This opens a great marketing door for you. I'm not saying that there isn't more to this study than appears on the surface. But what it does is open the door for discussions. It plants seeds in the minds of customers about the value of print. It's yet another opportunity to start a dialog, engage your customers, and reinforce the value they receive by working with you. Here are some data nuggets to drop in your next conversation: