Tips for Retargeting Customers with Direct Mail

In this day and age, window shopping for the average consumer has been made easier than ever thanks to the advent of online shopping. It’s not uncommon for people to pass the time now and then by combing through online shops without ever actually making a purchase.

While this may be frustrating for many businesses, it actually provides a great opportunity to retarget these potential customers with Direct Mail! A strategic, well-designed and well-timed piece of Direct Mail can easily convert recipients into full-fledged customers, more so than digital promotions! However, to successfully prompt this transition by retargeting customers via direct mail, it’s useful to use the following tips.

Incentivize Shopping Cart Deserters

Even though a potential customer may not have followed through with a purchase, the fact that they took the time to fill their cart with a particular business’s products demonstrates that at the very least, they have some vested interest in them. There are many reasons why a consumer may abandon their shopping cart. Maybe the purchase would be too expensive for the potential customer, or that their interest in the purchase is just too low. They may have even forgotten about their shopping cart all together.

This is where direct mail can work it’s magic. Retargeting these potential customers by mailing discounts or special promotions may be just the incentive they need to make a purchase. This also increases their sense of brand recall after being previously familiarized with a given company, which means that mail promotions can also simply serve as a reminder that their purchase is waiting to be completed. By using direct mail to target consumers with expressed interest in making a purchase, rather than blind prospecting, businesses can expect a much greater ROI for their marketing efforts in the form of higher conversion rates.

Retarget Repeat Customers, Too

While focusing on new customers is important, it is arguably even more important to focus on repeat customers. Let’s just look at the facts. According to one marketing firm, acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing customer.

In addition, boosting customer retention by 5% can increase profits anywhere from 25-95%, and the chance of successfully retargeting a returning customer can be up to 65% more likely than retargeting a new one. Showing even one-time customers that their business is valued in the form of direct mail promotions can be incredibly beneficial for a company in the long run. Even sending a “Thank you” or “Welcome” letter can prove to increase the chance of repeat purchases in the future!

Maximize Direct Mail Personalization

One of the perks of businesses retargeting, rather than prospecting customers, is that they already have access to important information about their target users. This means that they now have the ability to tailor their direct mail for each consumer, increasing the likelihood of a follow through purchase!

According to the Data and Marketing Association, Direct Mail Retargeting has a response rate of about 25%, while digital retargeting ads have a click rate of just .06%. This can possibly be attributed to the fact that consumers often find direct mail to be more personal than digital forms of promotion. With this in mind, further personalizing direct mail in conjunction with the data already gathered from individual consumers can increase engagement as well as the response rate to these campaigns even more!

Direct mail can certainly be a powerful tool in retargeting potential and returning customers alike. When used correctly, strategically designed and timed mail promotions can make the difference between a forgotten shopping cart and a completed purchase. It’s crucial to follow certain tips, though, when retargeting via direct mail to ensure that these campaigns are as successful as possible. As long as these guidelines are adhered to, any window shopper has the potential to be converted into a buyer!

Written by Omega High Impact Print Solutions' Digital Marketing Associate, Emily Steel