Every customer contact counts in mail order retail. Whether you run a catalogue business, a specialist online shop or an established retail company, attracting new customers, encouraging existing buyers to purchase again and using marketing budgets cost-effectively are central tasks.
We support mail order and e-commerce businesses with suitable target audience address lists, insert marketing, media planning, data management and mailing production. We also help you generate additional revenue from existing customer address lists and available parcel insert space.
Customer acquisition in mail order retail: reaching the right buyers
New customers are important for mail order retailers to complement their existing customer base and enable further growth.
The key is to reach people who are interested in the product range and open to buying through mail order or online channels.
A range of activities can be used – from addressed mailings and parcel or media inserts to digital advertising formats.
Mail order buyer addresses for customer acquisition
Mail order buyer addresses come from the customer databases of companies whose customers have already ordered products through mail order or other distance-selling channels.
These addresses can be relevant for customer acquisition because the recipients are familiar with ordering remotely.
Depending on the address list, different selection options are available, for example by interests, product categories or sociodemographic characteristics.
We support the selection of suitable address sources and their alignment with your product range, target audience and campaign objective.
Target audience analysis and address selection
Who buys your products? What characteristics define particularly relevant customer groups?
Analysing existing customer profiles can help define target audiences for customer acquisition more precisely.
These findings provide a basis for researching suitable address lists and defining selections for planned campaigns.
Parcel and media inserts for customer acquisition
Inserts allow you to reach potential customers in a relevant setting – for example, when opening a parcel or reading a magazine.
Mail order retailers can choose from different types of inserts.
Parcel inserts: advertising directly to active buyers
A parcel insert places your advertising material in a delivery sent by another mail order retailer.
This allows you to reach people who have already ordered online or through mail order.
The key to planning is ensuring that the sender’s product range, recipient profile and your own offer are a good fit.
We support the selection of suitable distribution partners, the planning of insert volumes and operational coordination.
Media inserts
In addition to parcels, newspapers, magazines and other print media can carry advertising inserts.
Selection considers factors such as subject area, audience profile, reach and available insert opportunities.
This allows products to be presented in an environment that matches potential buyers’ interests.
Engaging existing customers and encouraging repeat purchases
Alongside customer acquisition, maintaining existing customer relationships is an important part of mail order marketing.
People who have already ordered know the business and its products. Suitable offers and relevant reasons to make contact allow retailers to approach these customers again.
Options include:
- personalised advertising mailings with selected offers
- seasonal promotions and new product ranges
- catalogue and promotional mailings
- activities to reactivate buyers who have been inactive for some time
- postal communications for special customer occasions
The appropriate activity depends on the product range, customer profile, previous purchasing behaviour and communication objective.
Data quality in mail order retail: maintaining customer databases
Up-to-date, correctly prepared customer data is important for delivering advertising materials and addressing customers personally.
Outdated addresses, duplicate records or incorrect salutations can cause unnecessary postage costs and undermine the quality of communication.
Checking, updating and matching addresses
Before a mailing campaign, existing address lists can be checked for postal accuracy and duplicate records.
Depending on your needs, we support data updating, data matching and further technical preparation.
Preparing mailing data for production
Preparing customer and address data for personalised mailings is also part of campaign preparation.
This makes existing data available for the planned communication, production and dispatch processes.
Additional income from address rental and insert space
Mail order retailers often have two resources that may also be of interest to other advertisers: their customer address database and available space for advertising inserts in outgoing parcels.
Under suitable legal and commercial conditions, these resources can generate additional revenue.
Renting out customer address lists
Renting out suitable customer address lists can generate additional income for mail order retailers.
We support the assessment of revenue potential, the approach to suitable advertisers and the administration of address rentals.
The permitted uses depend on factors such as data protection requirements and the agreed terms of use.
Marketing your parcel insert space
If you regularly dispatch goods, available insert space can be used for advertising materials from other companies.
It is important that advertising partners suit your business and customer profile.
We support the marketing of this space, the selection of suitable advertisers and operational coordination.
Combining print and online marketing in mail order retail
Mail order retailers reach their customers through different points of contact: from the catalogue and parcel to the online shop.
Postal mailings and inserts can be complemented by digital advertising to reach audiences repeatedly and across different channels.
The appropriate combination depends on the target audience’s purchasing behaviour, the product range and the available budget.
We support the selection and coordination of suitable activities.
From planning to mailing production
A mail order campaign often involves several stages: target audience selection, media planning, data processing, production and dispatch.
We take on individual tasks or coordinate several services within a campaign.
These include:
- researching and selecting suitable address lists
- planning and buying media placements
- arranging parcel and media inserts
- checking and preparing address data
- producing and personalising advertising mailings
- managing dispatch and optimising postage costs
You decide which services you need and which tasks you wish to handle yourself.
Why choose Trebbau for direct marketing in mail order retail?
In mail order retail, target audience selection, advertising channels, timing and costs need to work together.
We combine experience with mail order address lists and insert opportunities with media planning, data processing and mailing production.
We consider customer acquisition alongside the activation of existing buyers and the commercial use of available address lists and insert space.
This allows you to implement individual activities or combine different services.
Plan direct marketing for your mail order business
Would you like to attract new customers, engage existing buyers, improve address quality or generate additional income from customer address lists and parcel inserts?
Talk to us about your objectives. Together, we assess which activities and services are suitable for your business.
Frequently asked questions about direct marketing in mail order retail
Customer acquisition options include addressed mailings, parcel and media inserts, and digital advertising. The selection depends on the product range, target audience, campaign objective and budget.
Mail order buyer addresses come from the address databases of companies whose customers have already ordered through mail order or other distance-selling channels. They can be used for targeted postal customer acquisition, provided the legal requirements are met.
Parcel inserts reach recipients alongside an existing order. The enclosed advertising material does not require a separate postal delivery. Selecting a distribution partner with a suitable recipient profile is essential.
Under suitable legal conditions, mail order retailers can make customer address lists available for advertising purposes. Legal eligibility and commercial potential need to be assessed individually.
Mail order retailers can market available insert space in their parcels to suitable advertising partners. This requires suitable dispatch capacity and agreed operational and commercial arrangements.
Buyers who have been inactive for some time can be approached again through personalised mailings, selected offers or seasonal promotions. Suitable customer segments and up-to-date data provide the foundation.
