Maximizing Impact with Strategic Direct Mail Campaigns

If you want better results from your direct mail campaigns, it’s wise to incorporate strategic actions. For instance, providing personalized direct mail can boost responsiveness by 135% [1]. Let’s explore other strategies that enable you to get better results, including a higher ROI.

Best Practices for Direct Mail Campaigns 

Segmenting your mailing list into smaller groups that share similar purchase history, demographics, or behaviors allows you to connect more directly with each segment. The general rule of thumb is to send targeted direct mail every 21 days. As mentioned above, personalizing your mailers will also provide better results than merely segmenting alone. 

Some companies can’t afford to send our direct mail every 21 days, however. Fortunately, they can take advantage of holidays, weather events, and seasonal sales. Additionally, mailing a welcome postcard and a mailer for each customer’s anniversary can increase return sales. 

Key Direct Mail Statistics You Should Know

Some people mistakenly believe that using direct mail is too old school. Once you’re done reading the following direct mail statistics, though, you’ll realize that nothing could be further from the truth [1]. 

  • 70% of consumers think that direct mail feels more personal than their online interactions. 
  • The response rate for direct mail is 3.7%. By comparison, it is only 2% on mobile and 1% for social media and email. 
  • The average cost per consumer for a targeted direct mailing is $167. This cost might seem high initially until you realize the ROI is around 1,300%!
  • Approximately 90% of consumers open direct mail, while emails only achieve a 20-30% open rate. 
  • 44% of customers will visit the website listed on direct mailers. 

As you can, you’ll actually receive a much better response, on average, than you’d get with digital marketing. 

How to Collect and Understand Direct Mail Analytics

To truly understand how well your campaigns are doing, you’ll need to collect the following direct mail metrics: 

  • Response Rate – How many consumers took action versus how many mailers you sent out. 
  • Conversion Rate – How many consumers finished a desired action by either calling or clicking on a link. 
  • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) – How much your campaign costs you divided by how many new customers you picked up. 
  • Average Order Value (AOV) – The average amount that each new customer spends on their first order. 

Collecting reliable direct mail statistics requires you to utilize at least one of the six proven methods for measuring success: 

  • QR Code
  • Personalized URL
  • 1-800 Number 
  • Business Reply Card 
  • Social Media Account Link 
  • Unique Activation Codes 

Personalized Direct Mail Strategies 

Put simply, receiving targeted direct mail helps create a sense of connectivity between the brand and the consumer. There have been several targeted direct mailings that have increased the advertiser’s reach. One of the most noteworthy is the IKEA Family mailers. By advertising its loyalty program in this way, IKEA has been able to drive sales and build a loyal customer base. 

Providing personalized messaging, content, recommendations, and offers increases consumer open rates by the previously mentioned 135%. 

Case Studies: Successful Data-Driven Direct Mail Campaigns

Century Direct worked closely with one advertiser to drastically increase the reach of their targeted mailing lists. In our first effort, we mailed out 15,059 mailers and had an impressive conversion rate of 6.22%. Two weeks later, we sent out a second direct mailer to 4,301 of the same people. This time, the conversion rate ballooned to a staggering 14.93%. 

Other real-world examples of data-driven direct mail campaigns include car dealerships sending offers to people who recently visited but didn’t purchase a new vehicle, along with Kroger using purchase history to send out personalized coupons. Both of these campaign types see a higher return, especially the Kroger one. 

Measuring the Success of Your Direct Mail Campaign

We’ve mentioned CPA and AOV above, and both are critical direct mail analytics that measure the success of your campaign. Another vital component is ROI (return on investment). In fact, when it all comes down to it, ROI is the most practical metric to keep a close eye on. So, what exactly does it mean? 

ROI indicates your direct mail campaign’s profitability. You can determine your ROI by comparing two things: the revenue your campaign generated vs how much your campaign cost to mail out. The typical ROI will be about 20-30%. However, by employing targeted direct mail techniques, it can soar as high as 1,300%. In other words, if you’re not already sending out targeted messages, now is the time to start. 

Turn to Century Direct to assist you with postal optimization and logistics, targeted mailing lists, advanced intent-based solutions, and much more. We’ve been in business since 1932, so you can rest assured that we understand exactly how to boost your company through direct mail. Contact us today to learn more!  

Sources: 

1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/direct-mail-statistics

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This post was written by Century Direct