You’ve Got Mail: Putting Data to Print

Despite direct mail’s decline in volume over the last decade, more marketers are adding it to their marketing mix. Why? More companies and organizations are linking customer data to targeted marketing campaigns. This article will outline the unique ways direct mail, combined with social and data can create a memorable campaign.  

Thought print was dead? Think again! Technology has developed to bring data to companies that allow a more specific and targeted understanding of their audience. This gives companies a chance to create a more personal and targeted mailing. Companies and organizations can focus and target families, individuals, and businesses in an array of data specific campaigns. 

Direct mail gives you the ability to track the success of any campaign. This can be done through specific call to actions like coupons redeemed, visits to landing pages, or various inquires. Direct mail can also be integrated into multi-channel markets like web, media (TV/Radio), and social. Having an integrated campaign allows more people to trust the service or offering, as well as enables accountability.

One of my favorite things about direct mail is that it can be tangible. Direct mail comes in all shapes and sizes, so you can stand out in a unique way. When planning a direct mail campaign, don’t forget that you still need to follow the basic direct mail rules; a detailed list, a standout design and a strong call-to-action are a must in order for a direct mail campaign to be a success.

Direct mail and social media: While social networks and direct mail seem totally different, they share a major thing in common, data! Just like those ads that target you based on search history and products that are of interest to you, direct mail can target consumers based on several factors similar to how social media ads work. However, direct mail is more likely to convert the customer. Data from InfoTrends indicates that print-only campaigns achieve above-average response rates of 7.4% and action rates of 7.1%, while campaigns combining print, email, social and mobile channels do even better: achieving 9.5% response rates and 8.6% action rates.

Connecting the two: Multi-channel marketing is key for any company or organization to get the word out about their product or service. While data from social media is important for optimizing campaigns, it can be used to enhance direct mail efforts by understanding the message and target audience. Direct mail can be similarly used to help grow a social media campaign by capturing the consumer’s attention and leading them to an online platform. 

The benefits of data and print:

1. Companies can cross-promote their content on social media and direct mail to build anticipation around wider marketing efforts like product launches, sales, etc. 

2. Direct mail messaging can be tailored to the consumers stated interests on social media sites.

3. Measuring which social ads work in certain locations can help companies decide what areas to focus their direct mail marketing efforts.

A personal approach to direct mail: Data is readily available from previous transactions and demographic information. This “intent” data has the power to transform the customer journey by understanding the customer path to purchase. These customers are low lying fruit for businesses, which can be captured through an integrated direct mail campaign. This can be done by executing a strategy that reaches people on a personal level and shows them why they should purchase the product or service. Your prospects and customers are unique, so treat them that way. External sources that can gather data will benefit a more personalized campaign experience. Further, defining specific statements and personalizing offers will yield the best results. 

Conclusion: Print is NOT dead! Direct mail is effective when the campaign is personalized, relevant, and well targeted that can be backed by a data driven approach.