A common challenge for CMO's is getting their email marketers to acknowledge that there still is a direct mail group alive and well within their company.

Meanwhile, according to the DMA, many marketers are reporting a dramatically higher response rate to direct mail than they did in the 1980's. Yet, direct mail is not perfect: it is not instantaneous on either delivery or feedback, it requires multiple steps to execute, and if used unwisely (last week's blog) it can be expensive.

Email doesn't get a free pass on this either, though. It's all over the news, we are inundated with mass email. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Take Back Control of Your Email Inbox Without Breaking a Sweat" there are multiple software companies that specialize just in automating unsubscribes and inbox delivery. And social media continues as the newest bright shiny object, while it shows little to no ability to attain measurable effectiveness as a true direct marketing channel (even though we intuitively know it is).

Combining channels for direct marketing has been shown to be consistently more effective than any single channel strategy. The reason for that is simple. Our customers are engaging us, instead of the other way around. And they're doing this through their channel of choice, whenever and wherever they choose.

The INTEGRATions App from SG360 was designed to specifically allow a single platform for managing the integration of email, direct, and social media all within Journey Builder. INTEGRATions provides a single interface to manage an automated customer journey, including data, content, delivery, and response both offline and online. It allows for triggered direct mail executions based on a customer action.

Teamwork

Bringing email and direct mail into a single team effort works. A Brand Science study showed a 62% lift in ROI for digital campaigns that included direct mail. So what are the smart plays for this improved team approach?

• Win Back/Reengagement - Reconnect with customers who are no longer engaging with your email via direct mail
• Email Opt In - Drive email opt-in with Direct Mail and Purl, and QR code campaigns
• Abandoned Cart or Big Ticket Browsing - Send a direct mail triggered by an abandoned cart, site visit, or by simply browsing for a product category
• Preference Management - Abide by the customers channel preference and deliver newsletters, birthday cards and invitations via the channel they chose, email, mobile or direct mail

Luke is one of the early innovators of data driven direct marketing. He brings over 20 years of experience in creating meaningful and effective customer communication through data decisioning and cross channel integrations. He has developed effective direct marketing programs for world leading companies in the areas of acquisition, retention, win-back, and loyalty. SG360 is an ExactTarget Marketing Cloud HubExchange partner. Their app is integrated with Journey Builder and allows you to take your direct mail further. Check out their HubExchange app today!