How Effective Is Your Direct Mail? Mailing Systems Technology

A commonly asked question by businesses of all sizes is: Does direct mail marketing really work? Online marketing has dominated the world and has, to some extent, replaced traditional forms of advertisements. However, direct mail is still highly relevant in the digital age and should form a large part of your marketing strategy. Here are a few ways to measure how effective your direct mail is when it comes to your audience.

Exclusive Offers

If the purpose of your marketing is to promote a product or service, why not offer your audience something they cannot refuse? Send out unique coupon codes to your target audience and tally up the number of people who claim your offer. This way, you’ll be able to track how effective your promotion is.

Getting your promotion out there is easy. There are plenty of methods to do so, whether it’s by email or a physical mail piece. You can even generate tailored coupon codes specific to certain regions or demographics, allowing you to find out information about your target demographic. This way, your direct mail marketing can provide you with answers that can transform your business’ digital marketing strategy. Try putting the coupon at the bottom of the email or flyer to see which recipients actually read the entire thing.

Promotional URLs

Why not take advantage of the digital age and integrate technology into direct mail marketing? Direct mail works well with a digital marketing strategy. Promotional or sales-based URLs are a great tool to measure how effective your direct mail marketing is. Tracking the number of people who click on your URL and end up on your landing page is simple.

URLs can also be personalized. Including your audience member’s name in the URL adds a great personal touch and encourages them to respond to your promotions. Everyone wants to feel special, so customize your offer depending on the person to whom you’re sending the mail.

USPS Informed Delivery

The United States Postal Service’s Informed Delivery program is another effective way to merge your digital and physical communications. Recipients who are signed up to receive the daily email showing them what mail is arriving that day can also click through on the image of the mail piece to a specific offer landing page. Companies could provide an exclusive offer that is only available to ID subscribers, and as an added bonus, this strategy can show which mail pieces are getting the attention of a company’s customers.

QR Codes

QR codes are the epitome of successful integration of our digital era and old school direct mail marketing. Make it easy for your audience to access your landing page by providing them with a QR code. All they need to do is scan it with their phone, and the page will open up on their screens right before their eyes.

Be sure to incorporate a tool that tracks the number of people who scanned the QR code. It’s also helpful to know who went to what page and how many people ordered products or services from your page after scanning the code. This is a very cost-effective way of finding out the percentage of people on your mailing list who responded.

Trackable Phone Numbers

If your business requires your audience to call you, choose a number that is specific to your direct mail. This way, you can easily monitor the response. A good tip is to set up a phone number that is free for recipeints to call. Some organizations prefer to involve an agent company who focuses on tracking calls. This way, you will get professional analytics that will be beneficial to improving your marketing strategy in the future.

If your business is smaller, there are other ways to measure the response rate of your direct mail. Request your staff to ask the person on the line how they found the number they are calling. This is an easy and cost-free way of keeping track.

To circle back to the question at the beginning of this article, direct mail marketing is extremely effective for your audience. Although it’s important to adapt to the digital age, direct mail cannot be forgotten. It’s a great way to grab your audience’s attention and connect with them on a more personal level.

Cloe Matheson is a New Zealand based freelance writer who has a passion for writing on a range of topics - from business and recruitment to technology. Check out her published works on Tumblr.

How Effective Is Your Direct Mail?

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