Direct Mail Experts Answer the Three Most-Asked Customer Questions

As a leader in the direct mail marketing-automation world, PFL hears a lot from our customers. We hear the good, the bad, we get suggestions, and we get new ideas. But, most of all, because we are experts in the field, we are asked a great many questions. Of all the questions, these are the three we get asked the most, according to PFL’s customer-experience experts:  

• “How do I reach people?”
• “How can I prepare for a cookie-less future?”
• “How do I know what to send to create an impactful experience?”

“One of the questions I hear most is, ‘How do I reach people?’,” said Jordan Skovron, VP of customer success, during a recent webinar. “Well, whether you're operating in the B2B or B2C space, there are a few tactics that can be deployed. The first is to geolocate based on IP address and append a contact's physical address. This allows you to track anonymous visitors and match their IP to a physical address. Additionally, you could set a radius around a geolocation and append residential addresses through third-party data. Finally, there are form-fills. These are always a great option to use during event registration, embedded within an email outreach, or post-event.”

Skovron said that question number two from customers is often: “How can we prepare for a cookieless future?” She explained that talk of a cookieless future is really about the end of third-party data. This means that first-party data collection becomes key. “A great way to collect this data is through tactics such as offering interactive content or helpful materials for free in exchange for people’s data,” she said. “Great examples of this include digital quizzes, assessments, interactive infographics, e-books and the like.”

Another great opportunity for the collection of first-party data, Skovron pointed out, is through the onboarding process. Alignment between the sales, marketing, and customer success teams is key to ensuring the collection of relevant data that can be leveraged cross-departmentally.

Alignment between the sales, marketing, and customer success teams is key to ensuring the collection of relevant data that can be leveraged cross-departmentally.

“An ideal outcome of this,” Skovron concluded, “would be that marketers have enough first-party data from existing customers that they can then segment these customers and develop campaigns based on what they know of similar cohorts, so it still feels relevant and personalized.”

The Importance of an 'Impactful Experience'

PFL’s director of customer success, Wes Deen, said the third most-asked question is: What should I send my audiences that will resonate? “What’s really being asked,” he explained, “is how do we determine what to send that will create a quick and impactful experience?”

Deen suggested that there are many different options for incorporating direct mail into a journey or campaign: “What it is really dependent on is where someone is in the customer journey. I always recommend starting small and, as someone moves throughout the journey, you can match the value of the direct mail piece with where they are along the way.”

For example, said Deen, one of his favorite ways to do this is in the “awareness” stage using just a simple postcard or a trifold. “There's so much flexibility with a postcard that can lead to digital engagement,” he said. “Then once a prospect shows intent, you can consider sending another educational piece, such as a catalog, or an acceleration piece to book a meeting. Keeping the items generic is the key here. What we're looking for is a moment of discovery by the recipient. As you are moving prospects or customers through the journey, that will open many doors to sending direct mail pieces.”

Deen concluded that it is in this way marketers can use direct mail to create moments of insight connected to your brand. “As the recipients go about their day,” he said, “they'll have you top of mind when their business opportunities align with how you are able to help them win.”

For more on the topic from these experts, listen to the replay of PFL’s recent webinar, “How to Deliver Powerful Insights that Turn Engagement into Action.”

This article originally appeared on WhosMailingWhat.com.

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