United States Postal Service Full Service Approved
Highlights
- Open a dialog with customers
- Next step in targeting markets
- Develop/strengthen brand loyalty
One of the chief advantages of using direct mail is the ability to target your message to a very specific audience. Even better, modern print technology has enhanced that advantage by allowing the mail pieces themselves to be custom-tailored for individual recipients.
Personalized mail has become a hot trend in direct marketing, and for good reason. Consumers like to feel that vendors listen to them and will address their needs. And in a tough economic climate such as today’s, making that kind of connection with your customers takes on an even greater degree of importance than usual.
In the old days, when the only individualized part of a mail piece was the address, mail was used as a tool for keeping your customers aware of you. Now, though, the communication can be more of a two-way street, with custom fields in the mail piece telling the customer that you are also keeping up with them.
For example, a customer who recently bought a new gas grill from a home improvement store might get a mailer from the store advertising a special on patio furniture. The information gathered from the customer’s purchasing history can be used to suggest items he may also be interested in buying, much like the suggestions made by online retailers to their customers.
Not only does that kind of two-way communication strengthen your connection with your customers, it also increases the effectiveness of your promotions since customers will receive information on the products or services they are most likely to buy.
Personalized mailings can also be combined with PURLs as part of an integrated multimedia campaign to further the benefits of tailoring mail to your target audience. By adding a field for a PURL, you invite your customers to interact with you, and can also gather information that will help you hone your messages on an individual basis.
By building brand loyalty through communication, personalized mailings are a powerful marketing tool. It is the kind of effort that really stands out in a customer’s mail box.
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