Streamowrks Blog
Tracking when your mail hits the mailbox gives you the insight to align your outreach—a follow-up email, social media ads, or other touchpoints—at just the right time. Let's explore why tracking direct mail matters and how it can enhance your marketing efforts when combined with digital channels.
Why Tracking Direct Mail Matters
When it comes to direct mail, timing is everything. Knowing when a piece reaches a prospect's mailbox can help you:
- Align Marketing Channels: Coordinating mail drops with digital advertising campaigns ensures that your messaging is consistent and reinforces each other. For example, sending a personalized postcard and targeting that person with Facebook® ads on the same day enhances brand recall and increases conversion chances.
- Increase Response Rates: If you know exactly when your mail is delivered, you can schedule follow-up communications, such as emails or phone calls, within the optimal window. This can boost response rates and ROI for your campaign.
- Measure Campaign Effectiveness: Tracking gives you hard data on delivery, allowing a more accurate measurement of campaign performance. It enables you to assess whether delivery issues impacted results and how well your timing aligned with peak engagement periods.
How to Track Direct Mail to the Mailbox
- Intelligent Mail® Barcode (IMb®): One of the most common ways to track direct mail is using the Intelligent Mail® Barcode (IMb®). This USPS® service allows marketers to follow the journey of their mail piece from the time it enters the postal stream until it's delivered. With real-time visibility, you can estimate delivery dates and adjust your integrated marketing efforts accordingly.
- Informed Visibility®: Another USPS® tool, Informed Visibility®, gives even more detailed information. It allows you to see which geographic areas have received your mail, making it easier to align with location-based advertising or adjust the timing for local campaigns.
- QR Codes and Personalized URLs (PURLs): Adding QR codes or personalized URLs to direct mail pieces enables real-time tracking of customer engagement. When recipients scan a QR code or visit a PURL, you can instantly track who is interacting with your mail and take action, such as sending a follow-up email or showing targeted online ads.
Examples of Integrated Direct Mail Tracking
- Nonprofit Fundraising Campaigns: A nonprofit uses tracking tools to know when appeal letters will hit mailboxes. Simultaneously, it runs digital ads on Facebook® and Google®, reinforcing the campaign message. As the letters arrive, it sends targeted emails encouraging potential donors to contribute online or by returning the enclosed form.
- Retail Promotion: A clothing retailer sends catalogs to a segmented audience and uses IMb® tracking to determine delivery timing. Once the catalog is delivered, they activate Google Display® ads and social media retargeting ads that showcase featured products, driving customers to shop online or visit their local store.
Conclusion
By utilizing tools like IMb®, Informed Visibility®, and QR codes, you can ensure your mail hits at the perfect time, synchronize other marketing channels for maximum impact, and measure the true success of your campaign. When direct mail is part of a well-coordinated, multi-channel strategy, it becomes much more than a standalone tactic—it amplifies your overall marketing success.
You can learn more about Streamworks Mail Tracking service by downloading our information sheet and sample reporting or visiting our resource center.
