Adding personalized elements to your mail piece increases response rates. Mail recipients prefer to receive mailers that say their name, are products and services that they are interested in and speak to their life events.
Adding a name to your direct mail piece can increase response rates by 135%. (Mail Shark, 2017)
A Name Goes A Long Way
The days of writing “Dear customer” or “Dear current resident” are gone and recipients are disconnecting with those content pieces. Simply having a name in the content and on the envelope or postcard, can go a long way. First, this little detail tells the receiver that you “know” them and helps them feel as though they have engaged with your brand before. Also, the piece now speaks to them and not to the person living at their address. That being said, make sure you have the correct name of the person living at that address by utilizing a data append service. Services like data appends will help you with updating your current database to include the most up-to-date information. It can help with finding the current resident and/or where the original recipient in your database moved to.
Personalization of Products and Services
This pertains mostly to local businesses and products/services that are applicable to people based on their home, income, and/or gender. By personalizing your creative to speak directly to these audience segments. You’ll increase your reaction rates and better your ROI, than by not speaking to these audience segments.
Their Dwelling
This in particular is geared toward lawn care, pest control, and home appliance companies. Closely pay attention to the home type which you are targeting, because apartment dwellers will not be in the market for lawn care services. Also, if the current dweller is not the homeowner, then they are also less likely to be receptive to your message. Mostly because their landlord would be in charge of all lawn care. Once you have drilled down your market’s dwelling, you can then personalize the message they receive. An example of this is “As a homeowner {Name}, you understand the importance of maintaining a beautiful yard…” for homeowners.
On the flip side, apartment dwellers are more likely to spend on objects and decoration inside of their homes. They are more likely to respond to messages like “{Name}, make your apartment feel like home with…”. This will help them feel as though you are addressing their exact needs and desire to have a beautiful living space. Also, don’t send them lawncare and pest control services, more than likely the apartment complex will take care of those things for their residents.
Personalized Life Events
Certain life-changing events are more prominent, and people are more willing to buy items and services that meet their demands. We also realize that you want to be the first brand to contact them, improving your chances of being chosen as their purchase, which is why our lists are updated on a regular basis and checked for accuracy.
About The Audience: We gather real property information directly from U.S. County Recorder’s offices and update our list weekly, giving you access to the freshest data possible.
Why Market To This Audience: According to studies, new homeowners spend more money in the first six months than they do in the next five years. Making it the best moment for businesses to promote to them. At this point in their life, individuals must form new ties with local businesses, and what better way to let them know you are local than with a direct mail letter welcoming them to their neighborhood?
About The Audience: Reach out to newly engaged couples and/or brides-to-be who are planning to marry and start their lives together.
Why Market To This Audience: A wedding in 2021 will cost an average of $22,500. (2021, Business Insider) Thousands of newlyweds are planning their wedding, creating their registry, and arranging their honeymoon. Sending postcards and direct mail offers to newly engaged couples puts your message in front of couples who are looking to spend money during this phase of their life.
About The Audience: The Expectant Mothers Mailing List allows you to reach women who are pregnant and preparing for the birth of their child.
Why Market To This Audience: From getting the proper nutrition to buying baby clothes and stocking the nursery, mothers to buy a variety of goods and services.
Other Personalization Options
Alternatively there are a number of personalization options that are open for the public to use and there are some personalization options companies can use based on gathered data. These elements can establish that you are speaking to the correct person with data concerning them that is accurate and can help them establish a sense of trust with your brand.
Home Price – Realtors, Home Insurance Companies, and Mortgage Companies are among the most popular to use this information. They will use the price the home was purchased at as a leverage for their advertising or will take it a step further and use the “Current” market value as a selling point for their services.
Age – Senior Help Companies, Senior Living Facilities, Life Insurance Companies, and other age related services. Talking about what age your target market is turning and how your product or service directly relates to them and others their age.
User ID (if current customer) – Many companies will use User IDs in their direct mail pieces, to confirm with the receiver that they elected to receive the direct mail pieces. Customers show a higher appreciation for marketing pieces that contain their User ID information, because they feel the piece speaks to them directly.