The stand alone direct mail letter may soon be on exhibit at your neighborhood history museum. When is the last time you received a B2C letter at home without some sort of digital embellishment printed in the letter or inserted in the piece?

It’s probably been awhile because there are too many digital applications to layer with your direct mail to boost ROI by as much as 20%.

With the advancements in technology you have ample arsenal to beef up your direct mail pieces and associated ROI. Direct mail is still the workhorse or bread that you can spread digital media on to find new customers or build increased customer loyalty.

By providing prospects or customers multiple options to respond to your direct mail campaign, you increase response and the value of those responses. The Direct Marketing Association study found that customers who buy from two channels (vs. just one) are between 20 and 60% more valuable, while triple-channel buyers are 60-125% more valuable.

For a double to triple return, use one of the six approaches below to dazzle your recipient into action.

Five Digital Elements to Amp up Your Direct Mail

1. Print QR (quick response) codeson your postcards or direct mail pieces that drive your prospects or customers to a specific landing page on your website (a PURL) not just the home page.
2. Integrate audio chips that get your brand messages heard. To jump on this sound trend and to heighten ROI, mailers with audio chips that allow the piece to sing or talk upon being opened are being used widely now by political, lobbying, and other various groups. The AARP recently developed a mailer with an audio chip that cost $2 a unit for a campaign.
3. Build a small jump or flash drive into your direct mail piece. This is easy with the new, flat, credit card style flash drives that allow you to print your contact information on the backside. Flash drive credit cards are both good for prospecting or as corporate gifts for existing clients.
4. Print Intelligent Mail® barcodes on your direct mail pieces (the 65-bar code required for all automation pieces in the United States that maximizes mail discounts and eliminates duplication).
5. Customize pieces that display short videos or virtual presentations within the print piece. Already ahead of the game, Google embedded a video in a coffee table book to announce its search page advertising experience. On the inside spread, Google asked a simple question: what if the experience with the Google search page could be made more meaningful, more memorable and more valuable? Their answer: “That would be huge.” To make its point, Google placed a 5” VIP Screen into artwork laid out to represent a computer monitor so that the VIP Book simulated the actual consumer experience online.

Don’t depend solely on the above technologies. You still need to do the basics of creating great copy, a great headline, a great call to action, and a great mailing list. Then you can add the razzle dazzle to further strengthen your mailing campaign and reap the rewards of higher ROI for you hard work and irresistible marketing campaigns.