If you want better results from your direct mail campaigns, it’s wise to incorporate strategic actions. For instance, providing personalized direct mail can boost responsiveness by 135% [1]. Let’s explore other strategies that enable you to get better results, including a higher ROI.
Segmenting your mailing list into smaller groups that share similar purchase history, demographics, or behaviors allows you to connect more directly with each segment. The general rule of thumb is to send targeted direct mail every 21 days. As mentioned above, personalizing your mailers will also provide better results than merely segmenting alone.
Some companies can’t afford to send our direct mail every 21 days, however. Fortunately, they can take advantage of holidays, weather events, and seasonal sales. Additionally, mailing a welcome postcard and a mailer for each customer’s anniversary can increase return sales.
Some people mistakenly believe that using direct mail is too old school. Once you’re done reading the following direct mail statistics, though, you’ll realize that nothing could be further from the truth [1].
As you can, you’ll actually receive a much better response, on average, than you’d get with digital marketing.
To truly understand how well your campaigns are doing, you’ll need to collect the following direct mail metrics:
Collecting reliable direct mail statistics requires you to utilize at least one of the six proven methods for measuring success:
Put simply, receiving targeted direct mail helps create a sense of connectivity between the brand and the consumer. There have been several targeted direct mailings that have increased the advertiser’s reach. One of the most noteworthy is the IKEA Family mailers. By advertising its loyalty program in this way, IKEA has been able to drive sales and build a loyal customer base.
Providing personalized messaging, content, recommendations, and offers increases consumer open rates by the previously mentioned 135%.
Century Direct worked closely with one advertiser to drastically increase the reach of their targeted mailing lists. In our first effort, we mailed out 15,059 mailers and had an impressive conversion rate of 6.22%. Two weeks later, we sent out a second direct mailer to 4,301 of the same people. This time, the conversion rate ballooned to a staggering 14.93%.
Other real-world examples of data-driven direct mail campaigns include car dealerships sending offers to people who recently visited but didn’t purchase a new vehicle, along with Kroger using purchase history to send out personalized coupons. Both of these campaign types see a higher return, especially the Kroger one.
We’ve mentioned CPA and AOV above, and both are critical direct mail analytics that measure the success of your campaign. Another vital component is ROI (return on investment). In fact, when it all comes down to it, ROI is the most practical metric to keep a close eye on. So, what exactly does it mean?
ROI indicates your direct mail campaign’s profitability. You can determine your ROI by comparing two things: the revenue your campaign generated vs how much your campaign cost to mail out. The typical ROI will be about 20-30%. However, by employing targeted direct mail techniques, it can soar as high as 1,300%. In other words, if you’re not already sending out targeted messages, now is the time to start.
Turn to Century Direct to assist you with postal optimization and logistics, targeted mailing lists, advanced intent-based solutions, and much more. We’ve been in business since 1932, so you can rest assured that we understand exactly how to boost your company through direct mail. Contact us today to learn more!
Sources:
1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/direct-mail-statistics
If you’re involved in automotive marketing, such as for a car dealership, service center, or specialized automotive marketing agency, you’ve likely considered the value of direct automotive mailers. These tried-and-true tools have been used to drive customer engagement and improve ROI across the automotive industry. Read on to discover how automotive mailers can elevate marketing strategies and help identify customer intent at the top of the sales funnel.
Automotive mailers are any type of promotional material that you send via USPS. Examples include:
For example, a dealership with excess inventory can send a postcard promoting a sale, paired with an exclusive coupon to entice customers. Similarly, a service center might use a loyalty discount mailer to encourage repeat visits. These materials not only attract potential buyers but also help marketers identify customer intent at the top of the sales funnel.
Direct mail is one of the most effective tools for automotive businesses. It enables you to reach a targeted audience of potential car buyers, and when paired with personalized messages and compelling visuals, it can build customer loyalty—even if the message doesn’t lead to an immediate sale.
Direct mail also offers exceptional ROI compared to other marketing methods, thanks to its high response rates. It’s a great way to deliver high-value offers, target specific demographics, and build brand awareness.
One of the key advantages of direct mail is its ability to help identify auto buyers’ intent at the top of the sales funnel. By analyzing responses to specific offers or campaigns, marketers can pinpoint prospects who are ready to take the next step, streamlining the sales process and improving targeting.
