How programmatic direct mail is merging digital and physical marketing

With the overwhelming numbers of innovative technologies driving modern marketing, old-fashioned mail still remains relevant. The key point is applying mailing strategies with a modern twist. The point is that there are certain smart strategies that the companies can employ to embrace an efficient programmatic approach to direct mailing.

In this article, we will explore the concept of programmatic direct mail in detail. This approach blends the precision of digital targeting with the impact of physical media. We will explore the key aspects of programmatic direct mail, its essential principles, and factors behind the efficiency of such an approach. We will also explore relevant practices that help businesses boost conversion, re-engage customers, and personalize reach at scale. This material will be relevant to marketers or business owners who seek innovative methods for enhancing advertising outreach and driving ROI. Keep reading to get invaluable insights on how to drive your advertising campaigns with programmatic direct mailing.

What is programmatic direct mail?

Traditionally, let's start with the definition of the key concept observed in this article. Programmatic direct mail is an automated marketing method that involves sending personalized physical mail based on real-time user data. This approach combines the targeting power of online advertising with the tangible impact of direct mail. How does it work? For example, a user may visit a company's website and abandon a cart. The system automatically prints a relevant mail piece that is later delivered to this user's physical address. Therefore, this approach allows marketers to combine the best of two worlds. They combine the fast and data-driven approach of programmatic advertising with the ability to reach audiences offline.

How does programmatic direct mail work?

We have already outlined some core principles of programmatic direct mail in the above-mentioned example. However, the fundamentals of such an approach deserve a closer look. Basically, such a practice may be oriented towards any users who interact with your brand. This may involve different forms of interactions, including website visits, abandoned carts, or cases of browsing a product page.

Customer data is typically collected from digital touchpoints. The most common ones are:

• cookies

• IP addresses

• email interactions

• CRM activity.

Specialized software processes this information connected to the company's website and marketing tools to ensure data-driven direct mail delivery. It can also automatically match digital data to physical addresses with the help of algorithms or third-party data sources. Once a match is found, the system sends the message to a print-and-mail partner. Meanwhile, the latter produces and delivers the mail, often within 24 to 48 hours.

Benefits of programmatic direct mail for modern marketers

Programmatic direct mail is a precise and highly personalized approach. Its core strength lies in the fact that such a practice allows marketers to cut through digital noise while staying data-driven. Below are the core benefits that make it an essential part of modern marketing strategies.

Personalization

Programmatic direct mail is based on real-time behavioral data. Such information is applied to tailor each message to the recipient's interests and intent. As a result, marketers can embrace the highest levels of personalization. This, in turn, drives higher engagement than generic mass mailings. In addition, programmatic direct mailing often surpasses digital-only channels in memorability and emotional response.

Timely delivery

Traditional direct mail can be slow and batch-based. This is not the case with programmatic direct mail marketing. It is triggered by user actions, which ensures fast delivery of messages. The entire process may take several hours, which allows marketers to maintain relevance and improve response rates.

Enhanced visibility

Unlike emails, physical mail doesn't get lost in spam folders or ad blockers. Such messages land directly in the recipient's hands. This means greater visibility of the delivered marketing messages. That's why programmatic direct mail campaigns can gain better attention and recall compared to digital ads.

Omnichannel integration

Programmatic direct mail holds the potential for seamless integration with digital campaigns. It provides features for retargeting various categories of potential clients, including web visitors, abandoned cart users, and email non-openers. As a result, this approach allows advertisers to ensure cohesive user journeys across channels.

Scalability

The observed approach is also notable for its excellent scalability. Whether you send 100 or 100,000 pieces, the process will remain efficient. This feature is a solid benefit of programmatic direct advertising compared to traditional mail campaigns.

Measurable performance

Despite the fact that programmatic direct mailing is only party-digitized, it leaves much space for analytics. In particular, modern tools allow you to track delivery, engagement, and conversion. In this regard, programmatic direct mails resemble digital campaigns, QR codes, personalized URLs, and other programmatic marketing practices. As a result, marketers can gain full visibility into ROI.

