1. DIRECT MAIL IS TRENDING UP
After seeing a 1% increase in mail volumes last year, direct mail is predicted to be a popular channel for marketers in 2023, as the majority of budgets are shifting towards spending more on direct mail.1 According to this year’s Winterberry Group Annual Outlook Report, a slight, overall decrease in offline spend is projected for 2023, but this does not hold true for direct mail, which is expected to have a 3.3% increase in spend.1 2023 will also bring with it an increased need for programmatic mail, which is forecasted to grow 27.4% in compound annual growth (CAGR) through 2026.1 Another recent study stated that direct mail has a 29% median ROI, compared to 23% for paid search and 16% for online display.2
Personalization and automation are changing the way we mail. Are you ready to change the way you mail? Increase effectiveness by merging channels to tie your direct mail into digital and the web. If you haven’t tried multi-channel marketing, what are you waiting for? The time is now!
2. 2023 USPS POSTAGE PROMOTIONS
Each year the USPS puts out a calendar of promotions that encourage mailers to be innovative with their direct mail campaigns. It’s good business to take advantage of these promotions. Integrating creativity and technology into your direct mail pieces that result in postage discounts suggests a win-win scenario for mailers! You can visit our Direct Marketer’s Toolbox to see the latest promotions calendar.
If your brand is ecommerce, an innovative and noteworthy promo is Emerging Technology (Includes Mobile Shopping). Capture the customer’s attention with mail that puts purchases a few clicks away. In order to benefit from this discount, your mail piece must contain mobile print technology, which when scanned on a mobile device or activated by voice command, leads to a complete mobile-optimized website.
Discount: 3-4% | Promotion Period: May 1 – November 30, 2023
One of the newest promotions is Retargeting. It’s simple and gives you savings. Obtain a discount by sending a programmatic mail piece to recent website or mobile app visitors that left without taking action. Give them a second chance with a postcard reminder to make that purchase or take whatever action you want them to take.
Discount: 5% | Promotion Period: September 1 – November 30, 2023
3. COST-EFFECTIVE TECH SOLUTIONS
With the New Year, new postage costs, and the USPS promotions, Polaris Direct keeps a close eye on what will save you money or bring additional value to your campaign.
For an effective multi-channel approach, we offer mail tracking through our PostaLink platform. Mail tracking allows marketers to pinpoint delivery and synchronize mailings with other digital channels.
Using direct mail as the driver, PostaLink is also designed to send retargeting ads to website visitors over the Google Display Network, Facebook and Instagram, reminding them to return to your landing page and take the desired action.
By using a QR code in your mail piece, you not only get the opportunity to send customers to your website, but you can also track mail attribution and engagement. Implementing QR codes into your direct mail piece is a great way to qualify for the Emerging Technology, Mobile Shopping promotion.
Informed Delivery continues to boost exposure for your multi-channel campaign – subscribers to this USPS service can digitally preview and interact with their incoming mail from a computer, tablet, or mobile device. More than 44 million customers have enrolled since its launch in 2017.3 This service gives marketers the opportunity to get in front of their audience before they even touch their mail piece.
Discount: 4.5% | Promotion Period: August 1 – December 31, 2023
Marketers can qualify for a postage discount by implementing augmented reality (AR) into their mailings for a more modern and technology-integrated method to showcase your brand. This is a very interactive approach that we are seeing more of in direct mail today.
Discount: 3-4% | Promotion Period: May 1 – November 30, 2023
All of these amazing tech features can help increase response or even earn you discounts on postage this year. We encourage our customers to utilize these cost-effective solutions to offset changes in postal rates. Let us help you manage costs and take advantage of special incentives.
4. POSTAL OPTIMIZATION
Postal rate changes will now be twice a year, so we always look for ways to optimize postal pricing for our clients. Polaris Direct offers our clients a variety of ways to mail – analyzing which methods bring the best value to each campaign. Mail campaigns achieve the best ROI when the recipient receives a piece in a timely manner, and our postal optimization skills help do just that.
Here are some solutions that help mailers save money and send efficiently:
Seamless Acceptance: An automated USPS program designed to streamline mail processing and get the mail into homes faster.
eInduction: Electronic documents that replace hard copy forms and clearance documents for drop shipments.
NDC/SCF Destination Delivery: By coordinating drop shipments we get mailings closer to their destination postal facilities.
Commingling: Combines and presorts mail from a variety of customers to achieve the optimal postage discount. Through our partnership with a commingling facility, we offer commingling services on a daily basis.
Drop Ship: Preparing mailings to bypass certain processing steps expedites the journey through the USPS system.
5. COUNT ON US
Polaris Direct is celebrating 20 years of being a nationally acclaimed direct marketing services and printing company, enabling high-volume mailers to maximize their customer impact and reduce costs in strategic ways. Through deeply consultative relationships, we advise our clients on production, design, and postal optimization that will boost their ROI. Our refined internal systems, knowledgeable staff, and diverse capabilities enable us to effectively manage the most demanding projects. As a trusted direct mailer, Polaris Direct ensures flawless execution and on-time delivery for every campaign.
Our industry experts are here to help you plan a campaign that takes advantage of savings wherever possible. Our Strategic Marketing Services team can help you with personalized messaging and design. We offer an end-to-end omni-channel solution with digital integration for higher marketing ROI.
Reference our current Postal Rate Card or give us a call at (603) 626-5800 with any questions you may have regarding your next mailing. Count on us to make your mail work harder.