Digital Ads Complement Direct Mail
Digital ads are a powerful marketing tool, capturing attention and working seamlessly alongside direct mail to engage customers at multiple touchpoints. When combined with direct mail, digital ads amplify results by reaching audiences across various platforms, increasing overall engagement and response rates.
Overall, a combination of direct mail and digital marketing creates a cohesive, omnichannel marketing approach that ensures your message resonates with your audience.
We’ve been in business since 1932, and automotive direct mailers have become one of our top nine industries. In other words, we understand how automotive customers think, and we’ve leveraged this into effective results. We also offer a variety of marketing options such as:
In addition, our omnichannel marketing services and data-driven strategies help to pinpoint auto buyers’ intent at the top of the sales funnel, ensuring your campaigns target the right audience effectively. This level of precision drives higher response rates and improves ROI.
Speaking of our omnichannel marketing services, this is an approach that has made great gains for the automotive industry. By sending an automotive mailer that is backed up by a digital campaign, you’ll be in a better position to sell more cars.
How does this work? By using the marketing Rule of Seven. Simply put, this rule means that most customers need to see or hear your message a minimum of seven times before they make a purchasing decision. By varying your message slightly, using engagement opportunities, and remaining consistent, you can get the most out of an omnichannel approach.
At Century Direct, we have the ability to create custom solutions that align with your broader marketing goals. For example, let’s say that your primary goal is to increase awareness of your automotive company, but you also want to advertise a specific type of vehicle. When you turn to us, we’ll make sure that each ad helps support these goals. Ultimately, awareness will go up, and you’ll also have more people interested in looking at your vehicle type of the month.
There are a wide number of different ideas you can use to maximize your ROI. More specifically, we suggest the following:
Next, it’s important to recognize which categories prove your campaign is successful or not. Keep an eye on the following:
Contact Century Direct today to get started! You can also click here to learn more about how Century Direct can help your automotive business.
Reaching people via direct mail isn’t a difficult process, but it’s highly important to take advantage of the latest marketing innovations. For example, you can take your customer targeting to the next level by using USPS Informed Delivery. How does USPS Informed Delivery work, you ask? Read on to find out!
USPS offers Informed Delivery to every household in the United States. By signing up for this service on their website, you can find out what pieces of mail are being delivered to your home each day. Once you’ve signed up and verified your identity, you’ll begin receiving a daily digest that shows you exactly when you can expect mail and packages to be delivered.
In the past, direct mail companies would simply create a mailer and send it out. Now, though, they have the opportunity to go further by leveraging USPS Informed Delivery. You’ll be able to create a representative image for your direct mailers that will automatically show up in each person’s daily digest. Additionally, you’ll save advertising dollars with this free add-on service, and you’ll be able to expand your reach and boost engagement. Plus, you’ll receive valuable customer insights and elevate the customer experience.
Non-personalized direct mail typically has a response rate of around 2%. Adding personalization, though, will increase the response rate to approximately 6%. This one fact alone shows the power of personalized mail and proves that if you’re not already using it, you really should.
If you received your daily digest and saw that one of the mailers used your actual name on it, you’d be more inclined to check it out, right? This is basic psychology. Once you toss in audience segmentation tactics, you can greatly enhance your response rate. For instance, Marley Spoon successfully segmented their audience and received a 20% response rate from former subscribers. [1]
Another good example can be found in Lollypop Farm, an animal shelter in NY. They harnessed the power of personalization and almost doubled their response rate. Furthermore, they received more than double their usual donations. [2]
Addressable advertising is a way of showing a customer something they’ve already indicated they’re interested in. A prime example is that Facebook customizes the ads they show you based on a series of signals you unconsciously show them. Are you interested in bestselling books? You’ll begin to see lots of book ads. Are you looking for art from your favorite artist? Suddenly, shops that sell their art will show up in your ads.
One way that direct mail companies utilize addressable advertising is by combining their efforts with digital advertising campaigns. Thanks to Informed Delivery, it’s possible to run a simultaneous direct mail campaign with a free digital ad inside of each person’s daily digest. In a test of the system, the USPS discovered that 57% to 65% of these ads were clicked on.
