8 Ways to Measure a Direct Mail Campaign’s Success

You put a lot of time, energy, and resources into planning and executing your direct mail marketing campaigns. You might assume that your campaigns are doing well if you see an uptick in sales since they started, but the best way to determine their success is by actively tracking and measuring their performance. There are certain surefire tracking methods you can employ to accurately measure the success of your direct mail marketing strategies for e-commerce websites.

Use Unique QR Codes

QR codes are barcodes that people can scan using the camera apps on their marketing materials. Users simply have to open the camera apps on their smartphones and hover the camera directly above the QR code. The barcode will automatically be scanned and open on your website on the user’s device.

QR codes are a perfect solution for direct mail for e-commerce companies because they actively drive traffic to your website. You can even create unique barcodes for each webpage on your website. This way, you can track where people are accessing your website from and which pages are getting the most traction and adjust your direct mail marketing campaign strategies accordingly.

Trackable URLs

As the name suggests, trackable URLs allow you to create unique URLs for your direct mail marketing campaigns that lead people directly to your website. These can be in the form of QR codes that are linked to specific web pages on your website, or they can be links that redirect to your website when people enter them into their address bars or search engines.

Trackable URLs determine which visitors came as a result of receiving one of your marketing materials in the mail. It’s one of the easiest forms of tracking direct mail campaign success.

Personalized URL (PURL)

PURLs are another form of trackable URLs. The main difference is that these are personalized specifically for each recipient. They utilize QR codes in the same fashion. Once the barcodes are scanned on a smartphone device, the user will be directed to a webpage on your website that’s curated specifically for them based on their interests and needs.

This is an especially effective form of marketing for dietary supplement direct mail campaigns as it leads existing and prospective customers to product and service pages that pertain specifically to their needs and interests.

Trackable Phone Number

Creating unique trackable phone numbers for each direct mail marketing campaign is another effective way to measure their success rates. There are several avenues you can take with this method.

• You can set up unique toll-free or 1-800 numbers that are associated with each piece of marketing material you send out to your target audience members. Every time a call comes in through one of those phone numbers, it’ll automatically be redirected to your business, but you’ll be able to track which campaign it’s associated with.
• Use a professional call tracking software company to track each call on your behalf. This allows you to track where the call is coming from so you can collect and analyze specific geographic and demographic-based data regarding your direct mail marketing campaigns.
• Lastly, you can use your regular direct business phone number, email, or other point of contact. Train your customer service representatives or staff to ask specific questions and collect data from customers. This includes coupon and promotional codes printed on the direct mail marketing materials received. That way, you can determine which promotion the call or email is referring to and go based on that.

Include a Business Reply Card

Business reply cards are an easy and cost-effective way to measure the success and efficacy of a direct mail campaign for an e-commerce company. They allow the recipients to respond directly to the marketing materials they received in the mail by simply filling out the information on one side of the card and dropping it back in the mail without paying any postage. Since business reply cards already have return postage that’s prepaid by the company or promoter, the recipients can easily take advantage of the promotions being offered.

Plus, this allows companies to learn a little more about their prospective and existing customers so that they can customize their marketing campaigns accordingly.

Unique Offer or Activation Codes

Including unique offers and activation codes in your direct mail marketing materials can help you keep a record of which promotions are gaining the most traction. You can track which codes are being used the most on your website, how users are obtaining these codes, how often certain promotional codes are being used, etc. All of these analytics provide ample useful insight into the efficacy of your direct mail marketing campaigns.

Coupon Codes

Whenever you’re launching a new offer or promotion, you should provide customers with exclusive coupon codes that can be redeemed at checkout on your online or brick-and-mortar store if you have one. Coupon codes and vouchers are a great way to attract new customers and incentivize existing ones to continue supporting your brand. You can create two different kinds of coupon codes based on your branding goals. If customer acquisition is your goal, then offer prospective customers a special discount for purchasing a new product or supporting your brand.

This tactic also works well for customer retention, which is important. Let your existing customers know just how much you appreciate their brand loyalty and support by offering them exclusive and customized discounts on select products or services they’ve enjoyed in the past. You can also make new product and service recommendations based on your past purchases.

Employ the Time Isolation Technique

This technique requires collecting a lot of analytical data over a long period of time to determine the success of a specific ad campaign. Start by measuring your KPI (key performance indicators) during a time when you don’t have any campaigns running. Comparing this data to data collected during and after a specific ad campaign will help you determine the performance and overall success of that campaign in terms of reaching specific goals.

When it comes to professional direct mail marketing strategies for websites and e-commerce companies, there’s only one company most businesses trust: North American Media. We have the commercial and marketing expertise to create totally unique and effective direct mail marketing campaigns that actively engage your target audience. Contact us today to learn more about our services.