If there’s one thing my colleague Michelle Fuchs and I agree on, it’s that direct mail needs to be part of any successful marketing campaign. As we move into 2023, I want to share a few thoughts on how marketers can best take advantage of direct mail to drive better results for their campaigns, along with recommendations to leverage your postage spend.

Mail is an Essential Marketing Tool

Late last year, a group of us from the IWCO Direct Marketing and Creative Services Team gathered to participate in the virtual half-day conference, Innovations and Revelations in Direct Mail, sponsored by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the U.S. Postal Service. In addition to discussing synergies between direct mail and digital channels, innovations in direct marketing, and strategies for designing direct mail creative, this conference also provided an advanced look at the results of the 2022 ANA Response Rate Report.

The results outlined in the report show marketers who use four to six channels in their multichannel campaigns report the best response rates, and mail remains an essential part of that multichannel mix. The 2022 Response Rate Report findings include:

• Direct mail delivers the strongest average Return on Investment (ROI) compared to other marketing channels―43% for letter-sized envelopes sent to prospect lists.
• 84% of study participants report direct mail improves multichannel campaign performance.
• The vast majority (82%) of study participants say their use of direct mail will either increase or stay the same in 2023.

Leverage Your Postage Spend with Data, Strategy, and Mailing Promotions

Leveraging postage spend is always an important consideration for savvy marketers. We know that, when used correctly, direct mail drives robust results for marketing campaigns. But how do we balance campaign performance with rising postage costs?

With postage rates scheduled to rise again on January 22, you want to make the most of your postage spend. Using smarter mailing strategies helps you achieve superior results with less postage cost. IWCO Direct’s team of data scientists and marketing strategists help marketers identify the right prospects across channels, create targeted and personalized messaging, and deliver the right message at the right time in the right place, which adds up to better response and ROI.

In addition, be sure to take advantage of all the tools available from the Postal Service to optimize postage savings. Every year, the Postal Service offers a series of Mailing Promotions to encourage mailers to try proven marketing practices that can improve the effectiveness of direct mail while reducing postage spend.

The first promotion available to marketers in 2023, the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion, starts February 1 and offers a 5% discount on eligible postage for mailpieces that use innovative techniques to excite recipients’ senses to boost engagement with the mailpiece. Treatments used by IWCO Direct clients to participate in this popular promotion include incorporating an affixed promotional card in the mailpiece, embossed elements (grooves, dimples, herringbone) or tactile varnishes (soft-touch, sandpaper, etc.) on the outer surface of the piece, or using trailing edge die-cuts (TED-C) as part of the mailpiece design. Your IWCO Direct account team can help you select the treatment(s) that will be most effective for your campaign.

Looking for ways to improve the results of your marketing program? IWCO Direct’s award winning team can make it happen. Contact us to learn how.