Should Programmatic Direct Mail be part of your customer acquisition strategy?

New customer acquisition has never been more difficult. While battling rising costs and digital competition, marketers need to come up with novel ways and new channels to differentiate themselves from rivals and reach customers effectively. 

Generational behaviours also have a large impact on the responsiveness of overused concurrent digital channels. To learn more about how a direct physical channel cuts through digital fatigue read our blog on Gen Z: https://paperplanes.co.uk/what-does-direct-mail-mean-to-gen-z/

This blog will discuss the need for channel diversification, the components of a successful customer acquisition strategy, and why programmatic direct mail is an essential channel for identifying, attracting, and converting prospects.

Customer Acquisition

Finding, interacting with, and converting new potential customers is how effective customer acquisition occurs. Marketers use a variety of channels to try and acquire new customers, including Email, SMS, Search, Social, and Programmatic Direct Mail. The objective is to develop a strategy for maintaining and expanding your business profitably over time.

Diversity in acquisition channels 

It’s crucial to remember that consumers are active across a variety of channels and platforms so do not put all your eggs in one basket. If your clients are exposed to your marketing messages in a setting where people naturally interact, they will be more effective. You never know what sources may motivate the next move or perhaps just have an impact on the path along the way.

Nowadays, it is easier than ever for new brands to break into the market, due to the low cost and overheads of opening a fully  digital startup at home. Unsurprisingly, there are also fewer obstacles for customers to switch brands than ever before. If your brand has a “blindspot” in terms of acquisition channels, you run the danger of falling behind rival brands.

Cost increases on monopolised digital platforms have also been influenced by increased competition. As the expansion of major players like Facebook and Instagram slows down and the use of digital identifiers is restricted by online environments like Apple, Android, and Chrome, the number of audience pools on these platforms is being greatly surpassed by the number of brands vying for their attention. In other words, because there is more demand than there is supply, prices are rising.

How to define a successful Acquisition channel 

You don’t want to spend more money than necessary on the same audiences in the same setting. Sounds easy, but it can be more difficult than you think. The top ten web publishers control 50% of all advertising spending even on the “open web.”

Using data from your website, CRM, and point of sale to model, optimise, and target particular populations through marketing is crucial. This information not only enhances the performance and relevancy of your acquisition program, but it also serves as the purest and most precise method of audience identification. As digital identifiers like third-party cookies continue to vanish, that will only gain significance.

If the audience isn’t there, it doesn’t matter how unique a marketing channel or platform is. Even if you use certain frequency controls or suppress certain audiences, your program needs a sizable audience to produce predictable results over time. The ideal channel should contain a significant portion of your target audience while still being sizable enough to allow for experimentation and expansion into additional areas.

Ultimately acquisition success is determined by the number of clients and LTV (LifeTime Value) the individual channels bring in minus the spending investments dedicated to marketing for that channel. For example, the ROI for your Google Ads search ad channel can be determined by how many qualified leads your total monthly spend accumulated, how many of those qualified leads converted into a purchasing clients, and how much they spend on your products/services for a set period of time.

Why Do acquisitions through Programmatic Direct Mail

According to The Economist, the most popular ‘modern’ acquisition channels are Email, social media ads & retargeting, affiliate marketing, and search & display advertising. 

The idea of putting money on popular online social media and search engines and getting in many leads sounds fantastic but is now far from reality.

Yes – in theory, it still works, but in practice, they all have one major obstacle in common. Costs and competition. Not only are all these channels paid based on bidding costs determined by traffic, but you are also competing with countless other businesses that have the same idea as you. Finding the proper messaging or visuals is not enough anymore.
Prospects are being targeted constantly and just block out the ‘spam’ amongst the noise.

Considering you have about 2 seconds time to captivate the average scrolling online surfer and e-mails end straight in spam – this is where programmatic direct mail stands out.

The majority of purchasing decisions are thought out and made at home with other family members, and having a physical reminder of your brand whilst screens are off, Programmatic Direct Mail offers you as a company a better chance to stand out and achieve your acquisition targets because it is one of the few performance-driven, non-screen methods of engaging customers at home.

Programmatic Direct Mail’s costs are consistent, trackable, and offer lower CPA averages than digital channel counterparts, which are also prone to significant CPM swings because of things like seasonality and privacy laws, and bidding. On the other hand, postal rates are subject to consistent regulation and only fluctuate once or twice a year. It’s also important to note that this tangible material has a longer shelf life than digital impressions, providing the chance to have an impact on choices across lengthier contemplation times. At Paperplanes we see conversions still generated from targeted mail pieces 30 days after a direct mail has landed. That is the benefit of long-term tracking not reliant on voucher code input.

If you want to learn more about how easily and rapidly your company can kickstart a programmatic direct mail campaign and see how it can compare and synergise with your current marketing mix, get in touch with the form below!