Today, marketing channels such as email, social media, and online ads dominate the digital landscape. And while these channels offer several advantages, there’s another channel that can make a significant impact on your marketing efforts: intelligent direct mail.  

Personalization: Make a lasting impression  

Gone are the days of generic mass mailings that end up in the recycling bin; one of intelligent direct mail’s greatest strengths is its ability to be personalized. And by leveraging data and customer insights, you can do just that; create highly targeted and personalized mail pieces.  

What’s the big deal about personalization? For starters, connecting with individuals through content that’s relevant cultivates a lasting impression and establishes a strong relationship between your brand and the recipient, significantly increasing the likelihood of a positive response.  

What’s more, personalizing direct mail allows you to address customers by name, tailor content to their preferences, and showcase products or services relevant to their needs. It’s a worthwhile, valuable undertaking;  68% of consumers are more likely to engage with a brand’s message when it’s personalized, with over half (55%) expecting the direct mail they receive to be personalized. 

Enhance multichannel marketing synergy  

Intelligent direct mail underpinned by personalization, however, shouldn’t be used as a standalone channel but rather as a powerful component of a comprehensive multichannel marketing strategy. 

By integrating direct mail with channels such as email, social media, web and online advertising, brands can create a truly seamless and cohesive customer experience. For example, you can use direct mail to generate initial awareness, following up with personalized email campaigns to nurture leads and drive conversions. Bottom line? By leveraging the strengths of each channel and ensuring consistent messaging, you can amplify your marketing efforts to achieve a far greater impact.  

Targeting: Reach the right audience  

Intelligent direct mail allows you to precisely target your audience, ensuring that your message reaches the right people at the right time. Using customer data, you can segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, purchasing history, and more. This targeted approach ensures that your direct mail campaigns are sent to individuals most likely to be interested in your offers. And by reaching a receptive audience? You can maximize the impact of your marketing efforts and achieve higher response rates.   

But what if you only have some of the data you need to reach your target audience? For instance, say you have an email marketing list with 25,000 subscribers, but you don’t have physical mailing addresses. No worries! You can easily append that data and proactively use Address Verification to ensure addresses are valid and mailable before you spend marketing dollars to create mail pieces to be sent to them, avoiding waste and maximizing ROI.   

Tracking: Monitor your mail pieces every step of the way  

Contrary to the perception that direct mail is difficult to track, intelligent direct mail offers robust tracking capabilities. Through the use of unique identifiers, personalized URLs (PURLs), QR codes, or dedicated phone numbers, you can easily monitor the response and engagement of your direct mail campaigns.  

This data allows you to measure the effectiveness of your mailings, track conversions, and attribute results to specific campaigns. By leveraging this valuable information, you can make data-driven decisions, optimize your marketing strategies, and enhance your return on investment.   

On the flip side, automated direct mail platforms also provide production, mailing, and delivery visibility throughout the process. Each piece of mail is tracked individually as it goes through both production and the postal system—providing the same level of visibility as a FedEx or UPS package. Whether it’s to inform customers of payment delivery dates, meet compliance requirements, or test the impact of different marketing messages and offers, being able to precisely track each piece of mail is priceless.  

Stand out from the digital noise  

In an increasingly digital world, our inboxes and social media feeds are inundated with advertisements and promotional messages, leading to marketing fatigue and lack of engagement.  

Intelligent direct mail provides a refreshing change of pace and offers a tangible, physical experience to capture attention; 71% of consumers report they read direct mail the same day they bring it inside their residence. This tactile nature of direct mail makes it more memorable and impactful, increasing the recipient’s chances of acting. By integrating direct mail into your multichannel marketing approach, you can cut through the digital noise and engage your audience in a unique way.  

Wrapping up … 

In the age of digital marketing dominance, intelligent direct mail stands out as a powerful tool to engage your audience and drive tangible results. By leveraging data to personalize and target your mailings, you can create a lasting impression and establish a stronger connection with your customers. What’s more, with trackable features, you can monitor the performance of your campaigns and optimize your marketing strategies accordingly. So, embrace the power of intelligent direct mail and unlock its potential to drive response, conversion, and ROI for your business.  

Published on August 17th, 2023

Posted in

• Customer Retention

Kim Courvoisier

Kim Courvoisier is the Senior Director of Content Marketing at Lob, the only direct mail automation platform for the digital age. Kim is an experienced senior-level digital marketing leader with over 12 years of experience in SaaS marketing, specializing in B2B and B2C content marketing, social media, email marketing, customer lifecycle marketing, AI, and SEO. She is based in San Francisco, California.