Personalization

In modern marketing, timing is everything. When a customer takes action online, your systems should respond automatically — across every channel. That’s where webhooks come in.

They’re the simple to setup, invisible connectors that allow your marketing platforms — and your direct mail — to work together in real time.

What Is a Webhook?

A webhook is a simple, automated way for one application to send data to another the moment something happens.

Think of it like an instant alert. When someone makes a purchase online, a webhook can immediately send that data to another platform — triggering a response such as an email confirmation, CRM update, or even a personalized mailer.

Webhooks:

  • Transfer information automatically via secure HTTP requests.
  • Trigger actions when specific events occur (like a form submission or subscription).
  • Reduce manual work and ensure data moves quickly and accurately.

For a quick primer, check out Zapier’s guide to webhooks.

Why Webhooks Matter for Mail

Webhooks can connect your digital marketing activity to your offline touchpoints.

When integrated with a direct mail automation tool, webhooks can automatically trigger personalized mail pieces based on customer actions in your CRM, eCommerce platform, or marketing automation system.

For example:

  • A customer makes a purchase → The webhook sends the data → A thank-you mailer is triggered.
  • A new subscriber joins your list → A printed welcome piece is automatically sent.

It’s fast, accurate, and scalable — ensuring your message reaches the right person at the right time.
Check out HubSpot’s guide on using webhooks with HubSpot workflows.

The Core Components

Every webhook has three key parts:

  1. Trigger: The event that activates it (e.g., a purchase, sign-up, or milestone).
  2. Message (Body): The information sent — such as a name, address, or order details.
  3. Headers: Extra details like authentication, ensuring the message is secure.

For a deeper dive, Twilio’s webhook primer explains these elements well.

Webhooks in Marketing Campaigns

Webhooks act as a bridge between marketing tools, allowing actions in one platform to automatically trigger events in another.

In direct mail campaigns, this means that:

  • A campaign endpoint is configured to receive data.
  • Your external system sends a webhook when an event occurs.
  • The data is processed, and a mailer is initiated automatically.

Each mailer type requires its own configuration, but you can use dynamic variables to personalize content at scale.

Practical Use Cases

Webhooks can power a range of automated marketing workflows:

  • Re-engagement: Send postcards to inactive customers automatically.
  • Conditional Redundancy: Send postcards to physical address of bounced inboxes.
  • Milestone Recognition: Celebrate birthdays or loyalty rewards with printed mailers.
  • Welcome Campaigns: Trigger physical welcome kits when someone subscribes.
  • Post-Purchase Follow-Up: Deliver thank-you notes or coupons after an order.

If your marketing platform doesn’t support webhooks directly, an implementation partner or developer can help build a custom solution.

Real Example: Klaviyo + MailTech

Let’s look at a real-world example. Say you use Klaviyo for email marketing and want to automatically send a catalog to customers after they make a purchase.

  1. In Klaviyo, create a flow that triggers when an order is placed.
  2. In MailTech, set up a Webhook Campaign and obtain the campaign’s endpoint URL.
  3. In Klaviyo, add a webhook action to the flow, using that URL and passing details like name, address, and order information.

Now, whenever a customer completes a purchase, Klaviyo sends that data to MailTech, which instantly triggers the mailing of a printed catalog or thank-you piece.

This creates a seamless bridge between online and offline experiences — ensuring consistent, personalized communication at every step.
For help setting this up, see Klaviyo’s webhook integration guide.

The Takeaway

Webhooks connect the dots between your marketing platforms, allowing your digital and physical channels to work together effortlessly.

Used correctly, they make direct mail more responsive, more personalized, and more measurable — without adding complexity (at least not too much).

Print that performs. Mail that matters.

Beyond the Letter

In today’s digital age, direct mail remains a powerful tool for marketers to reach their audience in a tangible and personal way. With a variety of formats available beyond the standard letter, choosing the right direct mail format can be overwhelming. We can help!

From Ancient Letters to Modern Marvels

With over 30 years of experience, we’ve seen it all, from the common to the uncommon. Direct mail has evolved from simple letters into innovative formats such as postcards, bifold/trifold self-mailers, and dimensional mail. These options empower marketers to enhance their campaigns, reduce costs (at times), capture recipients’ attention, and drive engagement and conversions.

Let’s dive into these direct mail formats and explore which might be the best bet for your marketing efforts.

Postcards: The Budget-Friendly and Highly Visible Marketing Tool

Let’s start with a fan favorite – the postcard. Postcards are a budget-friendly and efficient direct mail tool, offering lower production and postage costs than more complex formats, making them ideal for reaching any audience size. One of their standout advantages is their immediate visibility, as postcards don’t require opening, ensuring the recipient sees the message right away. This, combined with their concise format, allows recipients to quickly grasp the key points, making postcards the ideal option for delivering clear and direct messages.