Valvoline targeted specific customers by tying picture texts in with a written explanation. Adding in this one extra form of marketing enabled them to increase their coupon’s reach by 76%. [3]
Direct mail thrives on marketing innovation. One example is the usage of sensory experiences. By adding embossing, foiling, or scent to your mailers, you’ll be in a stronger position to capture attention and improve ROI. [4]
USPS Informed Delivery mail, sometimes incorrectly referred to as USPS Information Delivery, makes it easier to experiment with your messages and imagery. Rather than trying something completely new on your expensive direct mailers, you can see how well your audience responds by using Informed Delivery’s representative image instead.
To get the most out of each direct mail campaign while leveraging the power of Informed Delivery, you should always use these best practices from the USPS:
Using addressable marketing in concert with direct mail marketing will become an increasingly successful endeavor. After all, combining these two factors makes it possible to reach your customers wherever they are. It’ll be critical to properly manage your data from these campaigns, though. Otherwise, you’ll just be tossing money down the drain.
Informed Delivery has already increased website traffic for 39% of users, but what other innovations are on the horizon? [5] Informed Visibility will take on a bigger role, which is good news considering it increases website traffic for 48% of users. [5] Overall, there will be an even bigger emphasis placed on combining direct mail and digital advertising.
The Pittsburgh Pirates tested different ride-along images through Informed Delivery, which clearly showed them what option works best. One of their images had a 9% higher response rate, while the other had an astronomical 39% higher response rate. [6]
Another company that uses Informed Delivery, Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q, experimented with grayscale versus color imagery. Surprisingly, the daily digests with the grayscale image saw a 35% higher click-to-open rate than the full-color image. [6] This confirmed what Informed Delivery already knew, as grayscale images have an average of a 13% higher click-to-open rate. [6] These campaigns teach us that it’s always a good idea to test out a theory rather than putting your entire marketing budget behind the idea that you think looks best.
Are you in the market for an enhanced direct mail campaign? Century Direct can help your business increase your ROI through direct mail processing, targeted mailing lists, postal optimization, and much more. Learn more by visiting our website. Once you’re ready to move forward, contact us right away!
Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) makes it easier to advertise your local small business. Whether you want to call attention to a sale, offer coupons, or open a new location, EDDM can help ensure you reach the right consumers. EDDM is available for sending flyers, menus, postcards, and more!
Every Door Direct Mail, better known as EDDM, is a service offered by the USPS. By using the postal service’s EDDM Online Tool, you’ll have the ability to choose specific features for your intended audience. This includes their age, income, neighborhood, and even whether they’re a residential or commercial property. Revolutionize your direct mail!
With typical direct mail, it’s necessary to know the names and addresses of every receiver. However, EDDM provides an easier system. By making it possible to reach out to every residential and commercial address that meets your chosen criteria, EDDM can significantly reduce your expenses. For instance, using this method provides flat-rate postage fees, which offer a reduction on the cost of postage.
There are a wide range of benefits involved with choosing EDDM to advertise your company. One thing to note, though, is that EDDM is not right for B2B companies. That’s because EDDM can be sent in two different ways: To residential consumers only or to residential and commercial properties. At the current time, there is no way to select only commercial properties.
Approximately 26% of U.S.-based consumers recognize direct mail as an important, non-digital advertising touchpoint. Furthermore, 72% of people read direct mail on a regular basis, 60% say that digital mail is more memorable than digital ads, and 58% indicated that they trust direct mail. By contrast, only 48% of people trust TV advertising. These numbers make it clear that sending out direct mail via EDDM will definitely increase your company’s local visibility and brand recognition.
Traditionally, it’s necessary to purchase postage permits or a targeted mailing list. Fortunately, EDDM allows you to skip this purchase! Instead, you’ll pay a flat rate mailing price. This brings your costs down, plus you’ll be able to take advantage of EDDM’s streamlined distribution process, which makes it even more affordable.
Let’s say that your goal is to connect with homeowners to teach them about your lawn-cutting services. By carefully selecting specific neighborhoods, you can avoid wasting money on apartment dwellers. Alternatively, perhaps you want to advertise your pizza business to consumers within one mile of your business. This is also possible by harnessing EDDM’s local targeting tools.
Why should you rely on EDDM? According to Every Door Direct Mail reviews, the USPS has an excellent track record. In fact, 92% of business owners reported to Trustpilot that they received 5- or 4-star service. Out of their current 599 reviews, EDDM has a 4.7-star average.
