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5 Types of Direct Mail Workflows to Automate
Direct Mail
May 23, 2023

5 Types of Direct Mail Workflows to Automate

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by 
Stephanie Donelson

Marketing automation was a game-changer for marketers, but there are still some marketing messages that are manually managed. Especially in the direct mail space.

But, they don’t have to be!

Harness the power of marketing automation and increase the number of marketing touches for workflows that are already working for your marketing team.

In this blog, we’re covering five types of automated workflows that should have a direct mail component. And, thanks to marketing automation tools, these workflows can be easily created with the right triggers, customer behavior, or time-based data. Let’s dive in.

1. Welcome/onboarding communications

Complement a welcome email series with a physical welcome letter. Tell them how they can get in touch with customer support should they need it, have the CEO welcome them to your brand’s community, or explain how they can get the most out of their relationship with your brand, product, or service.

Let's say you have a seven-email series welcoming new customers and teaching them about your brand. You could still send the first two emails, send a piece of direct mail, another two emails, another direct mailpiece, and a final email just to break up the cadence and get in front of your customers with a different medium. Like the electronic versions of these communications, the direct mail campaigns should be personalized and tailored to the customer.

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Naked Wines sends personalized direct mail to thank members.

2. Thank you or confirmation messages

We all expect an email confirmation when completing a purchase but we don’t always expect a physical piece of mail confirming our order or thanking us for it. Surprise your customers with a piece of direct mail, maybe even one with an incentive to make another purchase sooner than anticipated.

3. Abandoned cart

We’ve all gotten (and have probably sent) that email that says, “Forget something?” Or, maybe it’s the “You left something in your cart!”

Abandoned cart emails do work, but depending on the customer and their timeline to purchase, they may ignore or delete the email without even opening it.

Follow up on abandoned cart emails with a piece of direct mail to get your customer or prospect’s attention. You might even want to include an extra incentive if they go back now and complete their purchase.

Recommended reading: How Does Direct Mail Fit in Your Abandoned Cart Strategy?

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J.Jill is asking customers to come back and make a repeat purchase.

4. Post-purchase actions

Whether you want customers to make a repeat purchase, refer a friend, write a review, or follow your brand on social media, you can use direct mail to encourage your customers to take those actions.

With QR codes or PURLs, it’s easy for your customers to make the transition from direct mail to digital. You may even want to tie in an incentive to sweeten the deal for the customer to act. These direct mail campaigns can be time-based, such as two weeks post-purchase or three months later, making them easy to set up and automatically run in the background.

5. Loyalty or reward programs

Lastly, you should be automating communications via direct mail about your loyalty or rewards program. Let members know how many points they have, what offers they can take advantage of, or how they’re only one purchase away from the next tier.

Another option is to use your customers’ data and send them a physical card or postcard for their birthday or anniversary! Just make sure to time this piece so it doesn’t arrive after the big day.

Recommended reading: Share the Love: Loyalty Program Marketing Through Direct Mail

Go beyond just automating direct mail and optimize it

Direct mail automation is just the beginning. Join our webinar, Optimizing Direct Mail for Maximum Results, to learn how to take your automation to the next level and drive even better results with your direct mail marketing efforts.

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