Tracking Direct Mail Campaigns: Methods and Best Practices

For campaign optimisation and maximising return on investment, tracking the effectiveness of your direct mail is crucial. To help you track your direct mail campaigns more successfully we have compiled a list of various approaches and best practises:

Customised Response Channels

Encourage your target audience to respond using channels that are specific to them. You may offer a unique email, designated phone number or specific contact form. You can then track these response channels to attribute incoming queries and conversions to the individual direct mail campaigns.

Unique Coupon Codes or Promo URLs

Use of distinctive coupon codes or promotion URLs is one efficient method for tracking direct mail campaign. You can quickly determine which response or purchase a particular direct mail piece generated by giving each piece a special code or URL. You can accurately track conversions to assess the success of your campaign.

Personalised Landing Pages

Create personalised landing pages specifically tailored to the campaigns messaging. This can then be used to build insights into the effectiveness of the campaign by analysing the traffic, engagement and the conversion from this page.

Call Tracking

If your call to action requires the recipient to call, you may track the number of calls received by allocating unique numbers to the mailer. Call tracking measures conversions and can attribute calls to specific campaigns.

QR Codes or Short URLs

Your direct mailers can be tracked easily when they contain QR codes or short URLs. QR codes can be scanned to direct users to a specific webpage or landing page. Short URLs can also make it easier to track visitors via web analytic tools.

A/B testing

By creating different design elements such as, headlines, calls to action, layouts, or offers you can identify the most effective version and alter subsequent campaigns by tracking response rates, conversions or feedback.

Tracking Codes or Barcodes

Including barcodes and tracking codes on your direct mail pieces can make tracking easier. These codes, when scanned or manually entered, give each mailer a special identification number. You can track a customer’s progress through a campaign and determine successful conversions by scanning and documenting these codes upon receipt of redemption.
It is important to keep in mind that tracking direct mail campaigns is a continuous process that necessitates ongoing analysis and adjustment. You can gain important insights into the success of your campaigns and make wise decisions to maximise future efforts.