Any local company that wants to attract more business should consider trying EDDM. Some examples include:
EDDM is also a fantastic way for political campaigns to connect with local voters. If you’ve ever received several local political postcards before an election, then you’ve received mail via EDDM.
There are two specific things to include in any EDDM mailer template: ‘Local Postal Customer’ where the address usually goes, and the EDDM Retail Indicia postage mark.
The EDDM Retail Indicia needs to be placed in the above right area from your Local Postage Customer mark. Make sure it is larger than 0.5” x 0.5” and uses all caps, along with a font size of four or more. Leave a buffer of 1/8” of blank space by the top and right edge. Finally, ensure it fits into the area that’s 1.375” from the top edge and 1.625” from the right edge.
Fortunately, Every Door Direct Mail size requirements provide a lot of wiggle room. The three most popular sizes are:
Having said that, though, you can make your mailer up to 15” long, 12” high, and .75” thick. The smallest size you can use is .25” thick, along with either 10.5” long or 6.125” high. Finally, the total weight of each direct mail piece needs to be 3.3 ounces or less.
After selecting your route with the EDDM Online Tool, you or your direct mail marketing and printing service will need to complete an EDDM facing slip. These slips require the following information:
By providing this info, the USPS will be able to better assess their mail schedule to help ensure your mailers are received on time. They generally deliver to local addresses within two to five days. If you want to use EDDM on a national level, it can take between two and four weeks. Always plan accordingly!
Even though the USPS has endeavored to make EDDM relatively simple to use, it still takes time and specialized knowledge to get it right. For most small business owners, time is at a premium. The good news is that you can easily turn to a direct mail marketing company to coordinate your EDDM efforts.
Century Direct provides EDDM services to make your life much easier! Additionally, we also offer addressing and inserting services, direct mail processing, digital printing, bindery, and data management, omnichannel marketing campaigns, targeted mailing lists, and postal optimization and logistics. We’ve been offering our services to businesses like yours since 1932, and we’re aware that using a cookie-cutter solution is not the answer. Instead, we tailor each campaign to your specific company!
Ready to learn more? Contact us today!
In a surprising turn of events, Google announced that it will maintain third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, reversing its previous commitment to phase out these tiny packets of code that track users on the internet. This decision marks a significant shift in the tech giant’s approach, highlighting the complex balance between user privacy and the needs of advertisers.
For users, this decision means a continuation of the current browsing experience with personalized ads, albeit with ongoing privacy concerns. For advertisers, it represents a reprieve, allowing them to continue leveraging third-party cookies for targeted advertising strategies.
At Century Direct, we are committed to building new technologies that add value for our clients and staying apprised of industry trends in the marketing and direct mail space. Our focus remains on providing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers while staying ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
One of our flagship solutions, Intent to Home, exemplifies this commitment. This intent-based marketing solution sorts consumers into "topics" based on their web search and browsing behavior. Imagine Google Conquesting on steroids! There are over 21,000 topics to choose from, encompassing any industry, with records updated daily and new topics created continuously.
Using advanced machine learning models, we collect bitstream information such as URLs of pages visited and website referral tags. What sets this apart is the correlation to a physical address, allowing us to suppress bots and IP aggregators, enabling granular attribution for enhanced campaign analysis.
For instance, in the home services industry, if a user is browsing sites about HVAC duct cleaning, they would be sorted into the "HVAC Duct Cleaning" topic. We can then target these segments at the individual business level and reach them via display ads or direct mail.
The primary objectives of our Intent to Home solution include:
The technology allows for targeted marketing by matching identified IP addresses to physical addresses (residential or commercial). And create new sales solutions toward this highly targeted in-market audience, using direct mail and existing display campaigns.
Implementation of a test campaign could begin in a matter of days using existing display ad creative and messaging, ensuring swift execution and impactful results.
At Century Direct, our dedication to innovation in direct mail marketing is unwavering. By harnessing the power of advanced technologies like Intent to Home, we offer our clients unparalleled targeting and efficiency, ensuring their marketing efforts reach the 'real' audience at the right time. Stay ahead with Century Direct—where cutting-edge solutions meet exceptional results.
