CMC Print Mailing Study 2021: Advertising Effect of Print Mailings Increases in Combination with E-mail Advertising

A total of plus 15 percent conversion rate (CVR) was achieved by those online stores that sent recipients additional e-mail advertising before and after receiving the print mailing.

- E-mail reminders double the conversion rate of physical mailings
- With 6.8 percent average CVR, CMC's 2021 print mailing study on existing customer activation surpasses 2020 results

The current results are also related to the increased share of e-commerce during the Corona pandemic.
© Deutsche Post DHL Group
07.09.2021
Source:  Company news

Deutsche Post and Collaborative Marketing Club (CMC) have released their latest study on the advertising impact of print mailings on existing customers. The most important result of the CMC Print Mailing Study 2021: In combination with e-mail advertising, the performance of print mailing campaigns increases significantly. Online stores that sent recipients additional e-mail advertising before and after receiving the print mailing achieved a total conversion rate (CVR) of plus 15 percent. With an average CVR of 6.8 percent (2020: 4.9 percent) across all 36 participating stores, the CMC Print Mailing Study 2021 demonstrates the strong leverage effect of print mailings in e-commerce. The increase in average basket sales (up 22 percent) and return on advertising spend (1190 percent) were also higher than in 2020. The current results are also linked to the increased share of e-commerce during the Corona pandemic.

Dream team: print mailing and e-mail
One focus of the study in 2021 was on the interaction between print mailings and e-mails. To this end, two aspects were examined in greater detail: Firstly, how does the performance of print mailings look to recipients who are already subscribed to an e-mail newsletter from the provider? Secondly, what is the effect of the interaction with e-mail advertising? For this purpose, 3 test groups were formed:
- Group A formed customers without an email newsletter subscription.
- Group B were customers with a newsletter subscription who only received the print mailing.
- Group C were customers with a newsletter subscription who received an email preminder between sending and receiving the print mailing, and an email reminder two to four weeks after sending.

Findings: In Group B (newsletter subscription recipients), CVR was 21 percent higher on average than in Group A, and the shopping cart was 17 percent higher on average. In group C (print mailing + e-mail advertising), the picture was as follows: the preminder achieved an increase in CVR of 11 percent within the four days after mailing, and the reminder even 101 percent over the course of four days. Over the entire campaign period, CVR was an average of 15 percent higher among recipients of the e-mail advertising than among those who received only a print mailing.

Dirk Görtz, Vice President Dialog Marketing Deutsche Post AG: "The latest CMC Print Mailing Study 2021 shows that it is worthwhile for advertisers to increase the impact of their print mailing campaigns by combining them with e-mail advertising. This also speaks for the use of marketing automation systems that are able to control both channels in a combined and coordinated way."

Christian Hain, Founder and Managing Director Collaborative Marketing Club - CMC GmbH: "The better performance with newsletter subscribers gives an indication that it is worthwhile to analyze customers more precisely in advance and to split them up with an RFM analysis, for example. The CMC Print Mailing Study 2021 also showed that newsletter subscribers are consistently located in the higher-value customer groups."

RFM analysis provides insights into buying behavior
CVR was also analyzed in 2021 using RFM (recency-frequency-monetary value) analysis. This is a scoring method to ascertain the purchase probability of different target group segments and thus make the use of print mailings more cost-efficient. The key indicators here are the time of the last purchase (recency), purchase frequency and value of the shopping basket (monetary value). The following important findings emerge: Already within the first 12 months after the last purchase, the CVR for the next purchase drops significantly. Compared with one-time buyers who place their second order after receiving a print mailing, customers with five or more orders to date generate a CVR that is over three times higher on average.

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