7 Ways of Tracking Direct Mail Response Rates
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April 11, 2017

There is one thing marketing professionals all agree on when it comes to the best way of tracking direct mail response rates to measure your marketing success? There isn’t one. The ‘best’ way to measure your direct marketing campaign success is not the same for any two clients or companies. The ‘best’ way to measure your direct mail effectiveness is to know what your success looks like. 

Direct Mail Marketing Metrics

Here are just a few direct mail marketing metrics that are frequently tossed about when calculating the success of a marketing strategy:

  • Customer Acquisition Cost
  • Number of Sales
  • Customer Lifetime Value
  • Return On Investment
  • Engagement
  • Key Performance Indicator
  • Cost per Lead
  • Lead Conversion Rate

Direct Mail Monitoring

Having a clear goal in mind for your campaign will help you decide how to judge its performance. In your direct mail monitoring ask yourself,  What are you trying to do:

  • Increase brand awareness?
  • Drive website traffic?
  • Increase the number of sales or increase the total amount sold? 
  • Increase the revenue per sale?
  • Retain existing customers?
  • Reach new audiences?

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The use of marketing metrics will help you determine how successful you have been in achieving your goal. One of the most frequently used tools is response rate –the number of targets who took the next step in the journey. Here are 7 ways you can track your response rate:

Coupons

Coupons are tried and true when it comes to tracking your response rate. Counting the number of redeemed coupons is an excellent way to track action rate.

Discount or Coupon Codes

Similar to a printed coupon, discount codes can be added to any direct mail piece. The nature of these codes allows them to be used via online ordering where each sale is tracked and counted.   

PURL Tracking

Personalized URLs are web addresses created for individual customers or key segments of customers. PURLs allow you to know exactly who is responding to your mailer and lets you track their experience on your website. By PURL tracking their movements, it will offer you more insight into what is and is not engaging material as well as more insight into their interests. 

QR codes 

QR codes are an excellent way to track response and collect analytics. You can easily direct your target to a PURL without requiring them to type in the URL. These work exceedingly well when combined with limited-time offers. 

Customized Landing Pages 

Customized landing pages can coordinate with your direct mail strategy and provide additional information to your audience. Adding a data collection form to access special offers or further details gives you an opportunity to collect more data about your target as well as help you track your response rate.

Mail Call Tracking Number 

Make sure your business is paying attention to incoming calls with a mail call tracking number. Not everyone reaches directly for the computer to follow up on a mail piece. Some customers still like to pick up the phone and ask for more information. Using trackable phone numbers allows you to know how many phone calls were initiated from a direct mail campaign. 

Submission Forms 

Adding submission forms on your landing pages is a no-brainer; they give you an opportunity to find out more about your target. A simple contact for allowing them to ask you questions and get more information draws them deeper into the funnel. 

Each of these methods allows you to reliably track your response rate and puts you on the path to further understanding and evaluating the effectiveness of your direct marketing strategy. Working with a seasoned direct mail provider is the first step towards increasing both your response rate and your overall ROI. Knowing which methods perform best for your personal campaign goals, in a variety of channels, is a game-changer for your marketing strategy. 

You will find these 7 ways to track response rates of direct mail, plus more helpful information in the NextPage ebook, The NextPage Guide to Direct Mail Success. And if you would like help creating and implementing a direct mail campaign, contact NextPage here or by calling 800-660-0108.

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