Dmail, better known as a direct mail marketing company, provides a tried-and-true method for connecting with your customers. In fact, the ROI for direct mail sits at approximately 1,300%, and it has an open rate of up to a staggering 90%! [1] Therefore, if you don’t currently work with a direct mailing company, it’s definitely time to find one.
Direct mail partners need to do much more than simply send out direct mailers. To help you decide on the best partner for your business, we’ve put together the following list.
Look for a direct mail marketing company that can rightfully call themselves postal experts. There are several different components involved in getting the optimal ROI. It’s critical not to choose a company that merely ships out a mailer without doing any of the little extra tasks that can make it a huge success.
Research any company you’re considering utilizing to make sure they offer all the following postal services:
Each item on the preceding list helps ensure that your direct mail will reach the right person, which is going to boost your ROI.
Another thing to consider is the level of knowledge that each direct mail marketing team brings to the table. After all, it’s easy to find tons of these companies, so you must drill down deeper to make sure they have the knowledge and experience necessary to make a difference.
For instance, our company has been in business since 1932, and we offer addressable media and an omnichannel approach. This means that we’ll match your mailing list to IP addresses, thereby increasing accuracy. Once again, this can bump up your ROI.
Any company can send out direct mailers to every address on your mailing list. This isn’t the best way to get a solid ROI, however. Instead, you need to find direct mail solutions that fully utilize audience segmentation and tracking methods.
Let’s say that your business builds swimming pools for homes in the Ann Arbor, MI, area. You have two choices:
By choosing to send direct mail to homeowners only, you can increase your campaign’s ROI. This is the power of using strategic campaigns to target only the people who are in a position to have a positive response.
How can you know the true effectiveness of each campaign unless there are tracking measures in place? Quite simply, you can’t. But with the right campaign tracking method, you’ll be able to anticipate your staffing needs and eliminate unnecessary costs.
We take pride in offering campaign tracking in real-time. We will help you create your optimal message, let you know exactly when each piece of mail will be received, adjust your ads as needed, and remove any extraneous costs.
Data-driven insights are a game-changer. By using them, you’ll have the opportunity to define realistic objectives, easily identify your consumer profiles, create the best action plan, continuously monitor—and refine, if necessary—your campaign efforts, and release new campaigns that are data-driven.
Without these insights, you’ll be operating blindly, and this can cause you to squander your marketing budget. Instead, get the most out of every single penny!
The last thing you need when you’re planning to send out a time-sensitive mailer is for it to arrive too late. Therefore, speed to market needs to be a major concern. Some direct mail companies run their business like a well-oiled machine. You can always count on us to get your mailer into the hands of your consumers on time, for example. This efficient process is part of what comes from spending more than 90 years in business. Meanwhile, a company that has less experience might struggle to ship everything in a timely fashion. Not only will this make you look less professional to consumers, but it’s also a good way to erode your ROI.
If you’ve ever received a piece of direct mail that looked blurry or that seemingly ran out of room for its entire message, then you’ve got a good idea how important proper printing equipment can be. Although it’s understandable for a start-up digital marketing company to cut some corners, this shouldn’t impact the overall quality of your mailers.
Our offset and digital printing equipment includes all major software programs, the ability to print from PC and Macintosh platforms, and a staggering 8,000 fonts. Furthermore, we use high-quality printers from well-known companies such as:
That way, no one has to worry about whether your message will be rendered exactly as you’ve envisioned it.
Being knowledgeable about direct mail is important, yet it’s equally important to have an understanding of your specific industry. Otherwise, creating the optimal strategy for your business may not be possible. Our areas of expertise include creating direct mail for:
In other words, whether you want to advertise a political candidate or increase awareness of your local retail business, we have the necessary skills to help you make a difference.
As a marketing manager/director, it’s vital to have a good understanding of your company’s ultimate goals. If you’re not getting exactly what you want from your current direct mail marketing company, you may need to switch to a business that has experience working with your industry.
As mentioned above, this will help ensure the optimal strategy for getting your phone to ring more often! It’s also a proven way to get the best possible ROI for each campaign.
Your direct mail partner needs to be accessible and responsive at all times. They also need to act as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all your marketing needs. By working with a fully integrated direct mail services company, you’ll receive better results, more transparency, and increased ROI. Century Direct has daily and weekly team check-ins, which we utilize to keep every project on time and on budget. Experience the difference of working with a direct mail team that has been in business since 1932!
