Infographic or visual illustrating how direct mail can help re-engage unsubscribed customers by providing personalized offers, evoking emotions, and building trust, while bypassing email clutter to boost customer relationships

Resurrecting Buyer Relationships: Using Direct Mail to Re-Engage

Customers and prospects unsubscribe from email lists more and more every day — and their reasons vary.

Forty-four percent of people say they simply receive too many emails. Another 14% click the unsubscribe button because they’re tired of your brand – they’ve decided they are no longer interested in what you have to offer.

If recipients are willingly leaving your email list, you’re clearly not going to win them back with more emails. The good news? Using direct mail to re-engage unsubscribed customers can help get you back in touch — and stay top of mind.

Push the envelope on direct mail
A whopping 79% of households report reading or scanning their postal mail every day. We may live in a digital world, but the power of direct mail as a relationship builder is undeniable.

What sets direct mail apart?

  • It’s tangible. Unlike an email, a well-crafted direct mail piece lands in the hands of the intended recipient, making a lasting impression. If offers a tactile experience that engages multiple senses, creating a stronger connection between your brand and the buyers who keep you in business.
  • It’s targeted. Simply adding a name to a direct mail piece can increase response rates by 135%. Taking segmentation a step further, you can tailor your mailings to targeted groups of unsubscribers based on their behaviors. For example, are they past customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while? Winning them back requires different messaging that someone who opted out of your list before ever making a purchase.
  • It bypasses a cluttered inbox. By 2025, people will send over 325 billion emails daily, often causing messages to get lost in a sea of promotions. Direct mail, however, stands out with its physical presence, increasing the likelihood of being opened, read, and remembered. This boosts the chances of re-engaging customers with your brand.

Not convinced about the power of direct mail to drive revenue? An LS Direct apparel client that targeted email unsubscribers netted a response rate greater than 10%. With an average ticket over $100, the company netted an incremental ROAS of $9.28 for every dollar spent — more than double the revenue the client would have otherwise seen from this client segment.

>> Related: Why Direct Mail ROI Still Dominates Remarketing <<

Get more eyeballs on your offers
When is direct mail most powerful? When it’s data-driven. Use all the analytics at your disposal to make your campaign successful:

  • Personalize. Who are (or were) your subscribers? Take into account previous purchase history or specific interactions with your brand to create messaging that correlates with their needs and wants.
  • Provide an irresistible offer. From a new store opening in their neighborhood to early access to your latest spring looks, give recipients something that entices them to take action.
  • Evoke emotions and build trust. Use the power of storytelling to create an emotional connection with your audience. Be transparent about your mission, products and pricing to get back in your audience’s good graces.
  • Be consistent with your brand aesthetic. The color palettes, photo treatments and brand voice used in your digital marketing should carry through to print pieces for immediate identification.

The time to motivate with mail is right now
While email unsubscribes can be discouraging, they also present an opportunity to reconnect with your audience in a different and meaningful way. At LS Direct, we create data-driven, personalized direct mail campaigns, including intent-based postal retargeting to help you win back and retain your most valuable assets — your customers. Contact us to learn more about how direct mail can re-engage unsubscribed customers.