The Future of Direct Mail Is Here and It's Dynamic

The

Future of

Direct Mail

Is Here and

It’s Dynamic

A USPS

Commissioned Study

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I. It’s Time to Reevaluate Mail ............................ 3

II. The Latest Innovations

................................ 4

Retargeted Direct Mail

...................................... 5

Informed Delivery

........................................ 6

Informed Visibility

........................................ 7

III. The Facts to Remember (and the Myths to Forget) ...... .... 8

The Goals for Coordinating Digital and Direct Mail

......................... 8

The Results of Coordinating Digital and Direct Mail

........... ............. 9

Where Digital and Direct Mail Coordination Was Most Effective

............... .. 10

How Companies are Coordinating Campaigns

.......................... 11

IV. Gear Up for Digital and Direct Mail Integration ............. 12

V. Key Takeaways

........................... ..... ..... 15

VI. Footnotes

......................................... 16

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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It’s Time to

Reevaluate Mail

Marketers think they know all the facts about

direct mail. The memorability of the medium:

higher than most.

The response rates: 9% with

a house list.

The personalization possibilities:

inﬁnite. These factors have made direct mail an

effective print marketing tool, though one that’s

unappreciated.

Now, that story has changed. Today’s mail is

categorically different. Inherently digital, it drives

customers to action across every stage of the

customer journey. Welcome to the dynamic

world of direct mail, where every interaction can

create action.

Conducting proprietary research, we found

that a more dynamic approach to direct mail

is the way forward. It’s established a new place

in marketing strategies and yearly budgets, all

thanks to its effectiveness.

Through retargeted direct mail, Informed

Delivery

notiﬁcations and Informed Visibility

tracking, companies can now begin tapping

into the power of mail to drive results in an

omni-channel ecosystem.

In the coming pages, we’ll dispel common

myths about direct mail, replacing them

with hard-won truths, and provide tips for

marketers looking to merge digital and direct

mail into a brand new paradigm.

conversion rates when

digital and direct mail

are combined

of marketing respondents

said combining digital and

direct mail increased ROI.

of marketing repondents said

combining digital and direct

mail increased website visits.

40%

60%

68%

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Myth

Direct mail has peaked.

Fact

Three innovations are making direct

mail more intelligent and effective

than ever before.

1968

1983

1990

1994

2014

2016

2017

The Latest

Innovations

For years, the story of digital and direct mail has

been dominated by QR codes

*, augmented

reality (AR) ﬁlters, near-ﬁeld communication

(NFC) tags, virtual reality (VR) apps and more.

Now, three digitally driven innovations are

changing the landscape and upending how

marketers use mail.

*QR code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave

Incorporated.

Timeline of Innovations

Virtual Reality

Near Field Communication

Augmented Reality

QR Codes

Retargeted Direct Mail

Informed Visibility

Informed Delivery

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Retargeted

Direct Mail

How It Works

With programmatic technology, companies

can now see what actions customers take

online—whether on a website, email or through

social media. Leveraging that information, they

can then retarget customers with personalized

direct mail sent within 12 to 24 hours of the

initial interaction.

The Beneﬁts

Mail can be hyper-targeted and sent while a

brand and products are top of mind. Marketers

saw a 300-400% lift in conversion rates when

targeting cart abandoners speciﬁcally.

Survey Says

65% of marketing respondents

reported an increase in website trafﬁc

47% of marketing respondents

reported an increase in conversions

Myth

Direct mail takes weeks to create,

design and send.

Fact

With retargeted direct mail, a

mailpiece can be sent within 12-24

hours of a digital interaction.

DM Piece Sent Digital Interaction Digital Interaction

or In-Store Action

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Informed

Delivery

Mail

How It Works

With Informed Delivery notiﬁcations from

USPS

, companies can connect direct mail

and digital marketing strategies. The feature

provides customers with a daily preview of

their mail, showing exterior images of letter-size

mailpieces—all viewable via USPS mobile app,

email notiﬁcation or online dashboard.

In the preview, customers also can access

digital ride-along content associated with a

direct mail campaign. This content can drive

them to a company’s website, social channel,

app, video and more.