Are you ready to make the switch to a professional, highly experienced direct mail marketing company? Contact our team to get started!
Sources:
1 https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/direct-mail-statistics
Addressable advertising & media communications take many forms, but what’s truly important is that they can help you connect with the people who are best suited to respond positively to your message. In other words, it can provide you with a much bigger bang for your advertising buck! Let’s take a closer look at addressable advertising and media communications, along with how it can help you increase your profits with digital ad campaigns. What is addressable advertising?
Addressable advertising can mean many different things, depending on the specific audience. However, in general terms, this form of advertising has measurable and confirmable metrics that prove it has reached its target audience.
Also known as addressable marketing or addressable media, the difference between addressable advertising and non-addressable advertising is stark. For example, non-addressable advertising could be a magazine ad. While it most likely will cause your phone to ring, it’s basically impossible to measure where their initial interest came from.
Addressable advertising, on the other hand, can be directly measured. Let’s say that you’re on Facebook, and you’ve looked up and/or clicked on several articles about WNBA star Caitlin Clark. Suddenly, you begin to see ads for Clark’s jerseys, t-shirts, etc. Facebook has used addressable advertising, combined with signal-based marketing, to capture your attention. Once you click on an ad, you’ve delivered a measurable and confirmable metric. Even better, because you’re interested in the topic, your odds of making a purchase shoot way up!
Benefits of addressable advertising
As of 2022, a whopping 67% of marketers indicated they were using addressable advertising methods. This is no surprise, as there are many benefits involved with using data driven insight to improve sales. As you read through the following list, keep the Caitlin Clark example listed above in mind:
The marketing rule of seven helps explain why it’s best to combine your marketing efforts. Essentially, the more often someone sees an ad for something, the more likely they are to pay attention and, ultimately, to make a purchase. In fact, combining your direct mail with a digital advertising campaign can provide you with a staggering conversion rate of 40%! [1]After you’ve sent out direct mail, use the following digital advertising campaign tips to increase the overall effectiveness of both ads:
Use your mailing list to target digital devices located in the same area. This will boost your signal by allowing people to receive your message multiple times. Furthermore, it will also extend your overall reach.
When someone sees your ad across multiple channels, they begin to feel more comfortable with the idea of buying something from your company. This leads to a 118% bump in response rates! [2]
You want to create the best digital ad campaigns to go with your direct mail, and fortunately, we can help you do just that!
Harness the power of your targeted mailing lists by using the same criteria when setting up your digital ads. You can—and should—make it so that you advertise to the same geographic regions that you sent your direct mail to. You can also drill down further by selecting specific ages, incomes, interests, etc.
Do you want to improve the effectiveness of your marketing while simultaneously enhancing customer experience and predicting trends in consumer behavior? Of course you do, and that’s exactly what data driven insights can provide. Using the following tips can provide your digital ad campaigns with a major boost!
And lastly, a responsive and engaging website will enhance your advertising efforts!
Finding a one-stop direct marketing communications company like Century Direct will allow you to achieve the best possible results! In fact, Century Direct can offer you omnichannel marketing campaigns, direct mail, real-time data insights, and much more. Addressable advertising is also a major part of what we do. We’ve been in business since 1932, and we’ve got the expertise and experience to take your company to the next level. Learn more today!
The U.S. Postal Service has delivered mail since 1863, so it’s natural that they’ve needed to do periodic price adjustments. What used to be fair upgrades, including raising their rates by one cent from 1995 to 1999, have now segued into changes twice a year. [1] Is it even still profitable to keep sending direct mail? It is, as you’ll soon find out!
When it comes to advertising, you’ve known for a long time that direct mail is where the money is. After all, 59% of marketing survey respondents indicated that direct mail—when added into a multichannel approach—resulted in a positive ROI. [2] However, as the cost of direct mail advertising prepares for yet another postal price increase, how can you keep your costs in line?
According to the USPS rates table, the average mail advertising cost will shoot up by 7.8% in July 2024. If you send out a smaller batch of direct mail (less than 500), you may utilize First Class rates, which are increasing by .05. [3] Either way, you’re going to feel the pinch in your budget.
