Implementing direct mail campaigns may immensely advance the overall performance of omnichannel marketing strategies. According to the recent DMA figures, the prevalent part of customers who engaged with direct mail offers consequently visited e-commerce sites and made online purchases. In 92% of cases, consumers interacted with companies' web resources, and 86% said that physical mailings made them connect with a business. Besides revenue growth and remarkably high conversion rates, personalized postcards nurture customer loyalty and bring other B2C/B2B business benefits.

Yet, maintaining a direct mail campaign demands a considerable amount of effort. For that reason, direct mail CRM integration is a must. It lets you utilize key user online activities as trigger points that initiate fully automated print offer generation. Let's discuss how this omnichannel tool can help your business reach impressive results.   

What is a CRM system?

While some might refer to CRM as another way to automate time-consuming tasks like sending emails by instantly inputting client lists, its functionality is much richer.

Such products are foremost vital for building productive customer relationships. They help to simultaneously adjust your tactics in marketing, sales, and client service operations according to the ever-changing needs of consumers. With such a flexible, responsive approach, you'll manage to extend the customer life cycle and increase customer lifetime value.

As to a direct mail CRM, its signature feature is mail printing and delivery automation. This software automates trigger-based mail campaigns and synchronizes print communications with other channels. You get a chance to deliver personalized print to customers based on their online behavior, like subscriptions, clicks, or, vice versa, prolonged inactivity.

The role of CRM integrations in specific business processes

CRM integrations embrace many business functions, simplifying and increasing the productivity of customer communications. Here is how you can apply them in particular areas.

• Working with E-Commerce platforms

Online businesses based on Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce platforms can't do without e-commerce CRMs. They provide SaaS and other commercial sites with enhanced analytics for online sales. Specifically, CRMs collect browsing and ordering history and determine the troubled parts of the purchase funnel to give site owners a 360-degree view of the user experience.

• Marketing tasks automation

Making direct mail CRM-automated, launching reactivation email campaigns, and implementing Dynamic CTAs are among the most effective data-driven marketing tactics. With CRM tools, marketers obtain detailed data on prospects and current customers. Complete profiles enable specialists to tailor the offer to a unique experience with automation.

• Leveraging customer service for sales and marketing insights

Proper customer service automation will get your company ahead of competitors and enhance customer experience (CX). 81% of participants of Gartner's survey of 2018 stated that they expect to gain a competitive advantage mainly by improving customer experience in the next few years.

Automation of client service doesn't only imply the instant generation of support tickets and request tracking. The key point is that customer service shares information with co-related sales and marketing departments. They can follow up on support requests and reach out to the client with a special offer to fix the problem. That's a proven way to delight customers.

The Value of Direct Mail CRM Integration for B2B/B2C Businesses

Even though direct mail CRM benefits most businesses across industries, its core advantages slightly differ for B2B and B2C companies. Read more about it below.

Direct mail CRM implementation in B2B businesses: guarantee of customer retention

Nowadays, automation tools underpin account-based marketing strategies. B2B companies need to instantly access customer data to adjust mailings according to client relationships progress. High-value B2B clients must be retained at all costs, and having your direct mail CRM-driven is the tried and true technique to achieve that.

Previously we've already recommended readers consider the offline tactic of sending customized catalogs based on audience segmentation. In particular, you can generate more general mail pieces with an introduction to your essential services for the recently signed-up users. As for loyal customers, you can send them personalized whitepapers regarding the anniversary of a dedicated partnership or advertise the launch of a new product line.

Direct mail CRM implementation for B2C: get the most of your omnichannel marketing

As a rule, B2C businesses have broad coverage and must deal with a diverse audience. But it shouldn't become a problem to reach out to customers in a way that would appeal to them most. Once you implement direct mail CRM, you'll be able to target your audience as precisely as possible.

Targeting stems from segmentation that separates consumers into distinct groups. For instance, you can determine the audience segment by geolocation, the period of their inactivity, or the preferred group of goods. Then you can narrow down the targeted group even more by setting behavioral triggers that initiate direct mailing itself. 

We suggest you check our previous blog post to learn more about what online interactions to designate as automation triggers. Pay attention to the specific option for generating direct mail pieces in response to low email CTR. It's a great example of how successful a marketing channel cross-reference can be. Such a feature allows you to cover the low response rate of emails and eventually improve the overall outcome of omnichannel marketing.

6 Must-Have Features of a Direct Mail CRM Solution

How to decide whether a direct mail automation tool is worthy or not? We suggest you verify the key functionality enlisted by the developer with the one mentioned below. Scan users' feedback, check video tutorials, and look into actual use cases if needed. It would help you realize the ins and outs of direct mail CRM integration.

Here are six essential features for you to consider:

1. Easy-to-follow API documentation. A comprehensive tutorial should quickly resolve any questions that might appear and introduce you to the available functions.
2. User-friendly dashboard. Convenience comes first for smooth work. We recommend you at least test a trial version to get the hang of the product before purchasing it.
3. Built-in constructor and templates. Direct mail software should simplify the creative process with a drag and drop function and built-in font library. A few pre-existing templates would also be helpful as references or drafts.
4. Campaign monitoring. Add a trackable QR code, URL, or phone number to the print advertisement to monitor the return rate of direct mail campaigns. Since such identifiers are unique, you'll know how well your direct mail campaign performs each time.
5. Instant send and print. Delay is never an option, so an integrated tool must provide instantaneous sending and printing. Only in such a way will personalized offers reach customers when they need them most.
6. KPI assessment. It is crucial to know whether a direct mail campaign was worth its time and money. So the software you choose should provide an illustrative representation of the mailing campaign KPI. These are conversion rate, cost per response/conversion, etc.

Inkit Send: Direct Mail CRM Integration to Empower Your Omni-Channel Marketing Efficiency

Do you wish to be able to reactivate and re-engage customers at any point in their life cycle? Inkit's direct mail product enables you to do it. Inkit Send is an automated direct mailer with flexible customization of sending triggers. Set them in a couple of minutes to automatically initiate mail printing and delivery in these and other situations:

• New lead sign-up
• A new item on the wishlist
• Abandoned cart
• Social media or email subscription,

Inkit Send instantly forwards direct mail to printing partners for batch printing and delivery. Therefore, you no longer need to depend on third-party printing houses' work hours.

Our direct mailing integrated solution is compatible with various CRM platforms and web analytics tools like HubSpot, WooCommerce, Chartio, and more. Try the Inkit Send demo now to see how simple, sleek, and convenient direct mail marketing can be.