Direct response marketers continue to face growing consumer disengagement in the Digital Age. As consumers become more and more plugged in, they are increasingly intolerant of online marketing in any form. It matters little that marketers have all kinds of innovative new tools to create targeted, relevant messaging when consumers are adept at tuning out these messages.

This is where direct mail cookie retargeting comes in. With direct mail retargeting, you can use powerful digital marketing tools to send a strong message offline—where your online customers are much more likely to receive it .

Setting up direct mail remarketing campaigns shouldn’t be any more complicated than any digital remarketing ads you’re already running. You can use Inkit’s direct mail software as an API or set up one of our CRM direct mail integrations and trigger direct mail just as you trigger email or digital ads based on consumer behaviors.

Find more information on how to trigger direct mail here, and read on for a few examples of postcard cookie retargeting campaigns.

3 Times Direct Mail Mail Cookie Retargeting Works

You can add direct mail into workflows based on cookie retargeting just as you would add emails or digital remarketing ads. You might choose to insert a direct mail step to replace or reinforce an email that has a low open rate or an ad with low views. Direct mail can also work well to reinforce online messages that are being read but are failing to convert.

Here are a few instances we’ve found direct mail cookie retargeting is particularly effective.  

1. Shopping Cart Abandonment

Chances are, you already trigger emails to counter shopping cart abandonment. (If you’re not, you should! Almost half of all shopping cart abandonment emails are opened!) We’re not advocating for replacing these emails entirely with direct mail, though it might be something to A/B test if your email program isn’t generating a strong response. Generally, you need emails in your cart abandonment program because email sends in real time.  While Inkit prints and mails postcards almost instantaneously, the mail still takes a few days to arrive in consumer’s mailboxes. We recommend sending emails at the earliest sign of cart abandonment, while your would-be customers are still in a shopping mood. Then, add a strong postcard closer to this sequence to reinforce your messaging and overcome any potential waning email engagement. Click here for a 3-step email + direct mail cart abandonment series you can swipe.

2. Bring That Browse Back

Did you know that 78% of consumers research products on multiple channels before finally making a purchase, according to Oracle?

Using direct mail to bring browsers back to your website is a great way to set up multiple touchpoints online and off. There are a few different ways to create a strong cross-channel strategy using direct mail cookie retargeting. One option is to send direct mail to consumers who have spent a certain amount of time on various parts of your website without making a purchase. The mailer should invite them back online and direct them to take a specific action. Another option is to do this in the opposite order—serve retargeting banner ads to consumers who have received your direct mail. Both strategies help spur consumers into action, having interacted with your brand on multiple channels.

Pro tip: When designing content for integrated cross-channel reinforcement strategies, keep in mind Oracle’s findings about the consumer’s need to research. Think about how your content can help the consumers feel they’ve done their due diligence, motivating them to take the next step.

3. Re-engage Your Funnel

Direct mail retargeting is highly effective when acquiring new customers, but you can also use it to increase engagement with existing customers and foster loyalty.

How?

Design automated workflows including direct mail for cross-sell and upsell campaigns, keeping existing customers in the loop about special events, their loyalty balances, new product launches and more. For example, when an existing customer abandons a cart, don’t place them in your regular cart abandonment sequence. Instead, move them into a workflow that triggers a loyalty rewards reminder postcard designed to appear as a gift certificate—giving them that extra incentive they need to follow through to the check-out.

These are just a few use cases for postcard cookie retargeting that we think apply to many e-commerce businesses. The right strategies for your brand depend on the specifics of your business model and your marketing goals. We highly recommend capturing all of your direct mail performance data within your CRM or customer database in order to track results and tweak mailers and campaigns as needed for ever improving results, just as you are probably doing with your digital campaigns.

Ready to Get Started?

With our direct mail API or integrations, direct mail cookie retargeting can be easily automated.

If you have questions about getting started, contact us at sales@inkit.com. You can also request a free demo of our direct mail automation services here.‍