Direct mail campaigns continue to be a strong tool in the arsenal of automotive marketing. To really utilize their full potential, though, it’s necessary to track and measure their efficacy. Knowing how your direct mail efforts translate into customer actions can significantly enhance your marketing strategies and ROI.
Epsilon Individual Automotive knows the ins and outs of direct mail marketing, and we’ve put together a complete guide on how to track direct mail campaigns. From personalized URLs to tracking phone calls, you can set the stage for success from the start.
PURLs Are Your Friend
Personalized URLs, or PURLs, can be well deployed to increase response rates and customer data. Assigning each recipient a unique URL allows you to track individual responses while segmenting your audience more effectively. Simply put, PURLs make it easier to tailor the user experience, enhancing interaction and conversion rates.
PURLs also make it easier to understand the data they deliver. In turn, this helps tailor future campaigns to better grow your target audience through detailed analysis to understand the intricacies of their wants and needs.
Use Landing Pages—Not Your Homepage
Creating campaign-specific landing pages is a great method of tracking your direct mail campaigns. This can be used to track how recipients interact with your website—they’re sent to a specific page on your website. These landing pages should be thought out to be in concert with the message of your direct mail piece for a very cohesive user experience that encourages interaction.
For the best results, we recommend not using your homepage, as homepage traffic can be difficult to distinguish from unique visitors. Metrics such as visits, how long on that page, and conversion will provide a wealth of valuable information regarding the performance of your campaign.
QR Codes: Practical & Versatile
You see them everywhere nowadays—and for good reason. QR codes are a popular direct mail campaign tool, since they can easily be printed on your mail pieces and scanned by your direct mail recipients using their smart devices. You can link a QR code to a variety of content like:
- Landing pages
- PURLs
- URLs with UTM parameters & much more
QR codes often include analytic features so you can see the number of scans and what people are browsing with that code. Thus, it’s an easy and efficient way to bridge the offline world with your digital marketing efforts.
Make Your Coupons Unique
Like QR codes, unique coupon codes are a simple, yet worthwhile method that can measure the success of your direct mail campaigns. By providing the recipient with a discount using a unique code, you can track the number of people who will redeem the offer and measure the campaign’s influence on sales.
These codes may be used both in-store and online to enable flexibility for your recipients, and prospective and current customers. This can easily attribute sales directly back to your direct mail campaign and provide even more insight into what services stand out to your target audience.
You Can Track Phone Calls, Too
Adding call tracking phone numbers to your direct mail campaigns can provide you with detailed reporting and enhance your marketing automation. By using unique phone numbers for different mail pieces, you can track which campaigns give you the most calls and better understand the interaction with your customers.
Call tracking services usually come with a variety of features like call recording and in-depth analytics, which can help you understand customer inquiries and responses. You can take this data to sharpen your sales approach and improve customer service, and it can further enhance the possibility of managing leads and measuring the effectiveness of campaigns.
We Track Your Direct Mail Campaign
Epsilon Individual Automotive has helped over 10,000 individual dealers since 1986. We’re here to help you track and measure the success of your direct mail campaigns using our expertise to maximize your ROI with detailed insights and actionable data.
We hope our guide detailing how to track direct mail campaigns has provided the clarity you deserve. Schedule a call with one of our experts to move the needle for your dealership.
