Direct mail is going digital with mobile and address verification
Direct mail is useful in many ways as marketers are able to reach target audiences in a personal way, ensuring high delivery rates with address verification. Mail is becoming a more-utilized medium because it pairs well with other marketing tactics, giving companies the chance to expand their boundaries and meet customers on a multidimensional basis. This is a huge plus due to the fact that every person interacts differently with their favorite brands, some enjoy receiving mail and some enjoy researching on social media sites. Either way, direct mail can make that happen.
Post & Parcel reported on the U.S. Postal Services' Direct Mail Mobile Coupon and Click-to-Call promotion, saying the purpose is to help marketers combine traditional and digital marketing trends and reach consumers on a deeper level. There is a 2 percent discount from March 1 until April 30 for marketers who print coupons to be redeemed on a smartphone or if they include barcodes, chips or tags that can be scanned by a mobile device for promotional activity. The campaign is meant to encourage First Class Mail, such as insurance or financial mail.
"This is trying to make people's connections easier," Gary Reblin, vice president of new products and innovation at the USPS, told Post & Parcel. "The mail links direct to a mobile-optimized website, which has a link to connect the mail directly to a telesales team to get people to sign up for a product or service."
Multichannel Merchant said this is the third-consecutive year that the USPS has offered these specials. Others included QR code deals, mobile commerce specials and, this year, mobile involvement. This latest promotion encourages the use of everything from hyperlinks on websites or emails to QR codes, or 2-D barcodes.