Although there is nothing that can be done to convince USPS not to increase their rates, there are ways you can reduce your associated expenses.
Using current trends can offer you great benefits. For example, if you place a QR code on your direct mailers, you’ll be eligible for the Emerging and Advanced Technology promotion. You can also place the “Hey Alexa” prompt on your mailers to help minimize the blow of the USPS rate increase.
Utilizing postal optimization and logistics is one of your best overall choices. Let’s say that the latest USPS rate changes will make you send out fewer mailers. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as you incorporate data modeling into your approach. Essentially, you’ll be able to choose who should be dropped from your mailing list by letting data modeling indicate who is most likely to respond. In other words, you can reduce the total number of mailers you send out without sacrificing your response rate.
Taking advantage of various USPS promotions and discounts can save you a lot of money! For instance, if you sent out more than 1 million pieces of mail last year, you may qualify for a 30% discount. We’ll go over these USPS incentives and promotions in greater detail later in this article.
Are you relying on a mailing list that is more than a year old? It’s time to double check that your data is still correct. In fact, a visit to the National Change of Address (NCOA) website can help ensure postage savings by eliminating your outdated information. [4]
Even with the latest price increase, direct mail is still your best option to achieve a positive ROI. In fact, 67% of marketers claim it provides the best ROI out of their advertising options. [5] You can increase your ROI by up to 60% by sending direct mail to the same recipients. By taking similar multichannel steps, you should be able to boost your ROI enough to counter the new USPS rates. This is in addition to the helpful tips listed below.
We promised more info on incentives that would provide postage discounts, so let’s dig into this very helpful topic! As previously mentioned, you may be eligible to receive 30% off future mailings. There are three pieces of criteria you must meet to enroll in this program.
If you qualify for this program, you’ll receive postage credits at three points throughout 2024.
Make sure you go to your USPS Business Customer Gateway account to register for USPS promotions. Failure to do so can cause a significant delay in getting approved. Next, look into each of the following programs. [6]
Each individual promotion lasts between three and six months. Therefore, you should be able to utilize at least two promotions per year.
The best way to take advantage of each tip listed above is by partnering with an experienced direct mail marketing company. At Century Direct, we’ve been providing cost-effective, high-quality campaigns since 1932. We use state-of-the-art equipment to produce your direct mail, and we utilize any savings you have coming to you such as nonprofit bulk mail rates.
Between our omnichannel marketing, postal optimization and logistics, addressing and inserting services, and our digital printing, bindery, and data management, we’ve got the skills and experience to take your direct mail to the next level. Plus, we remain up to date on any USPS incentives and promotions to ensure you get the best possible rate! Trust our experience, and you’ll receive great results every single time.
Are you ready to send out direct mail that’s been optimized to provide you with a better ROI? Turn to Century Direct today, and let us show you how much of a difference spending almost 100 years in business can make!
SOURCES:
1 https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/domestic-letter-rates-since-1863.htm
2 https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15776-direct-mail-marketing-guide-for-small-businesses.html
3 https://faq.usps.com/s/article/2024-Postage-Price-Change#july_2024_price_change
4 https://postalpro.usps.com/mailing-and-shipping-services/NCOALink
5 https://www.lob.com/ebooks/the-state-of-direct-mail
6 https://postalpro.usps.com/promotions/2024-cal
As you probably already know, direct mail actually has a higher response rate than digital advertising. However, it’s critical to take full advantage of your direct mailers if you want to meet and exceed your goals.
There are several ways to improve response rates, including partnering with an experienced, knowledgeable direct mail company. But first, let’s talk about factors that influence response rates for direct mail campaigns.
The most seasoned direct mail experts consistently wrestle with fine tuning their direct mail campaigns to get the best response rates. The factors that influence campaign performance are many, including:
So how do you gauge a baseline response rate? And how do you determine what to refine in your strategy to cut through the advertising noise and achieve higher response rates for direct mail?
Most direct mail campaigns will receive a response from approximately 2.7% to 4.4% of receivers.[1] To put this into perspective, a digital ad online only has a 0.3% average, and emails generate 0.6%.[2] Ultimately, a goal for your direct mail response rate will be determined by lots of factors, but establishing a baseline and refining your direct mail campaign strategy is your best bet to improving your ROI.