Enhanced conversion rates

Compared to digital-only channels, programmatic direct mail often drives better response and conversion rates. This is especially relevant when it comes to B2B or high-value B2C markets. The point is that many people believe that the tactile nature of print adds trust and seriousness to your message.

Programmatic direct mail vs. traditional direct mail: key differences

Now that we have enumerated the key benefits of programmatic direct mail, let's underscore the properties that differentiate it from traditional mailing. We break our comparison down to the key areas that matter most to marketers.

Speed

As has already been mentioned, programmatic direct mail moves much faster. Traditional campaigns may take weeks to design, print, and send the message. Meanwhile, the programmatic approach is semi-automated and can take days or even hours.

Relevance

Traditional campaigns rely on outdated static mailing lists. Quite often, the information on the recipient's current interests or even address is missing. On the contrary, programmatic direct mail uses real-time behavioral data to create the most relevant messages. As a result, each message is tailored and more impactful.

Measurement

With traditional mail, tracking success is often difficult. Meanwhile, programmatic direct mail offers digital-like tracking. You can monitor delivery, engagement, and conversions with various tools, such as QR codes, pURLs, and CRM integrations.

Check out the table below for the complete list of differences relevant in the context of programmatic vs. traditional direct mail comparison.

How to integrate programmatic direct mail into your marketing strategy

Now, let's proceed with the practical side. Programmatic direct mail strategy can vary depending on industry and company specifics. However, these are rather general steps that are common to most programmatic direct mail strategies.

Define your goals

Strat is working on your programmatic direct mail strategy by setting clear objectives. Consider whether you intend to re-engage website visitors or nurture leads. Or, perhaps, your goal is to reduce car abandonment? Understand your goals clearly to determine the right targeting, messaging, and timing.

Understand key triggers

Choose the behaviors that will trigger your mailings. For example, focus on website visits, email opens, cart abandonment, form completions, or inactivity over a set period. The more relevant the trigger, the better the response.

Apply smart audience segmentation

To ensure greater targeting and deliver more relevant messages to the audience, apply the best audience segmentation practices. For example, you can use CRM, CDP, or marketing automation platforms to segment the audience automatically. We suggest grouping your actual and potential clients based on behavior, lifecycle stage, demographics, or buying intent. Later, you may craft different messages relevant to diverse audience categories and deliver these messages to them correspondingly.

Choose the most fitting programmatic direct mail platform

Select a platform that integrates with your existing tools, such as CRMs, e-commerce platforms, analytical solutions, etc. Make sure that your advertising software supports real-time automation, personalization, and tracking. This will be essential for establishing rapid and precise mailing workflows.

Create personalized mailpieces

For efficient advertising, design dynamic message templates that pull in customer data, such as name, product viewed, discount offer, etc. It is also vital to keep the content clear and visually appealing. In addition, make sure that it is properly aligned with your brand.

Integrate with your tech stack

Connect your direct mail software with your existing software solutions. For example, integrate it with a CRM or website. As a result, you may create an efficient digital ecosystem where data flows seamlessly. In this case, each mail will be triggered automatically based on user behavior.

Automate and launch a campaign

Set up automated workflows that send mail immediately after the trigger event. There may be some minor challenges with configuring the entire workflow. That's why it is essential to test the system before going live. This will allow you to ensure that everything, from data matching to mail delivery, is functioning correctly.

Track performance and optimize your campaign

It is also important to ensure the continuous progress of your campaign. We suggest monitoring delivery rates, response rates, and conversions. Such insights will be useful for continuous optimization. You may use collected data to refine your triggers, messaging, or audience segments. Also, keep testing and improving your system for better ROI.

Best practices for running effective programmatic direct mail campaigns

There are also certain practical tips and tricks that will help you achieve greater efficiency in programmatic direct mail campaigns. Follow these simple tips to achieve even greater efficiency in your mailing campaigns.

