The importance of direct mail retargeting in your marketing strategy is clear.  But how do you know when to send direct mail?

>>Related: Intent-Based Postal Retargeting<<

Timing is everything

The end game of every direct mail marketing campaign is conversions. So, an important part of the marketing mix is driving traffic to your website.

Direct mail retargeting allows you to send direct mail to those who are highly likely to convert. It’s just as important to understand who not to mail to because they will convert anyway, maximizing incremental ROI.

Programmatic direct mail takes retargeting a step further. Instead of batching out mass mailings to a broad audience, programmatic direct mail uses data-driven automation.  Companies can send personalized printed materials to retarget specific individuals in response to their online behavior.

“Programmatic” refers to the use of software and algorithms to automate buying, placement, and optimization of digital ads, so you can target specific audiences in real-time, based on their online behavior and interests.

The process begins with collecting and analyzing data from your digital marketing efforts: website visits, email interactions, social media engagements, etc.  We use this data to create customer profiles, identifying those with a high likelihood to make a purchase.

Once these prospects are identified, a direct mail piece is generated, with the goal to create a perfectly timed reminder to draw them back for a purchase.

The power of immediacy

With retargeted direct mail, a mail piece can be sent within 12-24 hours of a digital interaction. And according to the National Postal Forum, when that mail is hyper-targeted and sent while a brand or product is still top of mind, marketers saw a 300-400% lift in conversion rates when targeting cart abandoners. Additionally, 65% of marketers reported an increase in website traffic and 47% reported an increase in conversions.

National jewelry retailer Gorjana, an early adopter of programmatic direct mail, has achieved over triple-digit incremental growth on both response rate and lift with retargeting postcard campaigns.

Gorjana CMO Elton Graham says, “From an ROI perspective, direct mail continues to be one of our strongest channels and gets us directly inside prospects’ homes.”

For more findings on the power of direct mail, download The Evolution of Direct Mail in a ROAS-Driven World >