3 Ways to Combine Print with Email

Ready to save money and crank up your response rates? Combine your print campaign with email. Here are three ways to benefit from this dynamic duo. 

1. Use email as a direct mail follow-up.  
Email makes a great reminder for your direct mail pieces. Drop your postcard or letter. Then, while the piece is still fresh in people’s minds, use email to nudge them into response.

When one manufacturer wanted to invite customers to an in-house seminar, it did just that. It started with a dimensional mailer, then followed up with two emails. The first email was sent one week after the direct mail piece. The second was sent two weeks later. The reminder emails received a 41% open rate, and the company received an 18% overall response rate to the campaign.  

2. Use mail tracking to time the drop. 
Sometimes more precise timing can make a big difference. Using mail tracking services, you can determine when the direct mail piece actually arrives at the recipient’s home or office. Time the email to arrive exactly one, two, or three days later, depending on the needs of your campaign.

Does such precision really matter? One B2B marketer wanted to find out. It split its email blast into two groups and conducted an A/B test. Both blasts were identical except for the timing. The first blast arrived on a predetermined date with no regard to the actual delivery of the mail piece. In the second blast, the mail drops were tracked and the email was timed to arrive exactly one day later. The timed follow-ups showed a 4.7% lift in response. 

3. Send a pre-direct-mail email to optimize postal costs. 
Did you know that you can optimize your postal costs by sending an email first? Anyone who responds to the email can be removed from the direct mail list, saving you print and postage. 

In an alumni campaign, one university sent personalized emails based on area of study and either graduation or reunion year.  It followed up with a direct mail postcard personalized with the same information, but it only sent to people who had not responded to the email. The university followed up with a second, fully personalized email, but only to alumni who did not respond to either of the first two touches.  Not only did the university save money on print and postage, but it achieved an 8.5% response rate. Email makes a terrific partner to direct mail campaigns, whether sent in advance of the mailing or as a follow-up. Looking for ideas for making the ideal one-two punch? Give us a call at 712-336-3564!

Combining 1:1 with Ingenuity = More Sales

Sometimes, the power of personalization goes beyond the direct sale. A little ingenuity can go a long way. Let’s look at the way one automotive manufacturer combined 1:1 printing with creative marketing to boost its sales significantly. 

Buick wanted to boost sales of its vehicles, so it came up with a creative idea. It mailed a series of personalized direct mail pieces that allowed consumers to “design” their own cars. The goal was to get prospective car buyers emotionally invested in the brand and thinking about their ideal vehicle even before they were ready to actually purchase a car. 

For the campaign, Buick targeted both current and former Buick owners, as well as owners of competitive makes of vehicles. Over a series of direct mail pieces, Buick asked for feedback on what recipients were looking for. The final brochure incorporated this feedback, including preferred model and features.

While this program started out as “consumer research,” ultimately, Buick sold 20,000 automobiles and acquired $494 million in sales revenue.

The beauty of this campaign is that, long before making any kind of direct sales pitch, Buick used personalized printing to draw consumers in and get them engaged with the brand. They asked questions, valued their feedback, and created a sense of “pre-ownership” during the design process. The sales pitch at the end was made to a well-groomed audience. 

This is the value of using personalized printing to engage and speak directly to an audience. You won’t always sell 20,000 automobiles, but done right, you can engage your audience, deepen customer loyalty, and create an atmosphere in which your marketing messages are well received. 

Sometimes 1:1 printing isn’t about the direct sale. As Buick found out, sometimes it’s about a long-term courtship, and it can be well worth the wait.