The Beneﬁts

This triple impression allows users to interact

with digital content associated with their

mailpiece. It also provides marketers with

valuable data, such as email open rates and

click-through rates. In fact, 68% of notiﬁcations

are opened daily.

Survey Says

39% of marketing respondents

reported an increase in website trafﬁc

36% of marketing respondents

reported an increase in ROI

DM Piece Sent Digital Preview with

Ride-Along Content

Digital Interaction

or In-Store Action

DM Piece Received

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Informed

Visibility

Mail

How It Works

This tool from USPS

provides end-to-end

mail tracking for barcoded letters, ﬂat pieces,

bundles and more. Leveraging Informed

Visibility tracking, marketers can know when

mail has been delivered.

The Beneﬁts

By monitoring mail tracking, marketers

can instantly coordinate their efforts on

complementary digital channels like paid media

and social. This helps ensure omni-channel

campaigns are both timely and optimized for

effectiveness.

Survey Says

48% of marketing respondents

reported an increase in website trafﬁc

Marketer AlertedDM Piece Received Campaign Activated

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The Facts to

Remember

(and the Myths

to Forget)Mail

In conducting our research, we spoke to

marketing decision-makers across four

industries: retail, digital commerce, ﬁnancial

services and telecommunications. The results

upended years of sniping at direct mail as an

old and ineffective medium. Direct mail that’s

more dynamic tells a whole new story.

Purchasing

Visiting a website

Getting sign-ups

Visiting a physical store/business location

Downloading an app or asset

Revisiting an abandoned cart

71%

67%

41%

21%

13%

40%

13%

Myth

Marketers have stopped relying

on mail.

Fact

Our survey found marketing

respondents were committing 30%

of their budgets to direct mail. Their

goals: for digital and direct mail

campaigns to drive purchasing, site

visits, sign-ups and store visits.

The Postal Service has felt the lift, with

spend on its USPS Marketing Mail

product up $184.1 million year over

year.

The Goals for Coordinating

Digital and Direct Mail

According to marketing decision-makers

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Myth

Direct mail is ineffective at driving

digital actions.

Fact

Direct mail that’s more dynamic drives

website visits, increases digital response

rates, lead generation and ROI.

68%

60%

39%

63%

53%

11%

Increased website visits

Increased ROI

Increased trafﬁc to a physical store

or business location

Increased response rate

Increased leads

Increased downloads

The Results of

Coordinating Digital

and Direct Mail

According to marketing decision-makers

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51%

52%

13%

68%

16%

Awareness

Transaction

Advocacy

Consideration

Usage

Myth

Direct mail only penetrates the upper

marketing funnel.

Fact

In our survey, marketing respondents

found direct mail to be effective

across the entire customer journey.

Where Digital and

Direct Mail Coordination

Was Most Effective

According to marketing decision-makers

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80%

61%

49%

76%

51%

15%

Drive trafﬁc from direct mail to digital

channels

Timing digital media once direct

mail is delivered to customers

Creating a digital version of direct mail

Embedding AR or VR in direct mail

Integrate a unique URL or discount

code in direct mail

Sending personalized direct mail

based on online behavior

Using QR codes

* in direct mail

Myth

Mail is siloed and unable to integrate

with other channels.

Fact

Marketing respondents regularly

coordinate mail and digital channels

60% of the time.

How Companies

Are Coordinating

Campaigns

According to marketing decision-makers

*QR code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave

Incorporated.

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To cut costs, bid multiple printers. During the

vetting process, determine which one can most

efﬁciently deliver the direct mail campaign you

have in mind. You also can create templates of your

direct mail to prevent having to design new pieces

for each marketing effort.

This is a key part of

retargeted direct mail, allowing you to run “always

on” campaigns that can be sent after any digital

interaction.

PRO TIP

Price

59% of marketing respondents attributed

their issue with coordinating digital and

direct mail to production costs.

Gear Up for

Digital and Direct

Mail Integration

Direct mail campaigns don’t have to have long

production cycles. Avoid odd mailpiece shapes

and sizes as well as unnecessary ﬁnishes to save

time. Better yet, work with a printer with the best

automation technology. That way you can leverage

machines with camera matching capabilities to

help get your mailpieces out sooner.

PRO TIP

Production Time

61% of marketing respondents said the length

of a standard direct mail production cycle

hampered the coordination of campaigns.

