For a campaign to be successful, it must generate a good return on investment (ROI). To help you keep track of your campaign, Epsilon Individual Automotive takes a closer look at how to calculate the ROI of direct mail advertising.
It’s easier to manage than you may expect. We use our direct mail expertise to help dealers like yourself find a plan of action that brings in more revenue and customers.
ROI = Net Profit/Total Investment x 100
If you have all the necessary data, you can calculate your ROI with a simple formula. Just take the total profits from your campaign, divide it by the amount you invested, and then multiply it by 100. This formula should give you a greater sense of your return on investment:
- ROI = Net Profit/Total Investment x 100
So, how do you get the data you need? Simply follow the steps below:
Decide How Much You Want to Invest
The first step toward determining your ROI is figuring out how much you want to invest in the first place. Add up the cost of materials, printing, and production. You can also include time as a metric if you’re paying people like graphic designers by the hour.
When it comes to totaling up the production costs, Epsilon Individual Automotive makes it easy for you. We produce everything in-house, and once an idea is approved, we typically have it sent out and in the mail in just 72 hours.
Set Goals for Your Campaign
Direct mail marketing has all sorts of uses. Not every campaign is created with the same objective in mind. Think about what you’re trying to achieve with your campaign. Some of the things you might be trying to accomplish include:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Getting a good response rate
- Improving your conversion rate
- Boosting sales for a specific service or product
Setting goals allows you to determine if your campaign was successful. Once you know what your end game is, you’ll know your criteria for success when you measure your results.
When you work with Epsilon Individual Automotive, we use our expertise to brainstorm the goals your campaign needs to succeed. In doing so, you can plan for direct mail marketing strategies that pull from what’s worked in the past to build a more cohesive plan for tomorrow.
Track Your Results
The only way to know if your campaign has achieved your goals is to track your results. Once your mailers go out, it’s time to start looking at the data. What should you be looking for? That depends on what your goals were.
Luckily, there are several marketing tools you can include in your mailers that are easily trackable. All of these are great ways to see what kind of response your campaign has received. While you can check sales numbers for your business, Epsilon Individual Automotive can help you keep track of clicks, scans, and activation codes.
Some of the things you can track and analyze include:
QR Codes
If you’ve eaten at a restaurant in the last year, you’ve become very familiar with QR codes. Including them in a mailer is an easy way to get customers to engage with you, direct them to your landing page, or redeem an offer.
PURLs
Like QR codes, personalized URLs (PURLs) allow recipients to go directly to your site. Plus, personalizing the offer or invitation to each customer is a great way to establish a connection with them. This helps your audience stay in the know, as well as relying on your dealership for future visits and inquiries.
Microsites
Some PURLs or QR codes link to microsites, which allows dealers to put their full promotional force behind a specific product. For example, a microsite could detail a soon-to-arrive model with pertinent information readers should know about. This allows for increased brand awareness and cost effectiveness.
Activation Codes
Another great way to get customers and leads to instantly redeem an offer or sign up for a mailing list is with activation codes.
Sales Numbers
If your goal was to sell a specific product, you can look right at the bottom line and see how many units were moved and how much money the campaign brought in.
ROI Keys to Success
To master your ROI, it’s vital to examine what makes a successful direct mailer campaign. From the moment your campaign goes live, the hard work you’ve put in presents itself to your audience. But how can you work to ensure you reach the goals you’ve set? It’s easy.
Epsilon Individual Automotive works to give your dealership a comprehensive approach to direct mail marketing. That way, you can enter each quarter confident with the results you’ve received—and the results you plan to receive.
Follow these three keys to steps to building ROI success for your dealership:
Target the Right Market
Every direct mail campaign is built on targeting the right audience. Did you know that 40 percent of the direct mail campaign’s success rests on properly identifying the correct market? When you work with us, we’ll use advanced data solutions to get your audience squared away.
Make Worthwhile Offers
The offer you’re advertising is the bread and butter of your direct mail campaign. Why? Because a meaningful and enticing offer acts as an inciting event with readers. From special savings to service center coupons, a better offer can bring in more sales—and increased ROI.
Use a Creative Touch
With the right target market and an offer certain to catch the reader’s attention, the only thing left is to use an eye-catching design. No matter the format your campaign plans to use, our in-house production team can turn your direct mailer into something that piques the reader’s interest from the moment their eyes first make contact.
Improve Your ROI With Epsilon Individual Automotive
ROI is certainly something you should track throughout all your campaigns. It’ll keep your finances in order and show you what direct mail marketing campaigns are most effective in your area.
To learn more about calculating ROI for direct mail advertising and how we can help you every step of the way, contact us at Epsilon Individual Automotive.
