Why direct mail should be part of your loyalty programme
“It’s really amazing that companies spend a lot of money to attract new customers but are still very reluctant when it comes to investing in loyal customers,” says Janina Kraus, Team Lead CRM at Flaconi. “But it is precisely these customers who are very open to communication and some kind of relationship with the company. So restraint is not necessary at all.” (Source: Webinar “How flaconi enriches digital customer strategy with direct mail“)
Now there are many ways to build a loyalty programme. We have recorded the most important framework conditions that it needs from our point of view for you in this checklist.
Best Practices: Loyalty programme meets direct mail
We would like to show you that print mailings are ideally suited to the media mix of your loyalty programme using real examples. To this end, we have examined the common features of successful loyalty programmes from our customer base and bundled them into best practices.
Create a VIP feeling
Successful loyalty programmes are not reminiscent of member clubs for nothing. Creating a sense of belonging is essential at a certain stage of customer loyalty. Especially when customers have already achieved VIP status, they should feel that way. With cleverly used print mailings, you can convey this VIP feeling and – in contrast to a fleeting e-mail – ensure a lasting impression. For example, you could turn a direct mail into a VIP Member Pass, which is more reminiscent of a club card than a print advertisement.
Tip: Here it is important that your loyalty programme includes a tier programme that enables VIP status (more info on this in the checklist). In addition, the wording and design of your direct mail campaign should have a high recognition value and fit into the brand concept.
Best Practice: VIP Boarding Pass (Ava&May)
Recognition value in the design
Imagine you pick up two print mailings from your letterbox. One rather standardised, which looks a lot like an advertisement, and one that has a high recognition value due to its design. Which of the two would be more likely to get a place on your fridge? With postal mailings, you can showcase your brand excellently and draw targeted interest to your direct mail as soon as the letterbox is emptied. The more mature the customer’s relationship with your company is, the more you can use this effect to your advantage.
Tip: Make sure you know your target group very well and segment them well beforehand. Do they value design and aesthetics? Then this aspect of your direct mail campaign may be crucial to its success.
Best Practice #1: Very high-quality illustrative design that scores with the target group (Limango)
Best Practice #2:Direct mail is sent in an envelope, making it more like a letter than an advertisement (Flaconi)
Omni-channel approach
The loyalty programme should also be part of an omni-channel approach that goes beyond pure email marketing. It’s about offering customers multiple incentives and reaching them at the right moments through the right channels. Personalised product recommendations, birthday or “we miss you” mailings can be wonderfully implemented as a direct mail campaign and linked to other channels, e.g. the customer account.
Tip: In order to make it as easy as possible for the customer to interact with your company in the desired way, consider already during campaign planning which hurdles the customer might encounter when switching channels, e.g. from off to online.
Best Practice:discount is already stored in the customer account (Limango)
Celebrate events
Wishing the customer a happy birthday, provided the data is available, is nothing new. However, birthday emails have lost visibility in the ephemeral newsletter cosmos over time. How many birthday greetings do you get by email and how many by post? Personal events are ideal for a direct mail campaign within your loyalty programme because not only can they stand out, but they also reach the customer in a highly personal way.
Tip: Create happenings with your loyalty programme that go beyond the birthday. The customer has already been an active part of your loyalty programme for a year? Great, congratulate him! The customer has already bought from you for the tenth time? Now that’s something to celebrate!
Best Practice #1:VIP Member Pass for one year VIP customer (Ava&May)
Best Practice #2: Thank you for your 10th purchase with us! (Flaconi)
Personalised recommendations
In loyalty, personalisation plays a very crucial role. At this point in their “journey”, customers expect a high level of personalisation. Especially if they have already achieved VIP status. A study by the Boston Consulting Group concludes: “Brands which offer individualized products, services or experiences are growing revenues by 6-10%, which is 2-3 times faster than brands that do not. This is due to personalisation enhancing loyalty with high-value consumers.” (Source: Report “Driving effectiveness with direct mail“) Customers with a high CLV make a decisive contribution to the company’s sales development. With a personalised direct mail, you can, for example, encourage your customers to try new products or even remind them to reorder.
Tip: For personalised recommendations, you need to collect the relevant data and link it in your Marketing Cloud.
Best Practice: Personalised order form for faster reordering (Contorion)
