Triggered Direct Mail Gets Results for Marketers

Guest post by Shelley Sweeney, Vice President/General Manager Service Bureau/Direct Marketing @shelleysweeney

Looking for a new application to re-charge revenue? There’s never been a better time to dive into triggered direct mail.

Here’s how it works. Based on what action a consumer takes, a particular trigger determines the type of message that is sent. The communication goes out quickly, within 24 to 48 hours, while the action and motive are fresh in the mind of the consumer. As a result, the attention of a highly qualified prospect may be captured at the peak of their purchasing probability.

Examples of behaviors that trigger specific communications could be:
Service reminders from your car dealer come with tempting coupons.
When bank customers hit a certain loan balance, they might get a letter offering re-financing.

A retail customer signs up in-store for a branded credit card to get a purchase discount. This could trigger a catalog or a coupon that drives another in-store visit.

A visit to a cruise website triggers a high-end postcard offer.
When a loyalty club member goes inactive beyond a certain period, they get a reminder to use existing points, sweetened by an offer.

Data Essential for Triggered Direct Mail
Trigger strategies can be set around many types of behavior, but the data drives it all. Companies might have data generated by triggers like:
Landing page visit
Content download
Abandoned cart
Call center query
Product demo
Inactive accounts
New customers
Loyalty memberships
Event attendance
Seasonal behaviors

The specific trigger depends on the data available to the business. What triggers something in retail won’t be the same as what works in banking, but the concept remains the same. It’s about using action-related data from one behaviour to send a physical piece in the hopes of generating another behaviour while interest is high and active.

A key question is…

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