Track for Increased Response

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Given all of the issues we hear about the USPS recently, it has become difficult to predict, with any degree of certainty, the time line for delivery of a direct mail piece. Delivery could take a few days or it could take a few weeks depending on the class of mail and the distribution of the pieces across the country. We mail campaigns every day and the only way, up until now, we were able to determine the delivery time was by seeding the list or waiting for responses to come in. Why would you want to know when a mail piece is being or has been delivered? What could you do with that information?

1.    Begin measuring response rates and ROI

2.    Prepare your team to expect and respond to inquiries

3.    Send an imminent delivery email notification to the recipient that raises their interest level in anticipation of receiving the forthcoming direct mail piece.

So how can you know when a mail piece is or will be delivered? Look no further than the Intelligent Mail Barcode. The Postal Service has mandated that we all switch to the IMB in January 2013. At this point, in the transition to IMB, over 95% of all mail is being scanned and “clocked in” when it enters the postal system and at several points along the delivery path including the “stop the clock” final delivery point facility just before it goes into the carrier’s hands for delivery to the mail box.

By identifying the date of actual delivery, sending an email to alert the recipient that an important mail message is coming today or tomorrow could mean a significant increase in response rates. The anticipation of knowing that a personalized, highly relevant mail piece is being delivered can become a strong marketing message.

Tracking the IMB is not something that all marketing organizations are prepared for or adept at yet. Paying for tracking and notification from some service providers can be expensive and restrictive. Be sure your provider knows what they are doing tracking the IMB and not just guessing at the delivery date.

AccuLink has linked the InteliMailer and other direct mail products to the IMB scanning by the USPS so we can successfully track mail pieces all the way to the “stop the clock” delivery point.

If you would like more information, give me a call. Let me help you set up a marketing campaign that includes email notification when the delivery of the mail piece is imminent. These campaigns have real teeth and get much improved response rates.

Ed Glaser
Chief Marketing Officer
252.321.5805
ed.glaser@acculink.com

Website: www.intelimailer.com

Storefront: https://storefront.acculink.com/Promo/Login.aspx

InteliMailer Video: http://youtu.be/He429Ylw3l8

Cross Media marketing for the Little Guy

Tweet Any business owner knows about economies of scale – the increase in efficiency of production that occurs as the number of goods being produced increases.  Typically, a company that achieved economies of scale lowers the average cost per unit through increased production since fixed costs are shared over an increased number of goods.

Economies of scale bring down the costs of all sorts of things, like printing and mailing if you are a large national corporation or nonprofit organization. 

But what if you are a little guy? Little guys still have profit margins and marketing goals to meet and along with those, the need for affordable marketing solutions.

Thanks to advancements in technology, direct mail driven cross media campaigns can be an affordable solution for small businesses and nonprofits.

Cross media campaigns reach an audience via traditional offline and online channels including direct mail, e-mail, personalized URLs (pURLs), landing pages, QR codes, and mobile messaging.  They feature personalized, relevant, and highly targeted messages.

Acculink is now the primary manufacturer of the InteliMailer formally called Transformailer.  This product transforms marketing messages into a complete cross media marketing campaign.  The InteliMailer offers small businesses and nonprofit organizations a unique way to increase response rates and achieve their marketing goals. 

According to a study by InfoTrends, marketers reported response rates of 20 - 35% when using cross media marketing campaigns over single channel print or email campaigns.   In addition, marketers reported an average lift of 50% in response rates using personalized, relevant and highly targeted cross media campaigns over static print-only campaigns.

Other research shows that combining direct mail with pURLs and well-designed landing pages, as well as QR codes and mobile messaging means higher response rates.  With the InteliMailer employing cross media marketing techniques, we are seeing lifts of 35 – 50% in response rates.  We are able to achieve this by offering a unique direct mail piece that gets noticed, opened, and acted upon thereby multiplying the results even further with personalization and variable data and then tapping into the power of the WEB and mobile marketing.

Until now, creating full color, personalized direct mail letter packages tied to cross media campaigns has been a time consuming and expensive undertaking.  Only large companies with big budgets could afford it.

With InteliMailer, now small businesses and nonprofits can send incredibly effective letter packages supported by pURLS, landing pages, WEB sites, and even mobile messaging in small quantities without any extra work and for only a few cents more than a postcard or self-mailer.

Because the InteliMailer can be produced in many versions, it is very versatile.  It can be a simple letter and outer envelope, both personalized and in full color. It can just be the outer envelope personalized with variable maps, coupons, or other relevant content without any inside sheets.   It may contain up to three personalized sheets and a reply envelope or reply card inside the outer envelope.  A membership card, affinity or loyalty card can also be part of the InteliMailer.  It can be produced in many different versions depending upon its intended use.

Unlike static marketing campaigns, the InteliMailer is supported by integrated on-line and mobile media.  It can be precision targeted, highly relevant, and personalized to a smaller list while yielding higher results than mailing to a much larger list.

For more information or samples please contact Ed Glaser, CMO at Acculink.  He can be reached at (252)321-5805 or at ed.glaser@acculink.com.