Programmatic Direct Mail FAQs

Programmatic Direct Mail combines the precision targeting and automation of programmatic advertising with the physical impact of direct mail. Your customer’s online journey is tracked by a simple tagging code which is added to your website. To improve conversion if the customer falls out of the sales funnel, a personalised direct mail is automatically delivered to their address within 48 hours.

Programmatic Direct Mail helps you maximise sales by encouraging customers to complete a purchase, if they leave your website without buying.

By sending a tangible, memorable mailing, potential customers can be reminded of what they have missed by not purchasing when they were online. Compared to the general online messaging clutter, a relevant sales message delivered with regular mail has a far better chance of triggering a sale – especially if its content is based on what the customer had been viewing.

The most effective Programmatic Direct Mail campaign is one whose message and offer is most closely aligned to what potential customers viewed when they visited your site. So the physical mailer should focus on the products or services that consumed the greatest proportion of their time. Ideally, an attractive, time-limited offer should also be included.

While Programmatic Direct Mail is very sophisticated, the technical requirements of adding the tags that trigger mailings are very straightforward.

Five simple tags are required which can be put into Google Tag Manager or directly onto the website. Each of these is a small piece of JavaScript code: the Core Tag is a basic configuration that tracks overall web activity; the Log-In Tag captures the customer’s name and address; the Product View Tag and Add-To Cart Tag capture items and prices engaged with by customers; and the Check Out Tag eliminates anyone who blocks being targeted.

For your campaign, we will create a tech specification guide tailored to your website. Using this, your developers should take no longer than 6-8 hours to put everything in place.

Most forms of digital re-targeting rely on ‘legitimate interest’ as a lawful basis to send marketing to customers who express interest in products/services. As Postal Marketing is however the only channel that doesn’t enforce an opt-in to marketing, you have more flexibility when you contact customers.

Detailed insights and analytics reveal the total basket values and conversion rates for every customer who is mailed. This delivers more information and insight than you would get from simply tracking voucher codes from the physical mailers.

The activity of customers who have received Programmatic Direct Mail is then compared to standard browsing behaviour on the website. Doing so lets us measure incremental uplift which has been driven solely from programmatic mail.

No. Mail is sent to customers responses as and when they are identified every working day of the week.

The key is to ensure that customer data is used appropriately and with restraint. The An Post team will work with you to ensure that your messaging is relevant rather than pushy. Executed in this way, physical direct mail can have a very positive impact; in fact, An Post’s latest survey shows that 66% of people appreciate direct mail.

Amongst people aged 16-24, the number soars to 78%. This group has grown up in the digital era and find direct mail is novel compared to the online advertising they constantly see.

Every aspect of the mailer can be personalised, in response to data collected about the customer’s on-site activity. This ranges from their name and the products they browse through to tailoring the creative work according to your CRM system’s different customer segments.

As everything is automated after the initial set-up, you don’t need to undertake any ongoing intervention to tailor the messaging.

This can be done if the data layer in GTM is sufficient and captures everything we need (i.e. the postal address for the customer).

Conversions vary depending on your Average Order Value and product/service type.

In 2021, the typical conversion rate averaged 12% conversion across all campaign types, a result which is much higher than digital alternatives or other forms of direct mail.

Email response rates and conversions are lower because it has become such a saturated channel. Direct Mail is a far less cluttered medium and, as physical mailers land after most digital re-targeting takes place, the positive results underline how direct mail can extend your sales cycle.

Customers can also pick up the mailer in their own time and it can remain in their home. As such, it acts as a physical reminder to return to your site at a convenient time.

Finally, it’s also important to remember that email is restricted to opt-ins. Physical mail, on the other hand, has more freedom to reach a greater number of people.

Email response rates and conversions are lower because it has become such a saturated channel. Direct Mail is a far less cluttered medium and, as physical mailers land after most digital re-targeting takes place, the positive results underline how direct mail can extend your sales cycle.

Customers can also pick up the mailer in their own time and it can remain in their home. As such, it acts as a physical reminder to return to your site at a convenient time.

Finally, it’s also important to remember that email is restricted to opt-ins. Physical mail, on the other hand, has more freedom to reach a greater number of people.

Contact us and we’ll respond within one working day (9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday).