Direct Mail Retargeting & Triggered Direct Mail for Printers

Both direct mail retargeting and triggered direct mail are very hot topics today in the print industry and for very good reason. This type of direct mail automation is generating major success for companies as it is such a highly targeted, relevant, effective and affordable way of getting in front of customers and/or new prospects. In this article we cover the most popular aspects of this triggered mail and mail retargeting so you know exactly what it is, how to use it and how you can start benefiting from it.  

What is Direct Mail Retargeting?

Direct Mail Retargeting is the act of sending direct mail out to people who have taken some action such as visiting a website or downloading a form. This is similar to retargeting website visitors online with ads, but instead of digital ads you’re sending relevant direct mail pieces such as postcards, letters, kits, promo items, etc. to prospects with the goal of getting them to convert in some way such as booking a meeting, getting a quote, purchasing a product / service, etc.  

What is Triggered Direct Mail?

Triggered Direct Mail or Trigger-Based Direct Mail is the act of sending personalized direct mail out to people who have taken highly specific actions that you track and tie-back to existing customer data.  

How Are Retargeted Mail and Triggered Mail Different?

This is a great question and isn’t a Direct Mail Retargeting vs Triggered Direct Mail type of scenario. Definitively you can consider Triggered Direct Mail a subset of Direct Mail Retargeting.   At first glance they sound very similar… Direct Mail Retargeting - Sending Direct Mail out to a person who took some action Triggered Direct Mail - Sending Personalized Direct Mail out to a person who took a very specific action   The difference is the specificity. The first is more macro and will broadly target a visitor of your website for example and send them a generic mail piece that is still relevant but not overly personalized or specific. While the second is focused on being micro and includes elements such as highlighting a product that was left in a shopping cart online (shopping cart abandonment) and including a coupon for that product with a Personalized URL (PURL) to take them straight to the cart with the discount applied. One is easier to implement and the other can be much more complex.  

Technology & Approaches for Retargeted Mail & Triggered Mail

One of the biggest questions we hear when it comes to implementing retargeted or triggered direct mail is… “How can I do direct mail retargeting on my own?”.  Another great question. Without going into detail on the specific platforms we’ll first focus on the typical approaches in combination with the technology to pull this type of marketing automation off.   CRM Based Targeting This type of technology focuses on retargeting a database of known contacts or customers. Think about popular platforms like Hubspot, if you have 1,000 customers in your CRM database you can track their behavior on your website using the Hubspot CRM and then automate direct mail based on what the tracked customers do.   Anonymous Web Traffic Another type of direct mail retargeting focuses on people who visit your website but you Don’t Know who they are. This is the most elusive type of technology and what many print companies are looking for because they want new leads and new customers. The technology to pull this off utilizes network partnerships that compile anonymous user data and pair it with databases such as Google, Zoom Info and Credit Reporting Agencies (like Experian) to get personal information such as email, name, address, phone number, household income, etc.  

Use Cases for Retargeted Direct Mail, Triggered Direct Mail & Direct Mail Automation

You could get very creative in how you utilize this technology but there are a few standard go-to use cases in how companies are using direct mail retargeting. Here we explore three of the most common ways people use this direct mail marketing automation technique.

• Web visit retargeting for an entire website or a specific page
• Shopping cart abandonment
• Sales / Lead engagement

  With website visitors you can easily send direct mail out to all visitors to your site or you could segment the audience by sending direct mail that speaks directly to the product / service the visitor looked at on your website. For shopping cart abandonment, you could send a discount code to those who didn’t complete a purchase or a value added bonus (free gift, double their order, etc.) that moves them over the finish line to complete the transaction. When it comes to sales and lead engagement, each step of the sales funnel is a chance to segment your targets and get the right message in front of them. For example, if you’ve gotten a prospect half way through the sales funnel and it’s time to get them to book a demo you could create a kit / package that has a unique invitation with a snack and a drink that is meant for them to consume while you deliver your pitch. The point is that if you can define when, what and what you’ll send to prospects and customers using this tactic you’re guaranteed to close more sales / deals.  

Barriers to Entry for Print Companies

This is where we hear the most frustration from Print Companies when it comes to implementing a direct mail retargeting solution. They can’t find a platform that they can use. And unfortunately it’s because the majority of people doing this type of direct mail marketing automation work have created proprietary solutions of their own.   Companies like Postcard Mania, Hey Poplar or El Toro all do this but they do all of the printing. So this leaves you without the revenue generated by sending the actual direct mail pieces.   There really aren’t any companies or solutions out there making this solution available to printers like you.   But at Pryntbase we have this capability and can set this technology up on your website so that you can close more leads and sales from your Anonymous website traffic.   How Do We Do It? We place a pixel on your website, collect your website visitors IP, session and machine information then run that through our appending / matching algorithm that is tied to Google, ZoomInfo and Experian. The results are email addresses, names, physical mailing addresses and phone numbers which are delivered right to your email database so you can choose to send them direct mail, email or follow up via phone to offer them your products or services.

Are You Ready to Sell More Direct Mail?