Direct Mail Marketing: The Role of Data Management

Did you know that direct mail response rates are five to nine times higher than any other advertising channel? Direct mail is known to be one of the most effective marketing tools out there, but is it right for your business?

One way to know is to analyze the data. With any marketing campaign, you should be aware of the statistics you’re collecting and how to analyze them for future campaigns.

Continue reading to learn all about direct mail data management and how it can help your business grow!

What Is Data Management?

Data management is the practice of collecting, keeping, and using data securely, efficiently, and cost-effectively to align with your business goals. These analytics can optimize your business initiatives to help increase your bottom line ie: sales, leads, etc.

Like many marketing channels, you’ll need data to showcase why you should continue to spend money on ad campaigns, including direct mail.

Collecting Data

In direct mail, there are a few different data points you’ll need to collect in order to be successful. This information can help you understand your customer and/or decide which assets are working best.

Target Audience

The first rule in any marketing campaign is to know your audience. One way to figure this out is to look at past purchases to see who your buyers are. Once you understand that, you can segment your buyers into different target audiences to get the most bang for your buck.

For example, you wouldn’t speak to a 65-year-old woman the same way you would speak to a 25-year-old man. If you send them the same message, you could be wasting your time, effort, and money. Once you’re able to collect this information, you can then target your messaging to relate to those specific groups which will likely increase your return on investment (ROI).

Conversion Rates

Once you start sending out your campaigns to your target audiences, you’ll have to find a way to track if they’re interested in your product and/or services. One way to do this is with your call-to-action or CTA.

Some examples of good, trackable CTA’s are coupon codes, QR codes, email registration links, downloadable links to e-books, and more. These CTA’s will help you track who is taking action from your direct mail campaigns. That data will then help you calculate your conversion rate so you know if your campaigns are actually working.

A/B Testing

Another great way to collect data is through testing. When you first start a new campaign, it’s hard to know what will work and what won’t. Try experimenting with split tests.

Split tests, or A/B testing, is a way to find out which messaging or graphics are working best for your segmented audiences. For example, you could test brochures vs. flyers, or two different CTA’s, to the same target audience to see which has a better conversion rate.

Analyze

There is no point in collecting data if you’re not going to analyze it. Analyzing data can help you see which messages need to be tweaked, which audiences are the most likely to buy, and much more. Analyze your data to help improve your marketing efforts.

Direct Mail Data Management

Now that you know which data to collect, it’s time to start your direct mail campaigns! For more information on which direct mail services are right for you, contact Modern Mail today!