Direct mail has evolved into a highly refined, data-driven tool.
Digital to direct mail is getting more recognition as more brands started to invest in this channel as a part of their omnichannel marketing[amsive_tooltip term=”omnichannel-marketing”] strategy.
A recent survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) revealed that Direct to Consumer (DTC) brands are moving beyond traditional digital advertising and investing more of their marketing budget in offline marketing channels such as digital to direct mail.
Is Digital to Direct Mail Making a Comeback?
While DTC brands allot most of their budget to digital marketing[amsive_tooltip term=”digital-marketing”] efforts, they still allot a portion to traditional marketing efforts – the most popular being is direct mail.
According to IAB’s study, customer satisfaction is one of the top objectives for DTC brands’ paid media advertising. With offline marketing efforts like direct mail, customer experience is less disruptive and, in a way, more respectful. It also extends brand awareness beyond the digital world into something more tangible. It is a sensible move as the competition online tightens and customer acquisition costs rise.
Adding Respectful “Personalization”
If direct mail, on its own, drives customers with high lifetime value[amsive_tooltip term=”lifetime-customer-value”] (LTV), adding personalization on top of that through interest and intent data empowers digital to direct mail to drive higher LTV.
With digital brands being programmatic by design, data-driven decision-making is a key competitive advantage versus big brands. Learning about user interest and intent has helped many brands in creating and delivering relevant messages in their online efforts.
Once marketers find their target customers online, the next step is to find effective ways to reach them offline. Since most purchasing decisions are made at home, direct mail makes the perfect tool for marketers. Targeting the right audience at the right time and place equals sales.
Multi-Touch Attribution
Multi-touch attribution[amsive_tooltip term=”attribution”] is key to understanding the one-to-one connections between consumers and brands. To achieve this, there should be a true one-to-one connection made across devices.
However, for DTC brands operating in an omnichannel world, it’s a different case. There are various different touch-points across digital and physical making it a bit impossible to connect online to the physical world. Marketers need to find an attribution model that works across both.
Our solutions connect conversions with direct mail sends regardless of where the conversion happened to allow our DTC brand partners to attribute clear value across channels. It allows them to measure gradual lift to attribute specific direct mail contributions to profit.
Conclusion
Direct mail is where it all began for us. We continue to believe in its effectiveness as direct mail evolves into a highly refined, data-driven tool. Direct mail’s effectiveness above new media channels is foreseen to dominate the marketing landscape in the years to come.
