For those who know me and follow me on LinkedIn, I am a huge PostPilot fanboy. So much so that I had one of their founders, Michael Epstein, on my podcast a few weeks back.
You can listen to that episode here.
Running ads on Meta have become harder and more expensive over the last few years. Getting emails into inboxes and getting people to open, click, and buy has also become harder and more expensive over the years.
Using direct mail to prospect, retarget, and reengage old customers has become a critical piece of the puzzle for ecommerce marketers and when you break down the cost, in most cases, it’s actually cheaper than running ads on Meta, and the return is just as good, or better.
That doesn’t mean you should shut down your ad campaigns or stop sending emails. However, you should be supplementing those efforts with direct mail.
In today’s post, we are going to be breaking down a few ways to use postcard marketing with your email marketing efforts to create synergies that are way more effective together, than on their own.
How Does Direct Mail & Email Marketing Work Together
The first thing that’s important to note is that direct mail and email marketing, unlike paid advertisements, are owned media channels. So, they offer direct access to your target audience. In addition, utilizing both channels at the same time can open up new avenues for business growth through nurturing, converting, and retaining more customers. Let’s talk about both types of marketing, and then the synergy that can be created.
Email Marketing: A Time-Tested Staple
Since its inception, email marketing has been a cornerstone for e-commerce businesses. Ecommerce email marketing provides a direct line to customers’ inboxes for sharing promotions, new product announcements, educational content, and more. It remains one of the most effective and reliable methods of digital communication in the business world.
Direct Mail: Expanding Reach Through Tangibility
On the other hand, direct mail involves sending physical mail and can expand your reach, but at a higher cost. Unlike digital communication, direct mail offers a tangible, tactile experience that can leave a lasting impression on recipients. Moreover, it allows for creative and personalized approaches, such as postcards, catalogs, or handwritten letters, providing a unique opportunity to stand out in a crowded digital landscape.
The Synergy: Maximizing Reach and Engagement
Merging these two channels not only enhances your reach and awareness but also facilitates the re-engagement of subscribers and the reacquisition of lost customers. By integrating direct mail with email marketing, businesses can create a more cohesive customer journey. This cohesive journey improves brand visibility, fosters stronger customer relationships, and ultimately leads to improved conversion rates.
Through this synergy, companies can effectively leverage the strengths of both channels, resulting in a comprehensive and impactful marketing strategy.
Essential Tools for Email and Direct Mail Marketing
To execute these strategies, an email service platform like Klaviyo is recommended due to its seamless integration with PostPilot for direct mail. They work together seamlessly to create audiences, push data back and forth, and make this all a reality.
Increasing Conversion
Many customers visiting your website are at the beginning of their buyer journey. Buyer journeys are long and complex, requiring numerous touchpoints. Combining a welcome email flow with direct mail, such as a postcard, can be remarkably helpful in increasing conversions. By initiating with an engaging email and following up with a tangible, personalized postcard, you establish a multi-channel approach that resonates with potential customers, effectively guiding them through the buyer journey and ultimately increasing conversion rates.
The Combined Welcome Flow
- Begin with Email: The Welcome Flow is absolutely crucial to DTC brands. What is a welcome flow, though? A welcome flow is aimed at
- Building a relationship with new subscribers
- Introducing them to your brand and products
- Guiding customers towards a first purchase
A typical Welcome Flow includes three to five emails offering a first-purchase discount. The sequence might look like this:
- Email #1 Goals: Welcoming new subscribers, sharing your brand story, and highlighting key products/collections.
- Email #2 Goals: Detailed introductions to your product range.
- Email #3 Goals: Showcasing customer testimonials and social proof.
- Email #4 Goals: Educating about your unique products and their uses.
- Email #5 Goals: Diving deeper into your brand’s mission, story, and values.
- Follow with Direct Mail: Even after multiple welcome emails, many subscribers may not make a purchase. So, you’ll want to use direct mail to re-engage these potential customers with postcards that emphasize your brand’s value and offer time-sensitive discounts. Postcards bypass spam filters and have a high read rate, making them an effective nudge for hesitant shoppers.
PostPilot’s direct mail platform allows personalized campaigns based on engagement with your emails, browsing behavior, or demographic traits, further enhancing the potential for conversion.
The “Buyer Intent” Email/Direct Mail Flow
It’s not a great feeling when people browse but don’t complete their purchase. When that happens, you’ll want to use the “buyer intent” flow to target high-intent prospects, like the customers who browsed and didn’t complete a purchase.
- Start with Email: Implement key email flows for browse abandonment, add-to-cart, and abandoned cart scenarios.
- Follow with Direct Mail: Complement these emails with direct mail reminders about the products they showed interest in, along with incentives such as free shipping or discounts.
Loving Your VIP Customers
You’re probably wondering what a VIP customer is in eCommerce marketing.
VIP customers are the lifeblood of any business. These are the customers who not only make repeat purchases but also act as brand advocates, sharing their positive experiences with others. Continuing to cultivate the loyalty of these VIP customers is crucial as they significantly contribute to increasing the customer lifetime value.
Utilizing a combination of direct mail and email marketing is an effective strategy to maintain and enhance this relationship. Initiating with an engaging email and following up with a tangible, personalized postcard is a winning approach to ensure VIP customers remain loyal and continue to spread the word about your brand.
VIP Enhancement Campaigns
Focus on customers with higher engagement and lifetime value (LTV). Use both email and direct mail for promotions and product launches to foster loyalty and increase repeat purchases.
- Email Strategy: Treat your VIPs by sending them early notices, access, extended sales, or extra discounts. Make sure you let them know it’s a VIP-only offer.
- Direct Mail Strategy: In this instance, you’ll want to start with direct mail for a premium feel. Consider handwritten notes for a personal touch, early access postcards, extended sales details, or exclusive discount offers.
“Last Chance” Campaigns
When it comes to last-chance campaigns, you’ll want to create urgency with countdown emails and follow up with direct mail reminding them of limited-time offers.
- Email Strategy: Prompt action by sending countdown emails, emphasizing the limited time remaining for the offer. Make sure to clearly communicate that it’s their “Last Chance” to take advantage of the offer.
- Direct Mail Strategy: Elevate the sense of urgency and exclusivity with direct mail. Send a sleek, high-quality postcard reminding recipients of the limited-time offer. Include a personalized message and a QR code or unique URL to lead them directly to the offer page.
Through the integration of direct mail and email marketing, e-commerce enterprises can forge a dynamic and impactful marketing approach. This strategic amalgamation harnesses the unique strengths of each channel, fostering enhanced customer engagement and facilitating increased conversion rates.
Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