However, postcards have limitations: their smaller size restricts information, and exposed content makes them unsuitable for sensitive messages and vulnerable to scuffing. To maximize impact, use eye-catching graphics, keep messages clear, and target your audience carefully. Even in the digital age, postcards offer a memorable touchpoint in the mail.

Bifold & Trifold Self-Mailers: The Compact and Versatile Format for Effective Communication

Building on the visibility of postcards, bifold and trifold self-mailers provide a compact yet spacious format. They offer more space for detailed information and multiple images and present a professional appearance, enhancing your message’s overall perception. These versatile formats are suitable for introductions, special offers, and more.

Despite their advantages, they may incur higher printing and postage costs than postcards and risk being disregarded if not designed carefully. To make the most of these mailers, create a visually appealing design, use the extra space effectively, and include a compelling reason for recipients to open and engage.

Dimensional Mail: The Attention-Grabber

Dimensional mailers take engagement to the next level with their 3D shapes, sizes, and textures. They stand out in the mailbox and often enhance the recipient’s view of your brand due to their perceived value. Features like pop-ups, foldouts, or hidden items create a memorable experience and encourage recipients to spend more time with the mailer.

However, dimensional mailers come with a few drawbacks: they are costly to produce and ship, and their design and production can be complex and time-consuming. To maximize impact, use dimensional mailers for high-value targets or special campaigns, ensure durability, and personalize content to boost engagement.

Uncommon Formats: The Creative and Eye-catching Options

Iron Cross

Iron cross mailers are known for their intricate fold-out design, which offers a large canvas for detailed information and visuals. Their interactive unfolding process engages recipients and enhances recall. However, the complexity of this format can lead to higher production costs and potential damage during transit. Careful design, durable materials, and special handling are crucial to maximize its impact.

Roll-Up Mailers

Roll-up mailers stand out due to their novelty and interactive experience. Like iron cross formats, recipients must unroll the mail piece, which can captivate their attention and increase engagement. Despite their appeal, roll-ups present production challenges and can be costly to produce. Additionally, they may require special handling or packaging, which can increase mailing costs. To ensure effectiveness, design the roll-up for easy handling and readability, use high-quality materials, and consider testing the format with a smaller audience before a full rollout.

Additional Options

For even more creative formats, consider options like pop-ups, sliders, and rotation-type mailers. These can create a dramatic “WOW” factor and leave a lasting impression. While these innovative formats can enhance branding and visibility, they often come with higher costs and production complexity, making them best suited for special campaigns.

What to Consider When Choosing Your Direct Mail Format

Choosing the right direct mail format depends on several factors, including your budget, the complexity of your message, the target audience, and the campaign’s objective. Here are some key considerations:

  • Budget: Ensure that the cost of production and mailing fits within your budget. As noted, postcards are more cost-effective, while dimensional mailers are more expensive but offer a higher impact. Additionally, consider the cost of personalization and any special printing techniques you might want to employ. Bulk mail discounts and potential savings on postage should also be factored in.
  • Message Complexity: If your message is simple and direct, a postcard might suffice. For more detailed information, consider bifold/trifold self-mailers or even more elaborate formats like the Iron Cross. The format should support the clarity and effectiveness of your message delivery.
  • Audience: Tailor the format to your audience’s preferences and behaviors. High-value targets might appreciate the novelty of dimensional mailers, while a broader audience might respond well to postcards.
  • Timing: Consider the timing of your campaign. Certain formats may take longer to produce and deliver. Plan ahead to ensure your direct mail reaches recipients at the optimal time for maximum impact. Seasonal factors and industry-specific timings, such as the fiscal year-end for business audiences, should also be considered.
  • Campaign Objective: Align the format with your campaign’s goal. If brand recall is crucial, an interactive format like a roll-up might be ideal. For special offers, self-mailers could be more appropriate. Your format should facilitate the desired action, whether it’s visiting a website, redeeming a coupon, or attending an event.

Final Thoughts

The evolution of direct mail from simple letters to innovative formats like postcards, dimensional mail, and bifold/trifold self-mailers has transformed how marketers engage with audiences. Each format offers unique benefits, from the cost-effective visibility of postcards to the high-impact, tactile experience of dimensional mailers and the versatile design options of self-mailers. Choosing the right format can significantly enhance your campaign’s effectiveness, capture attention, and drive higher engagement and conversions. By leveraging these creative options, your brand can stand out in a crowded market and achieve better results.

