The Role of Direct Mail in Customer Retention

If you're an established business owner with a decent number of loyal customers, how often do you reach out to them for feedback or to ask if they're satisfied with your products and services?

If your answer is “not often enough,” then you're not alone. Many business owners are guilty of neglecting customer feedback and only making an effort to reach out when there's a problem or complaint.

Furthermore, many business owners tend to focus and put a lot of their energy into getting new customers. Which, by the way, is expensive, given how competitive the business landscape has become due to the Internet.

While it's important to get new customers if you're going to grow, it's equally important to nurture and retain your existing customers. After all, these are the people who have already chosen your business and have the potential to become loyal advocates and repeat customers.

The book "The Loyalty Loop: The Science of Creating Great Businesses" by Andrew Davis makes a compelling case for why investing in your existing customers is important if you're looking to grow your customer base.

The author uses a simple yet powerful framework that he calls the "Loyalty Loop", which is essentially a cyclical process in which a business earns a customer's loyalty by delivering a remarkable experience, uses that loyalty to generate more customers through word-of-mouth and then uses those new customers to enhance the customer experience and start the loop anew.

Amazing, right! 

So how do you go about investing in your existing customers and keeping them loyal to your business? One effective way is by using direct mail.

How Does Direct Mail Help With Customer Retention? 

If you haven't read one of our previous blog posts on direct mail and its benefits, then you should certainly check it out.

In a nutshell, direct mail is one of the most effective marketing channels out there. It's low-cost and highly targeted. If done correctly, it can help you increase customer engagement and increase revenue.

So how can it help with customer retention? Well, let's take a look at some ways that you can use direct mail to retain your customers.

Thank You Cards and Appreciation Messages

There have been instances where customers have shared pictures of the thank you cards they received from businesses on social media after having made a purchase.

This really shows just how much the gesture is appreciated and how much it can make a difference in a customer's experience. In other words, people love receiving thank you cards just as much as they love receiving Christmas cards.

The fact that you took the time to thank them for their business shows that they're important to you, and this makes them want to stay loyal.

The same goes for appreciation messages. You can send your customers a message thanking them for their purchase and letting them know that you appreciate their business.

Special Offers and Promotions

Any time you have a special offer or promotion, the first people who should know about it are your existing customers. Why? Because they are the ones who are likely to take advantage of it.

When you send them a personalized direct mailer with details about your offer or promotion, they may take advantage of it by making a purchase or give it to someone else who could benefit from your offer.

Even if they don’t take advantage of your offer, the fact that you took the time to let them know shows you care about their business.

This is an excellent way to strengthen your relationship with them and keep them coming back. It also gives you a chance to let them know what else you have going on at your company that they might be interested in.

Furthermore, it's a great way to gain new customers if some of the existing ones decide to give out your promotional offer to their family or friends.

A great tip when sending out direct mail is to include a coupon or voucher that gives your customers an incentive to use the offer. Sometimes this is as simple as offering free shipping on their first order or giving them 20% off their next purchase.

Newsletters

Sending out newsletters to your existing customers is a great way of reinforcing your brand and keeping the relationship with them strong.

By sending out regular newsletters, you can keep your customers up to date with the latest news about your company as well as inform them of any sales, new products, special offers, and more.

However, many business owners today send out newsletters via email. This is understandable because it's a much quicker and cheaper way to communicate with your customers than sending out direct mail.

However, what many of these business owners might not know is that the open rate for email newsletters is much lower than for direct mail.

Research shows that email marketing has an open rate of only around 23%, while direct mail has an open rate of 90%. This means that if you send out 100 emails, only 23 of them will be opened by your customers. That’s a pretty low percentage and doesn’t bode well for your business.

Why is it that direct mail has such a higher open rate than email? Simple, it's personal, tangible, and memorable. Email is impersonal, intangible, and forgettable.

Direct mail encourages customer engagement in a way email can't. And when your brand or business is able to engage with your customers on a personal level, they're more likely to stay loyal to you.

Anniversary Postcards

Have you ever received a postcard from a friend or family member who's celebrating an anniversary? If you have, you probably remember it.

So there is a high chance that if you send an anniversary postcard, your customers will remember it. When you take the time to acknowledge the customers who have been with you for a year or more, they'll appreciate the gesture. This can help foster loyalty to your brand or business and encourage repeat customers.