Every day, people are inundated with advertisements — at least 4,000 total ads per day, which includes direct mail, online ads, TV ads, etc. To get the best direct mail response rate possible, you’ll need to take several steps to ensure your direct mail message stands out in the mailbox.
The good news? Over 30% of Gen Z relies on direct mail advertising, and Boomers are over 50%. In other words, each generation pays more attention to their mail than you might think. By putting the following ideas into place, you can help drive even higher mail engagement, no matter who your audience is.
Sometimes, direct mail can be sent to the wrong people, wasting your valuable advertising dollars. Understanding key demographics can help you avoid sending ads for lawn care or home renovations, for instance, to people who live in an apartment community.
TIP: Know your direct mail mailing list and invest in quality data to help you target the right people for the right reasons. Plus, you’ll be able to tailor your messages and creative to specific audience segments, which can greatly enhance your direct mail ROI.
Great direct mail companies already have access to updated demographics information. At Century Direct, we compile consumer information through affiliates such as the National Change of Address (NCOA), USPS Informed Delivery, and expert data collection and assessment.
It’s no secret that we all have personal preferences. Maybe you like a red car, but your co-worker prefers blue. With personalized messaging, you can increase your response rates for direct mail by tailoring the words and pictures in your design to align with your audiences preferences. You might send a high-class neighborhood an upscale direct mail piece while saving the cost of fancy finishes on oil change advertisements that go to the general public who own mid-sized, mid-priced cars. Bottom line: Groups of people value different things, and you want your direct mail to play well with varying audiences.
TIP: Be aware that the National Change of Address program doesn’t typically forward direct mail. Therefore, it’s critical to keep your mailing lists up to date in order to align messaging and creative.
The USPS is on a trend of raising their rates approximately twice per year, which keeps driving up the cost of sending direct mail.[3] In order to get the best response rate possible, you’ll want to take advantage of design protocol to qualify for postal discounts. At Century Direct, our USPS experts can help you assess your direct mail design and optimize it for USPS delivery with our Postal Optimization and Logistics services. We’ll consult with you regarding mail piece size, dimensions, packaging, delivery logistics and more.
TIP: Your audience wants to know they’re special. Using their name can raise responsiveness by 135%,[4] so don’t forget about personalization! Personalized content always gets a better response rate than a general mailing.
Who doesn’t like an offer they can’t refuse? Including a unique offer or discount is a great way to boost your direct mail response rate. Whether your goal is to acquire new customers, retain current ones, or increase brand awareness, identify something meaningful to your audience and deliver a delightful surprise they just can’t pass up!
TIP: Adding a bit of urgency never hurts either! Including “for a limited time only” or “while supplies last” can increase response rates, too.
Through the help of a knowledgeable IP data provider and USPS informed delivery, you can target recipients before and after your direct mail lands in homes by integrating digital ads. Without the help of third party cookies, your targeting will be much more accurate and timely. Plus, you can target devices by matching physical addresses to IP addresses.
When it comes to integrating digital ads with your direct mail campaign, devising the right strategy from the start, tracking and follow up campaigns are paramount to improving your direct mail marketing response rates.
Speaking of tracking…
The best way to monitor, measure, and adjust your direct mail strategy is to track your campaigns from start through follow up. From determining ROI and cost-effectiveness to enhancing your planning abilities for future direct mail campaigns, working with a direct mail company that provides data in real-time equips you to:
TIP: Finding a direct mail company that provides a dashboard where you can see all the data in one place is a big win!
Ultimately, as seasoned as any marketing director or company stakeholder may be in their direct mail marketing efforts, the best way to increase your response rates for direct mail is to partner with an expert direct mail marketing company. They work in the industry every day, and can help you stay up-to-date on the latest direct mail solutions, tactics, and strategies to meet and exceed your goals.
At Century Direct, we believe you deserve expert, responsive guidance to tackle every direct mail project with transparency and timeliness. We understand the complex, evolving landscape of direct mail marketing. That’s why since 1932, we’ve helped businesses and nonprofits efficiently strategize, produce, deliver, and track direct mail campaigns to meet and exceed their response rate goals. Contact us to get started today!
Sources:
2. https://www.ana.net/miccontent/show/id/rr-2018-ana-dma-respose-rate
4. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/small-business/direct-mail-statistics#