Ready to add dynamic digital mail into your

marketing mix? We unearthed common issues

marketing respondents face when coordinating

both channels. Learn how to tackle them in the

tips ahead.

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Gear Up for

Digital and Direct

Mail Integration

Create a culture of communication between

your company and your agencies and mail

service providers (MSPs), allowing you to align

on omni-channel strategies and share necessary

documents.

This can help during campaign

planning, when your agencies, MSPs and internal

teams can share omni-channel data.

PRO TIP

Lack of Integration

43% of marketing respondents said the lack of

integration of DM within media planning and

agency processes prevented coordination.

To truly integrate teams, consider consolidating

data management systems and creating a single

customer data platform for marketing and sales.

By conducting an audit of each department’s

data collection methods, your company can

decide what can be merged or discarded.

After

assessing your systems, get management to

invest in cross-functional training for your teams.

PRO TIP

Silos

55% of marketing respondents said siloed

data challenged integration efforts.

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Gear Up for

Digital and Direct

Mail Integration

Expertise

16% of marketing respondents stated a lack

of knowledge about direct mail hindered their

efforts.

Gather analytics on your current channels and

decide where direct mail can help improve

digital campaigns. Once you have your learnings,

involve stakeholders early on and show them

the value of integration. Tailor your messaging

to executives’ motivations and keep them in the

loop about the progress of your projects.

PRO TIP

Lack of Buy-In from Leadership

21% of marketing respondents cited a lack of

support from leadership.

To boost your direct mail expertise, explore our

site. We have content covering: retargeted direct

mail, Informed Delivery

notiﬁcations and the

National Postal Forum, the annual mail industry

conference. Be sure to promote a culture of

mentoring, professional training and cross-

discipline work-sharing as well.

PRO TIP

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Key

Takeaways

Direct mail has fundamentally changed in

recent years—and for the better. What once

was a staid print medium has become a

hyper-targeted marketing tool powered by

digital intelligence.

• Retargeted direct mail, Informed Delivery

notiﬁcations and Informed Visibility

tracking

are making mail more intelligent and effective

than ever before.

• Marketing respondents are hoping for

digital and direct mail campaigns to drive

purchasing, site visits, sign-ups and store

visits.

• Research shows that a more dynamic

approach to direct mail drives website

visits, increases ROI, response rates and

lead generation.

Thanks to the latest innovations, companies

can now achieve their marketing goals from

awareness through purchase and beyond,

earning repeat sales. Direct mail that’s more

dynamic has reworked the very fabric of a

physical channel, bringing it in lockstep with

digital. The time for doubt and skepticism

has passed.

A more

dynamic

approach to

direct mail

has arrived,

with the

potential to

create action

from every

interaction.

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FOOTNOTES

1. “RARC-WP-15-012 Enhancing the Value of the Mail: The Human Response,” Ofﬁce of Inspector General,

United States Postal Service, 15 June 2015.

2. “Response Rate Report 2018,” ANA & DMA, 2018.

3. Al Urbanski, “Will Programmatic Direct Mail Be the New Growth Channel?” Direct Mail News, March 3, 2016.

4. “Direct Mail Conversion Research,” USPS, February 2019. Please note: All statistics were based on a survey of

75 marketing decision-makers.

5. Dave Cesaro, “Leveraging Trends in Digital Marketing to Use in Direct Mail,” National Postal Forum, May 8, 2018.

6. “Informed Delivery

User Survey,” United States Postal Service, April 2018.

7. “Top 100 Report – January, FY19,” USPS, February 15, 2019.

8. “Cutting Your Direct Mail Production Costs to the Bone,” The PMG Group, October 2016.

9. “5 Ways to Lower Direct Mail Costs,” Streamworks, July 24, 2018.

10. “How to Breakdown Data Silos: Problems and Solutions,” Status.net.

11. “5 Ways to Breakdown the Data Silos that Hurt Customer Experience,” Wootric, July 11, 2018.

12. “An Integrated Approach: Getting Your Agencies to Work Together,” Stickyeyes, August 24, 2016.

13. “6 Ways to Increase Buy-In from Project Stakeholders,” Techrepublic, April 12, 2018.

among the many trademarks of the U.S. Postal Service.