In addition to showing appreciation, a personalized anniversary postcard can also help to promote engagement with your brand. It can serve as a conversation starter and encourage customers to reach out to you with questions or comments.

This increased communication can help you to better understand your customers' needs and preferences, which can lead to improved customer satisfaction and retention.

Sending an anniversary postcard can also help to increase brand awareness and remind your customers of the products or services you offer.

This can be especially valuable if your business operates in a crowded or competitive market. 

Events Invitations

Hosting events such as product launches, open houses, or exclusive sales can be a great way to create excitement around your brand and showcase your products or services.

By inviting your customers to these events, you are giving them an opportunity to engage with your brand on a deeper level and learn more about what you have to offer.

This increased engagement can lead to a stronger emotional connection with your brand and increase the likelihood that they will return for future purchases.

Event invitations can also help to personalize the customer experience and make customers feel more connected to your brand.

Tailoring invitations to specific customer segments or demographics can demonstrate that you understand their needs and preferences. Plus, this can make them feel valued and appreciated, which can increase their loyalty to your brand.

In addition to increasing customer retention, event invitations can also help to generate positive word-of-mouth and new business.

Requesting customers to bring friends or family to your business events can help expand your reach and introduce new potential customers to your brand.

Contests and Giveaways

Let's be honest, who doesn't like an opportunity to win something? The truth is people love to win things. Whether it's a gift card or an experience you're giving away, contests and giveaways can be a great way to engage your audience and generate interest in your brand.

You could do this by offering an exclusive discount for customers who participate in your event or giveaway. This will incentivize them to take action and help spread the word about your business.

But most importantly, providing a fun and interactive experience can encourage your customers to stay interested in your products or services. This engagement can help build stronger relationships with existing customers, which in turn can lead to increased loyalty.

Tips for Effective Direct Mail Campaigns for Customer Retention

Personalization

Tailoring your messaging and offers to each of your existing customer's unique characteristics, preferences, and behaviors can help create a more meaningful and relevant experience.

Moreover, the personalization of direct mail can create a sense of exclusivity and VIP treatment, which can encourage customers to continue doing business with you.

Data Management

Effective direct mail campaigns for customer retention require accurate and well-maintained customer data. This includes information such as name, address, purchase history, and preferences. Make sure to regularly update and cleanse your data to ensure that your mailing list is current and accurate.

Retarget

Your customer retention strategy should include a retargeting plan. Retargeting involves targeting customers who have already interacted with your business in some way, such as making a purchase or browsing your website, and then creating personalized marketing messages to encourage them to come back.

By using direct mail as part of your retargeting strategy, you can create targeted and relevant messages that are tailored to the specific interests and behaviors of each customer. For example, a clothing retailer may send a direct mail piece to a customer who has recently browsed their website for a particular type of clothing, offering a discount or promotion to entice them to make a purchase.

This can help you build customer loyalty and increase sales.

Tracking and Measurement

To gauge the success of your direct mail campaigns, you need to track and measure key performance metrics. This includes the number of mail pieces delivered, the response rates, the conversion rates, and the ROI. Use unique codes or tracking URLs to monitor the response to each campaign and make adjustments as needed.

Integration

Direct mail campaigns for customer retention should be integrated with other marketing channels to create a holistic customer experience. For example, you could use direct mail to promote an upcoming email campaign or social media contest. By aligning your messaging across multiple channels, you can increase the effectiveness of your campaigns and improve customer retention.

Final Remarks

Direct mail can be a valuable tool in customer retention strategies for businesses across various industries. While digital marketing channels may dominate the conversation around customer retention, direct mail offers a unique opportunity to engage with customers in a more personalized and tangible way.

Using customer data to create targeted and relevant mail pieces, you can strengthen the relationships with your existing customers and increase the likelihood of repeat purchases. Additionally, direct mail allows for creative and eye-catching designs that can grab the attention of customers and leave a lasting impression.

However, it's important to note that direct mail should not be used in isolation. It should be part of a comprehensive customer retention strategy that includes other marketing channels such as email, social media, and mobile marketing.

Using multiple marketing channels can help you create a consistent brand image and provide customers with an exceptional level of service.