In he latest his post Jonathan McClure from claims that direct mail has adopted many new tricks, tips and tactics over the years. With digital printing, smart presses, and integration with other channels, it can mirror much of the functionality from digital.

He underlines that some functionalities of email marketing that could be adopted into direct email are personalization of direct mail content for both images and copy, segmentation. We can even image it but when we take into account marketing automation software, performance attribution or omnichannel orchestration things start to be more interesting.

Marketing automation for direct mail

Jonathan McClure claims that the same marketing automation logic that drives our email, SMS, and push campaigns can also spur the delivery of a direct mail piece to the right person with the right content at the right time. Sounds really interesting, doesn’t it?

It is called “tactile marketing automation” because it delivers a physical experience that complements the digital experience. Just like automation in a digital channel, triggering a direct mail piece based on a set of actions is one of the most effective ways to spark engagement.

There are several ways to automate direct mail campaigns. He points fairly, so to speak, that it is already done by credit card companies sending you a credit card and welcome kit after your application is approved. It is done by an electric company sends your power bill once your statement closes.

In that case a department store can mail a postcard that corresponds to your browsing online. Direct mail can be triggered by any behaviour that we use to trigger email campaigns.

It is also worth to mention that omnichannel orchestration like this increases the effectiveness of all of the channels involved. If you have an marketing automation engine in place, you can trigger that channel as any other channel. Otherwise you can send your direct mail on a specific date and then send an email, or start another digital campaign a week before or after the direct mail is expected to arrive.

You can read the whole post here.

Need help with marketing automation? We are ready to help you to achieve more with the leading marketing cloud, including an Analytics & Strategic Services. Just drop us a message here.