Maximising ROI with Direct Mail: Tips & Tricks

It’s not a secret that direct mail is successful. With the cluttered digital and social media spaces, direct mail provides a stand out medium among your target audience. And when a targeted direct mail campaign is given the relevant care and consideration, it shows in the end results.

But, in a time when reporting on every business cost and the corresponding ROI is essential, how can one show accurate figures for direct mail? And if this can be done, how can it be maximised to ensure every cent spent works as hard as possible?

Calculating ROI for Direct Mail

Direct mail is relatively easy to measure; either by using a personalised URL, a phone number or some form of redeemable code. Because you’re able to define your audience based on pre-existing levels of engagement, you can work out in advance what response rates would qualify the campaign as a success or failure. Provided the mail includes some form of CTA (more on this later), you can measure the results of any targeted direct mail campaign.

To maximise your return on investment, use our seven tips below:

1. Define Your Target Audience

Choosing the correct segment of your audience is a crucial first step. Are you looking to win back lapsed customers? Or perhaps offer highly engaged customers early access to a new product? Or maybe you’re sending a one-time discount code to new customers?

By clearly defining your target audience, you minimise wastage costs and vastly increase your ROI potential and brand awareness. After all, you didn’t create an excellent mail campaign just for the wrong people to end up ignoring it!

2. Offer Something of Value

If you’re looking to increase your ROI, give your customers something to respond to. A value add, such as a discount or voucher, is a great way to incentivise your target audience. This is also an easy way to measure your return, as the customer spend will correspond against any discount use.

3. Use Your Words Wisely

Grab the attention of your audience. And keep it. Punchy headlines, easy-to-read, bitesize text (like bullet points), and a sensible font choice all go a long way towards landing your message. As a rule of thumb: if you can say it in less words, say it in less words.

4. Personalise Wherever Possible

Personalisation of any form (name, or job title, or purchase history) does two things: it catches one’s eye, and it makes them feel important. Because digital personalisation is so easy - and has largely been done very poorly - it has lost its charm, but this is not true for direct mail. Personalised mail can make a huge difference to response rates, as it creates the feeling of a comfortable one-on-one conversation.

5. Consider Creativity

Technically, black ink on a white sheet of paper can count as a direct mail campaign, but you can expect it to be forgotten in as much time as it takes to put it down. Creativity sparks curiosity, which triggers attention, which in turn drives action. Budget depending, you can use different materials, sizes, or custom die cuts to really land your message.

6. Don’t Forget a CTA!

In order for your targeted audience to take action, you have to give them an action to take. Include one clear, compelling CTA and monitor the response rate based on this. If you’ve sent your audience a URL, check that website for hits and click-throughs. If you’ve offered a discount code, track the redemption rate.

7. Analyse Your Results

Monitor the performance of your campaign based on the results. Did it over or underperform in any way? Were there any stand out or skewed results? Can you attribute any new insights to anything? A concise review of the campaign is imperative for the next campaign to build on the findings.

Get Your Every Direct Mail Need Sorted

Choose Sorted Direct Mail for all your direct mail needs, including insights, execution, printing services, packaging, and postage. With over 20 years of experience, we are a reliable and knowledgeable partner for all your print marketing requirements.

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