With 42% of Americans reading or scanning their direct mail, it is critical to stand out. Seeing an increase in leads or sales is usually a good indication of a successful direct mail campaign. However, without proper tracking methods, it can be difficult to measure its actual performance.
Ritter’s Printing & Packaging has created a comprehensive guide on monitoring and tracking tools to better measure the success of your direct mail campaign.
Direct mail tracking
For any successful campaign, it is crucial to make your direct mail trackable. Options include:
Phone numbers
One way to monitor your effectiveness is with a unique phone number for each campaign. Individual toll-free numbers can be pushed to your business line. Another way is having your team monitor calls and redemption codes. Utilizing call-tracking software often gives you further insight into your campaign analytics.
URLs
Creating a campaign-specific URL allows you to track how many people have visited that page directly. Some businesses decide to take this one step further by creating personalized URLs for everyone on their mailing list. This provides a sense of connection and customization.
QR codes
Adding QR codes linking to a specific landing page makes it easy for visitors to access your campaign. This also makes it easier for you to track how many people are interacting through QR codes.
Determine your direct mail key performance indicators
Effective campaigns are more than eye-catching mailers. Identifying the goals you want your campaign to achieve is the first step to success. Solidifying these answers helps you determine your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs allow you to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign. Some KPIs you should incorporate include:
Response rate
Your response rate tracks the percentage of people who respond to your direct mail campaign. No matter the type of your business or the size of the audience, monitoring and evaluating your response rate is critical. Direct mail typically has a response rate of 4.4%. While that may seem low, direct mail drives five times more sales than email campaigns. If you don’t track every contact on your list, your response rate will not be accurate.
Conversion rate
Also known as order rate, conversion rate tracks the percentage of people who put your offer to use. Monitoring and evaluating your conversion rate helps identify valuable users. This also helps you better edit your target audience. If you notice a low conversion rate, see it as an opportunity to improve your campaign.
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Also known as cost per order, the CPA rate tracks how much it costs to obtain each new customer. For example, if your campaign costs $2,500 and you converted 250 people, your cost per acquisition would be $10. Monitoring and evaluating your CPA against other types of campaigns (such as email or online ads) helps determine which costs the least.
Average order size
Average order size tracks how much revenue you made on each sale from your campaign. Many companies that make increasing their average order size their goal will see a decline in their response rate.
Revenue per order
Also known as revenue per visitor, revenue per order subtracts the cost per acquisition from the average order size. Calculating the revenue per order is a good metric to see what works for your mail campaign.
Return on investment (ROI)
Determining your ROI is one of the most important KPIs. It gives a quick, overall idea about the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign. To calculate ROI, subtract the campaign cost from your revenue. Then, divide that sum by the campaign cost.
Monitoring and evaluating direct mail campaigns
At Ritter’s Printing & Packaging, we pride ourselves on being your partner for your direct mail campaign. Not only do we help you design, format, and print your direct mail, but we are also experts in data tracking services. With tracking and analytics, we can help you target and track your key performance indicators.
If you have any questions or would like to start your next direct mail campaign, call us at 954-771-7204 today!
