It’s likely that you’ve had some personalised direct mail come through your letterbox at some point. But what exactly is it, how does personalised direct mail work and how effective is it? We’re covering everything you need to know.
What is personalised direct mail?
Personalised direct mail is often used to maximise a company’s campaign return on investment (ROI). It can be an integral part of a marketing strategy and also help to build a positive customer experience and relationship.
When most people think about personalised direct mail, they think of the receivers name and address on the mailer. Although this is technically personalised direct mail, it can be so much more.
It’s a known fact that people quickly sort through their mail to discard the generic ‘junk mail’ and find the letters addressed to them. This is where personalised direct mail comes into play. It acts to grab the receiver’s attention with personalised details. Inside, the mail can continue to offer personalised content that will be specific to that particular person. For instance, personalised offers and vouchers, information relating to their last purchase and much more.
How do you personalise direct mail?
Now that you know what personalised direct mail is, you’re probably wondering how you go about personalising it. With today’s technology, we can do more than just printing a unique name and address.
Firstly, you need to decide what elements you want to personalise and make sure you have the relating GDPR compliant consumer data available. Next, you can use variable data printing to add the personalised elements to your direct mail.
Variable data printing is a type of on-demand, digital printing that allows for text, imagery and other content to be changed from one printed piece to the next, all without slowing down or stopping the printing process. Variable data printing uses the information from the chosen data files to carry out the personalisation, allowing you to cleverly use your customer data and segmentation to create targeted and personalised marketing material for your current customers and leads.
What kinds of personalisation can be effective?
Personalised direct mail has been shown to be more effective than its regular counterpart. Research shows that 84% of those surveyed said that they are more likely to open a direct mailer if it is personalised.
But what kinds of personalisation are the most effective and which ones should I be including?
Name and address
These are the most basic elements to include in your direct mail, but that doesn’t make them any less effective! Customers new or old will be much more likely to open a piece of mail if it is addressed to them.
Variable printing imagery
This type of personalisation uses imagery and graphics relevant to the demographic of the targeted person. It means that they are more likely to find the mailer appealing and relatable to them and thus engage with it. For example, 21-year-old women will relate to different images to that of those in the 65+ age group.
Price range
By knowing the customers past buying habits or predicted salary and lifestyle, you will be able to offer products and services that are within their price range. This not only presents them with items they are likely to be interested in, but it also demonstrates that you know and understand your customer, therefore enriching your customer experience. Presenting customers with items and products out of their price range can be frustrating for customers and could even start to put them off your company.
Personalised offers
Once again, by using past purchase data and by analysing their buying habits, you will be able to present your customers with personalised offers and vouchers. These could be a 2 for 1 on their most bought item, or a percentage off on a complementing product they’ve already bought. Your customers will feel valued and are more likely to use a voucher that is relatable and targeted to them.
Product recommendations
Printing personalised product recommendations based on their previous purchases in your direct mailer is a great and effective way to present your customers with items they are sure to like and want to buy.
Facts & figures
Using personalised facts and figures in direct mail can be a great way to grab a customer or lead’s attention by showing comparisons on how your product or service could save them money. Energy suppliers often do this to promote their energy tariffs and show the saving the customer could make, based on the usage of a similar household.
There are therefore multiple ways in which you can use personalisation to create an effective direct mailer. For the most successful personalised direct mail campaign, it’s important to make sure the data and segmentation you use are as targeted as possible, as well as being fully GDPR compliant. This ensures that your direct mail is being sent to the right people and has the highest chances of success.
If you want to send out a personalised direct mail campaign or want to know more information, one of the Snapmail team would be happy to help. Get in touch here or call us on 0333 577 0444.