Test offers and incentives

To engage the audience, use different offers and incentives. It is also important to test them in order to find what resonates best with your potential user base. Try discount codes, limited-time deals, exclusive access, or giveaways. Later, review variations to understand what drives the highest response and conversion rates.

Focus on design and copy

Memorable and compelling design helps your ad stand out. Use personalization and focus on design convenience to make each email feel more relevant. Meanwhile, stick to one clear call to action and avoid clutter.

Optimize timing and triggers

Speed matters, especially when it comes to acquiring new clients. Send mail as soon as possible after a trigger. The sooner your message arrives, the more likely it is to be remembered and acted upon. That is why efficient automation is vital for your adtech campaigns.

Maintain data hygiene

Keep your data clean and accurate to ensure your mail reaches the right people at the right time. It is important to regularly update and verify your CRM, remove duplicates, and correct incomplete addresses. Otherwise, your campaign may become less cost-efficient due to wasted spending.

Track, measure, and refine your campaign

Use analytics to monitor delivery, engagement, and conversion. It is important to tie direct mail performance back to online actions in order to evaluate return on investment. Use your performance data to continuously refine your targeting and content. This will allow you to stay dynamic, which is vital to efficient digital advertising.

Align your mailing with digital campaigns

Make sure your programmatic direct mail supports and enhances your digital marketing. First, you should pay attention to the consistency of your messaging and visual branding. Also, pay attention to timing across channels. This will allow you to create a unified experience that reinforces brand recognition.

Do not forget about compliance

Privacy remains a very important concern in the digital advertising domain. It is vital to stay compliant with data protection regulations like GDPR or CCPA. Pay close attention to audience privacy. It is important to keep transparency about data usage and collect the consent for data processing from your customers. After all, compliance builds trust and protects your brand from legal issues.

Work with trusted partners

Choose experienced providers for printing, mailing, and data services. Also, consider partnering with experienced adtech solutions that will provide you with efficient software for workflow automation. This will help you streamline your advertising campaigns and achieve greater manageability.

Consider TeqBlaze as your trusted partners

Speaking of reliable partners that will help you establish efficient programmatic advertising practices, Teqblaze is ready to become one. We are a company with exceptional expertise in delivering efficient adtech solutions. Our team has helped many global marketing businesses achieve greater conversion, ROI, and campaign manageability with our advanced solutions for programmatic advertising.

For example, we helped a U.S.-based marketing company optimize their campaigns by providing them with our white-label demand-side platform (DSP). This solution became part of the customer's advanced ecosystem. Our DSP helped the customer gain full control over their advertising activities. In addition, the customer receives actionable insights that are used for optimizing their existing campaigns. We also helped a dynamic startup that specializes in programmatic advertising solutions boost its system's flexibility. In particular, our team provided the customer with a white-label SSP (supply-side platform) and DSP bundle that allows managing all the essential adtech workflows in a single place.

Teqblaze is eager to help our clients embrace the many benefits of programmatic advertising. We provide a specialized suite of services tailored to their specific needs and can enhance the clients' existing platforms with our technology solutions or custom adtech development services.

Final word

The line between digital and physical marketing continues to blur, giving a push to many combined approaches. One such strategy is programmatic direct mail. It stands out as a powerful hybrid strategy that helps marketers to combine adtech automation with personalized and trackable physical messages. The key point here is to properly integrate such a practice with your digital stack. You should also follow the best practices to leverage all the benefits of programmatic direct mail. Ideally, such practices will become critical parts of your omnichannel strategy.

To arrange a programmatic direct mail marketing strategy properly and leverage this dynamic and data-driven approach, rely on experienced adtech partners. Teqblaze is ready to help you by providing all the necessary tools that will help you run efficient programmatic direct mail strategies.Contact us to discuss your needs and find out the opportunity to take your advertising strategies to the next level.