Ready to take your marketing campaigns to the next level? Let us help you design and execute a campaign that captures attention and drives results. Contact the experts at Strata to get started today.

Turning Narratives into Results

In today’s saturated marketing landscape, capturing attention and driving engagement can be daunting. Yet, storytelling remains a timeless and powerful tool that can set your direct mail apart. Remember the lure of childhood story time? Those stories did more than entertain; they built connections and delivered messages in a way that stayed with us. While we’ve outgrown story time, we can still use personalized storytelling to craft direct mail campaigns that captivate and convert.

The Power of Storytelling

Storytelling in direct mail isn’t just a creative luxury; it’s a strategic advantage, especially when the story is personalized to the recipient. According to a 2024 report by McKinsey, 71% of customers expect personalized experiences from brands, and 76% express frustration when they don’t receive it. Personalizing your direct mail with a well-crafted story can enhance engagement, improve response rates, and build long-term loyalty while creating an emotional connection that makes your message stand out.

How to Craft Compelling Narratives

1. Understand Your Audience’s Needs and Preferences

Before crafting your story, you’ll need to gain a deep understanding of your audience’s specific needs, pain points, desires, and interests. From there, you can use both first-party and third-party data and insights to tailor your narrative so that it feels personal and relevant. By aligning your message with what truly matters to your audience, you create stories that resonate on a deeper level and drive engagement.

  • Example: For a direct mail campaign promoting a fitness service, start by analyzing data to identify your audience’s primary fitness challenges and goals, such as overcoming exercise plateaus, finding motivation, or achieving specific health milestones. Then, create a series of mail pieces that address these needs by featuring real customer success stories. For instance, one piece might detail how a client overcame a workout plateau with the help of personalized training programs and support from the service, while another could show how a different client found renewed motivation through specialized classes. Make sure to tailor each story to reflect the audience’s pain points and aspirations, using relatable images and testimonials.

2. Develop Relatable Personas and Plotlines

Create characters and scenarios that your audience can identify with. By developing relatable personas and compelling plotlines, you can create an emotional connection that makes your message not only memorable but also impactful.

  • Example: For a campaign promoting a pet care brand, design a series of postcards featuring a heartwarming story about a beloved pet navigating its journey to wellness with the help of your products. Each postcard could follow a different chapter of the pet’s journey, tailoring each story to reflect common challenges and triumphs faced by pet owners in your target market —starting with a concern, showcasing the benefits of your products, and ending with the pet’s transformation. This approach builds empathy and connects with pet owners while also clearly showing the value of your products.

3. Enhance Stories with Personalized Visuals

Visual elements can make your story more impactful. Studies show that our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, making pictures a powerful tool for quickly communicating your desired message. By using variable data printing to match the visuals to your audience’s specific demographics or locations, you can elevate the receiver’s experience and make your message much more relatable and engaging.

  • Example: For a direct mail piece promoting a realtor, use before-and-after photos of homes to showcase successful property sales and renovations. Tailor these images to reflect local neighborhoods or common home styles in the area within the recipients budget based on income. This helps potential clients envision how the realtor could help them with their own properties, making the message more engaging and effective. Personalized visuals not only grab attention but also strengthen the connection with your audience, leading to better results.

4. Include a Clear and Compelling CTA

Every story should lead to a clear call to action (CTA). Ensure your CTA includes specific details, prompts the recipient to take an actionable step, and aligns with the narrative you’ve created.

  • Example: If your story centers around a limited-time offer, make sure your CTA emphasizes urgency and provides easy instructions on how to take advantage of the offer. For example, use, “Get 20% off your first purchase! Scan the QR code to apply the discount at checkout.” This CTA is direct and ensures the recipient knows exactly how to act quickly.

Best Practices for Integrating Storytelling

1. Maintain Brand Consistency

Make sure your brand voice and message are consistent throughout your storytelling. Consistent branding builds trust and reinforces your identity, making your stories more credible and convincing. Additionally, consistency helps your audience easily recognize and relate to your brand, which is crucial for long-term engagement. In fact, brands that present themselves consistently across various platforms are 3-4 times more likely to achieve strong visibility. This consistency enhances brand recognition, making it easier for consumers to recognize and engage with the brand amidst market noise.

2. Personalize Based on Data

Leverage recipient data to tailor your narratives. Personalization increases relevance and engagement, as stories that address specific interests and needs are more likely to resonate. By using data to craft stories that speak directly to your audience’s motivations, you enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns. Data-driven personalization can boost engagement rates by up to 25%, proving the importance of using recipient data to create targeted and impactful stories.

