3 Strategies for Effective Direct Mail Analyses and Improvement

Direct mail can be your best tactic – if done right. Its open rates can reach up to 42%, which is a lot higher than most e-mail open rates. In fact, 56% of consumers think print marketing is the most trustworthy of all marketing channels, and 70% of Americans say that mail is more personal than digital marketing. While these are excellent stats, we know it’s not always that easy to track and measure ROI from physical mail in the same way you track ROI from your digital strategies. Don’t worry, we’re here to help out.

Consistency

For any direct mail marketing campaign, consistency is truly the only way to see real results. How can you do this? Weave digital touches into your direct mail. Stay consistent and connected through social media, digital ads, and your website for a more impactful message. For example, if you have holiday specials that you want people to know about, let your audience know with social media posts, website content, and online ads, but also send out some direct mail that reiterates that message. Even adding a QR code to your mail that directs consumers to social media is a great way to create a consistent message across platforms. If you’re not convinced this works, what if we told you that 60% of marketing respondents to a recent survey said combining digital and direct mail increased ROI? Adding these digital, consistent touches will also make tracking a whole lot easier…

Tracking

When it comes to tangible direct mail results, true success comes from tracking and back-end work. Not only tracking information and results, but tracking the delivery of your mailers- just like you would for a package. By doing this, you’ll know if the consumer is ready for a follow up or not, helping you to make the biggest impact. Take it a step further by working with your direct mail partner or resource to send the recipient an “informed delivery” message by USPS and make them aware of their mailer’s arrival. Even better – send them direct links to ROI-rich landing pages. It sometimes takes the little things to make the largest impact. If you haven’t noticed already, every step we’re highlighting combines both the traditional and digital worlds of marketing.

Attribution

You’ll notice that throughout this blog, we’ve created an experience for the customer along many steps of their customer journey. So, what’s next? Reporting, recording, and attributing. Without these, you won’t know how to improve your direct mail and increase your ROI for next time. Your recipients may respond or perform an action by phone, BRC, personalized landing page (PURL), or, in another way, so it’s important that the information is correctly recorded in real-time. The best way to record and store this information is through a dashboard that is specifically made for tracking. There are many out there – so find whatever works for your shop and make sure you use it to your advantage. The chosen platform can help you store names, addresses, ages, and other helpful demographics to assist you in understanding and targeting your target audience.

The Bottom Line

Instead of aimlessly sending out direct mail, track and know if your mailers make an impact. Make sure you’re always examining your data and attributing it. You’ll quickly realize it’s easier than you expected to see what’s working, what’s not, and where you can improve on your direct mail campaigns.

As one of our specialties at ZaHub, we know that direct mail can be extremely effective when using the right processes and tools. The secret is always combining traditional and digital to catch your audience’s attention before, during, and after direct mail is in their hands. And, like we said before, never stop tracking and modifying.

To learn more about how to create successful direct mail, check out our various direct-mail-focused blogs. We’ve been doing this for years, and would be happy to help you get an ROI rich direct mail campaign started. Contact us today.