Technology is making direct mail campaigns faster, easier, and more viable to produce as part of a brand’s overall communication strategy. The trust consumers place in print media often puts direct mailers at the heart of multi-touchpoint marketing campaigns designed to connect with target audiences across a variety of channels.
But even with the advancements in print technology and direct mail’s ability to engage with customers, a variety of market forces — material costs and supply issues — make it key for marketers to constantly evaluate and understand the effectiveness of their direct mail campaigns.
Asking yourself these questions can help determine the effectiveness of your direct mailers and ensure your next direct mail campaign hits home with your target audience.
Are your direct mailers costing too much on postage?
Cost is always a key consideration in determining whether a marketing campaign is a success, and this is particularly important in the case of direct mail when you account for postage costs. Things that can affect postage costs include size, weight, and contents of your mailer, along with postage rate increases.
The good news is the USPS® provides a variety of promotions and incentive programs designed to help you save on postage while also helping to increase the effectiveness of your mailer. For example, one of the 2025 programs offers a 4% discount on postage for mailers that incorporate enhanced tactile, sensory, and interactive elements. These can take the form of textured papers, scented papers, and unique or innovative folds.
Our guide to the 2025 USPS Promotions and Incentives can help you print direct mailers that reduce your postage costs and create more dynamic direct mail campaigns.
Are your direct mailers getting the right level of engagement?
Engagement in direct mail usually refers to performance metrics like response rates, but, with the right direct mailer concept, you can leverage a wider range of engagement data to judge the effectiveness of your messaging.
Creating direct mailers that include digital integrations like quick response (QR) codes, custom URLs, and augmented reality (AR) experiences not only makes your mailer more interactive and engaging, but these components also provide more detailed data on how and when your audience is engaging with your mailer.
Website visits, video plays, and AR views can paint a clear picture as to how your audience is responding to your messaging, and it can also help you prove ROI on your direct mail campaigns via a more multi-channel approach that connects with customers in the print and digital space.
Are your direct mailers providing a personalized experience?
Personalized print tailors marketing messages and offers to each individual customer based on everything from their preferences and location to buying behavior and demographics. This helps brands create highly targeted mailers that have a greater likelihood of connecting with your ideal customer.
Using data points like geographic location, average customer spend, length of relationship, previous interest, and online activity like website form submissions or e-commerce transactions can help demonstrate that you understand what customers want and need. Building this kind of personalized relationship increases brand loyalty and can elevate key performance metrics like response rates.
Prioritizing personalized print that delivers increased response rates and a robust ROI starts with adopting a print automation solution — and partnering with a strategic print provider that has a history of helping brands leverage personalization in service of delivering results.
Are your direct mailers sustainable?
Sustainability is at top of mind for almost every brand in today’s world, and direct mail has a large part to play in creating more sustainable operational models. Sustainable practices help you make better use of natural resources used in the production of ink and paper, and these practices can help reduce print cost and increase efficiency.
Prioritizing sustainable direct mailers extends beyond using recycled papers or eco-friendly inks, though these choices are a good start. Choosing a digital print platform allows you to print precise quantities to virtually eliminate excess copies and reduce waste.
Plus, a digital platform removes the economies of scale associated with offset printing, which is a major benefit in optimizing your use of resources and controlling production costs.
Are you using direct mail to help nurture online engagement?
Using direct mailers as a way to maintain communication with customers following online interaction can be extremely beneficial in helping brands further connect their print and digital worlds. For example, customers who enroll in an online loyalty program can immediately be sent a postcard or welcome packet with a special offer as a thank you for enrolling. Or you can use direct mailers to cross-sell customers on products related to those they purchased online.
The ability to use direct mail in this way requires a print automation solution that integrates with your customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource platform (ERP) software to use customer insights and data to produce highly targeted pieces in real time based on triggers like a customer action.
With decades of experience as a leader in print automation, Quantum has the knowledge and expertise to help brands adopt a print automation solution to create personalized direct mail campaigns that stimulate customer loyalty and drive new customer acquisition.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your next print marketing campaign.
Cary Glitz is Quantum Group's Vice President of Enterprise Business Development.
