When it comes to marketing your business, you and your team put a lot of thought, time and money into each of your initiatives. So how do you make sure the effort you put forth on your campaigns actually pays off in the end? The short answer is return on investment, or ROI. It’s important to measure the ROI for all your marketing activities, and this is especially true for your direct mail campaigns.
Here are a few ways to successfully measure and improve your direct mail ROI:
Measuring Direct Mail ROI
In order to measure your direct mail ROI, you’ll want to pay close attention to the response rates (the number of people who took action from your mailer). If you sent out 500 postcards, how many people actually followed your call-to-action (the specific action you are trying to get them to take)? There are a handful of ways to help you track and measure response rates, such as:
Custom URLs
One simple way that you can track response rates is through a custom URL. Creating a unique link for your direct mail campaign allows you to easily look over your site data on Google Analytics to determine how many people clicked on that particular link. In order to create a custom trackable URL, use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to create the link, put that link on your direct mail piece, and look for that specific campaign in Google Analytics after you send the mailer out.
QR Codes
Another way that you can accurately track response rates is through QR codes, the square barcode that you see on different advertisements and products. When someone scans a QR code, they are brought to a particular web page with more information about whatever item they scanned.
QR codes work similar to custom URLs in that once they’re scanned, Google Analytics will track the web page visit and associate the source to a QR code, telling you how much engagement it got from your mailer. Don’t worry, a QR code is simple to manifest and can be created with a QR code generator in minutes.
Phone Calls
Response rates can also be tracked via phone. Before you decide that call tracking is outdated, consider this – it’s predicted that 162 billion calls will be made directly to businesses as a result of digital ads in 2019 alone. It’s simple, consumers want to talk to a person, and if you aren’t tracking the source, you could be missing major conversion opportunities.
The good news is there are plenty of resources available to make the tracking process easy. While it isn’t free, CallRail is a phone tracking software that is fully integrated with Google, meaning all phone calls made will be tracked and sent directly to your Google Analytics account. When a prospect calls the designated number associated with your direct mail piece, CallRail will send notate that response within your analytics account.
Outside of CallRail, other quality phone tracking softwares to consider are Phone Wagon and WhatConverts. Both offer user-friendly interfaces with easy setup and reporting.
How to Improve Direct Mail ROI
Once you’ve successfully measured your direct mail ROI, you can focus on ways to improve it! View your measurements as a suggestion box from your customers. If you had a low response rate (and small ROI), something in your direct mail strategy fell short and needs to be reworked to see better results.
While there are a variety of methods to help increase your ROI, here are a few simple ones:
Add Incentives
Identifying your value in the market is one thing, but actually driving sales is another. In order to convince a potential customer to make a purchase, an additional incentive may help bring them across the finish line.
Including coupons or promotions on your direct mail piece gives a customer a reason to act. And creating a sense of urgency with expiration dates, ‘limited time offers’ or ‘first-come first-served’ opportunities immediately creates a sense of urgency.
Invest in Design
When it comes to purchasing decisions, humans are very visual and emotional so don’t be afraid to pull out all the stops. Let your creativity drive you and have fun with it. The great thing about direct mail is that it’s tangible meaning there is a big chance it’s going to be in the hands of your intended audience. This is why a direct mail piece that is professionally designed is so important. You want the best chance at standing out among the competition.
With that in mind, you might consider having a third party, with years of design expertise, create mailers that are sure to resonate with your target audience. Page Per Page, for example, has the experience and templates to make the process quick, easy, and professional.
Experiment with Different Strategies
Are you unsure of the best way to approach your audience in terms of verbiage, design and aesthetic? Or trying to determine which tracking software to use (custom URLs vs. QR codes)? Don’t be afraid to experiment with a variety of options to see what drives results.
A side-by-side comparison, like A/B testing, is a great way to determine actionable aspects of your direct mailer. Start with a baseline mailer and change just one variable and see which performs better when put against one another. Through process of elimination, you should be able to hone in on a strong mailer strategy that results in a higher ROI.
Let Page Per Page Help!
Putting together successful direct mail campaigns that have high ROIs takes time, but you can count on companies like Page Per Page to lend a hand.
Page Per Page is a print, mail, and technology solutions company that strives to make all your direct mail efforts simple, fast, and effective. Whether you are starting from scratch, or need an update, our design and print experts can help you build a brand that is cohesive and aesthetically appealing to your customers.
