Direct mail automation uses software to carry out marketing projects and complete repetitive tasks easily. The automation removes the need to print materials to send to your members manually. You can automatically print and mail documents to members very quickly.
When you use direct mail software with a marketing automation platform, you can automate direct mail. The combination allows an organization to send postcards as quickly as sharing an automated digital advertisement.
But to fully understand what direct mail is, you need to understand what it isn’t as well.
What Direct Mail Isn’t
A lot of marketers steer clear of direct mail automation because they don’t know much about it. When people talk about postcard marketing, terms like “junk mail” and “snail mail” might be discussed. These terms were correct until fairly recently.
At one point, direct mail was an expensive project that required manual labor. It was a cost-prohibitive task that involved creative design, printing, and postage. Direct mail also took a lot of overhead for organizations to send a simple postcard, and it took months of lead time for organizations to then send the mail. It can still take this long if you choose to use a traditional direct mail vendor. The time consuming, expensive steps led many marketers to give up on direct mail and switch to digital. But with automation, direct mail is cost-effective and not as time-consuming. The turnaround is drastically faster, and even delivery times have improved.
Old fashioned direct mail gave marketers poorly targeted exposure as well. In the past, marketers focused on reaching a particular zip code. This strategy may work for some, but usually, it isn’t cost-effective to cast such a large net. With specific software, you can use a Customer Relationship Management tool to create highly targeted, built-in audiences, or trigger one-off postcards based on particular events.
A lot has changed, and now direct mail has many positives when used with automation. Let’s look at the benefits of using direct mail automation.
The Benefits of Direct Mail Automation
Direct mail automation can provide you with cross-channel, customizable, and optimized results.
Cross-Channel
Direct mail automation should not be separate from your online marketing efforts. You can upload your postcard into a builder, like what Valtim has available, and add direct mail triggers.An example is to send a post-card anytime a user’s shopping cart is abandoned, or automate a thank-you notecard anytime someone donates.The direct mail triggers where you need stronger open or response rates in your workflows. You can set up your mailers using trackable links. QR codes can be integrated to provide a genuinely cross-channel direct mail experience.
Customizable
With a dashboard like what Valtim has available, you can personalize mailings with little effort. You will have access to dynamic content which can provide you with better response rates. When you choose to automate your direct mail process, you can create ongoing communication streams.
Optimized
Does your organization currently manage direct mailing manually? Sending a piece of direct mail can involve a lot of steps. Some organizations work hands-on with printers to make sure the processes run smoothly. When you choose to have a business like Valtim help you, the company deals with the printers for you. All you need to do is upload your postcard, insert it into your project, and send it. Valtim can handle the logistics while you focus on marketing.
How Valtim Uses Automation for Direct Mail
Direct mail used to take over a month before reaching a person’s mailbox. But Valtim’s direct mail automation tools can shorten that time by weeks. You can integrate direct mail into your digital channels. Then you can use our marketing automation tools to send follow-ups, postcards, thank you’s, forms, and more to your members with a 48-72 hour turnaround time.
