We’re getting a lot of questions from marketers about how to integrate direct mail into cross-channel marketing campaigns. While cross-channel or omnichannel marketing is nothing new, marketers are still trying to find the best way to engage with customers in seamless journeys across devices (and off devices… which is where we come in.)
Direct mail has changed in recent years, driving marketers to make postcards a key part of the cross-channel experience. Today, artificial intelligence direct mail is powered by behavioral and demographic customer data, much like digital channels, using Inkit’s direct mail software. And, as direct mail is sent and earns responses, data from tangible customer interactions funnel back into your data set, filling in gaps in your customer profile.
Wondering where to start with cross-channel direct mail? There are several effective ways to layer modern direct mail in cross-channel marketing experiences.
How to Add Direct Mail to Cross Channel Marketing Campaigns
Direct mail cannot and should not replace digital channels. It can, however, significantly enhance the results of digital efforts, as well as make up for shortcomings of online marketing.
Here are 5 use cases for using direct mail in cross channel marketing campaigns.
1. Send direct mail to welcome new customers. Postcards are a perfect vehicle for your welcome messaging. Sending a physical item to new customers is a great way to build a human connection. For the most powerful impact, your welcome postcard should include:
- Personalized onboarding information, with trackable CTAs to visit onboarding landing pages.
- Valuable tips to get the most out of your product or service.
- A CTA to provide missing account data when applicable.
2. Use direct mail to capture email addresses or other information. Direct mail can be a useful channel for building an email list and capturing other customer data as well. Send out a direct mail postcard with a hard-to-refuse offer that comes with a subscription to your email list.
3. Reinforce email messages with direct mail. Combining email and direct mail in one cohesive cross-channel campaign can increase consumers’ brand awareness and their options to take action. When sending emails and postcards as part of the same campaign, be sure to keep branding and messaging consistent without mailing exact duplicates. The imagery and content that works in email is different from what drives results in a postcard. (When designing postcard content, think more like social. Short and eye-catching.) Learn when to send direct mail vs. email here.
4. Retarget customers with direct mail. Social and banner ads failing to drive results? Hit the mailbox. Look for touchpoints where customers are disengaging from your customer journey and reach out to them with a retargeting postcard that invites them back online. For example:
- Add a shopping cart abandonment postcard to your cart abandonment series.
- Mail a re-engagement postcard to customers who signed up for your emails but stopped opening them.
5. Drive re-engagement with direct mail. Many Inkit customers are using our direct mail software primarily for cross-channel re-engagement efforts. When you lose access to a customer’s inbox, you can always show up in their mailbox. What do effective re-engagement postcards look like? Here are 5 examples to inspire your next cross-channel direct mail re-engagement campaign.
Bonus Cross-Channel Direct Mail Tip #6
Avoid one-and-done syndrome. A lot of marketers are learning that direct mail is smart now. You can power it with data. But many stop there. They craft a successful campaign, enjoy the results … and then… just … stop. They fail to realize that just like with email and other online efforts, you can set successful cross-channel direct mail campaigns on autopilot with a fully integrated martech stack. You can use a tool like Inkit with one of our CRM integrations to kick off a postcard every time someone fails to open a cart abandonment email, or every time a customer hits a key loyalty benchmark, for example. When you find a cross-channel postcard campaign that works, make sure to automate it to keep the revenue rolling in.
