Successfully integrating direct mail marketing in the customer lifecycle

When the first companies to sell products online were still attempting to make “eCommerce” work, inboxes would be flooded with amazing discounts and offers depending on the user’s browsing history. All over the internet, advertisements would appear to remind ‘web surfers’ that amazing offers are available and would push customers and encourage them to purchase their products.

But nowadays, most fail to acknowledge or often even look at these advertisements. Most people have grown weary and are aware that it is a marketing strategy.. Concurrently the odds of winning the lottery are higher than the odds of clicking a banner advertisement. This causes a big spending vs performance imbalance. 

Smart marketers are constantly seeking new strategies to engage consumers who have become weary of overused channels and programmatic Direct Mail (PDM) is intriguing as a result. Targeting consumers at home with an actual piece of marketing mail, goes beyond digital interactions. PDM arrives at the recipient’s home in the form  of a letter, and not a generic promotional flyer, which is practically always opened contrary to popular belief…
See our blog on other factual myth busts on Direct Mail: https://paperplanes.co.uk/myths-about-direct-mail-marketing-debunked/

 is much more to how advertisers can use the Programmatic Direct Mail channel to draw in customers than just drawing eyeballs to it. Beyond mere “Awareness,” you must consider how PDM may improve performance and sales throughout the whole client lifecycle by utilising online intent data and machine learning.

Paperplanes will offer some best practices to keep in mind when you consider how to use PDM in your omnichannel marketing strategy.

Using your first-party Data

There is no doubt that third-party data cookies are becoming obsolete. They are already blocked by default in Safari and Firefox, and the market leader Google Chrome is poised to follow suit. Given the magnitude of the impending transformation, marketers must develop the skills necessary to fully take advantage of first-party data and expand their arsenal of marketing tools to include Programmatic Direct Mail.

You can boost the performance of first-party data in the following ways:

  • Target customers with the greatest potential for increased Average Order Value (AOV).

  • Create unique segments and offers for visitors to your websites based on whether they are new or existing customers.

  • Reactivatelapsed or seasonal consumers, and re-engage them with targeted offers.

Your data will only go as far as your PDM partner is capable. It’s critical to comprehend how they will be able to enhance or improve your data. Even though a model built on offline data is effective, a model that incorporates both online and offline data and constantly improves is superior. The coding backbone of the software technology is what will make all the difference in your campaign results, including how you digest the campaign data & results and optimise the next. All of which Paperplanes is highly experienced with. 

Utilising new strategies 

Testing fresh approaches is generally the best technique for any marketing expert. For instance, we at Paperplanes are constantly searching for cutting-edge new approaches to support marketers in engaging customers at home and driving sustainable performance. It’s a good idea to periodically assess your complete marketing and sales cycle, and as those cycles advance, inquire with your PDM partner about additional sales value.

Optimise Customer Experience 

Many users would have clicked on a certain advert once only to have that brand follow them across the internet for weeks, or have been targeted with emails from companies and organisations we don’t even know. Those are poor client experiences that the programmatic direct mail channel makes simple to prevent.

You send an actual piece of marketing mail while using PDM. It can remain on a counter or in the refrigerator for days, weeks, or even months if the recipient thinks it to be pertinent, as it should. These communications not only serve to remind consumers of the purchase they were contemplating, but they can also inform them more about your business, convey your narrative, or highlight additional pertinent goods and services. It’s a fantastic approach to maintain brand awareness and develop a rapport with potential clients without having the same digital advertisement follow them throughout the internet.

Additionally, it’s possible to lessen any negative experiences by suppressing potential recipients who have recently made purchases. Paperplanes are uniquely placed to refine customer audience selection for these purposes. Make sure to inquire about all of these capabilities with your Programmatic Direct Mail partner.

Don’t Wait to Test New Strategies

We all know that data-driven marketing is essential to success in today’s competitive landscape. But what happens when you have all the data in the world and you’re still not sure how to use it? You test, of course.

The same principle applies to programmatic direct mail. If you’re not sure how it will fit into your customer acquisition or retention strategy, the best way to find out is to test it.

Start by running a small pilot program with a limited budget and a defined target audience. This will help you to determine whether programmatic direct mail is right for your business and, if so, how best to use it.

Once you have a better understanding of how programmatic direct mail can work for you, you can start to scale up your efforts and roll it out across the entire customer lifecycle.

By testing new strategies and technologies like programmatic direct mail, you can stay ahead of the curve and make sure that your marketing efforts are always driving results.


These are just a few of the key subjects our programmatic mail experts highlight for consideration of programmatic direct mail. If you’d like to know more details about the process, costs and expected outcome – get in touch with us with the button below!