3. Test and Optimize

Continuously test different storytelling approaches to find what resonates most with your audience. Experimentation is crucial for refining your strategy and enhancing results. By testing various narrative elements—such as story angles, visuals, and CTAs—you gain valuable insights into what drives engagement. In direct mail campaigns, where every detail counts, A/B testing different elements allow marketers to adapt and optimize their strategies effectively. For instance, A/B testing can increase conversion rates by up to 49%, boosting ROI and ensuring each campaign variant is as impactful as possible.

Final Thoughts

Integrating personalized storytelling into your direct mail campaigns can transform your marketing efforts, making them more captivating and effective. By crafting narratives that resonate emotionally with your audience, you enhance engagement, increase response rates, and build lasting loyalty.

Ready to harness the power of storytelling? Contact Strata to get started on creating narratives that leave a lasting impression and drive your marketing success.

How Variable Data Printing Can Transform Your Marketing Campaigns

In the age of digital communication, where every message competes for attention, the key to making an impact lies in personalization. Whether it’s a marketing campaign or a heartfelt message, the more tailored and relevant it is to the recipient, the greater its resonance. This is where variable data printing (VDP) enters the chat, standing tall as a true game-changer in the world of direct mail marketing.

What is Variable Data Printing?

Variable data printing has revolutionized the landscape of direct mail marketing by dynamically incorporating personalized elements into once static templates. Imagine receiving a postcard that not only addresses you by name but also showcases products tailored to your current preferences. That’s the magic of VDP in action.

At its core, VDP works by pulling dynamically generated headlines, addresses, personal names, offers, graphics, or maps from a file and seamlessly inserts them into a templated design to match the unique requirements of the specific mailer. This means that each predetermined mailer will be printed specifically for the intended recipient, enhancing the relevance and impact of the message.

While the concept of variable data printing has been around for more than a decade, its adoption was initially hindered by its slow and expensive nature, making it challenging to use for large volume direct mail campaigns. But with advancements in technology, especially in digital printing (hello HP Indigo), VDP has become more accessible and cost-effective than ever before. Now, marketers can harness the power of VDP to personalize every aspect of their direct mail campaigns, ensuring that each recipient receives a message tailored precisely to their preferences and needs, maximizing engagement, response rates, and overall ROI.

The Effectiveness and Benefits of VDP

The effectiveness and benefits of VDP extend far beyond mere personalization. With automated systems streamlining bulk mailing processes, VDP makes managing large-scale campaigns significantly more manageable. By eliminating manual processes, businesses can sidestep unnecessary errors, resulting in significantly lower returned mail rates. This not only saves time and marketing spend but also enhances the overall success of the campaign.

Personalizing direct mail can increase response rates by up to 135%, a remarkable increase that highlights the power of VDP in capturing the attention and engagement of target audiences. This ultimately drives higher conversion rates and ROI for businesses, potentially doubling to 15 times the ROI when using VDP. Most importantly, VDP allows for tailored messaging that resonates more deeply with recipients, fostering stronger customer relationships and brand loyalty.

Additionally, the data-driven approach of VDP, with personalized response mechanisms like PURLs and variable QR codes, allows for better tracking and analysis of campaign performance. This enables continuous optimization and more informed decision-making for future marketing strategies, further enhancing the effectiveness and benefits of VDP.

Best Practices to Consider

When maximizing the effectiveness of VDP in direct mail campaigns, implementing best practices is crucial. Firstly, conducting test runs allows marketers to fine-tune their campaigns and identify any potential issues before launching on a larger scale. Testing formatting can ensure that things like layout and design elements are optimized for readability, visual appeal, and action.

Also, testing demographic data, such as age, marital status, income, and stage of life, can help you tailor messaging and offers to specific audience segments. For example, targeting millennials with different content than empty nesters can significantly impact the campaign’s success.

Additionally, including geographic data adds another layer of personalization by customizing mailers based on the recipient’s location. Whether it’s imagery relevant to the region, location-specific text, or special offers from local businesses, leveraging geographic data can make direct mail campaigns highly personalized and resonate more deeply with recipients.

Final Thoughts

Overall, variable data printing offers unparalleled opportunities for tangible personalization in an increasingly digital world. With that said, if you’re not a variable printing expert, it’s crucial to partner with a qualified printer capable of meeting the demands of VDP, particularly for large quantities and high-definition color printing. At Strata, we specialize in VDP processes and utilizing personalization to increase response rates and ensure campaign success. From creative concept to postal logistics, we assist our clients at every step of the direct mail process, ensuring the success of their data-fueled marketing campaigns.

At the end of the day, VDP goes beyond mere personalization; it’s about leveraging data insights to drive engagement and ROI. Contact a Strata expert today to learn how we can help elevate your direct mail marketing efforts to the next level.

Why They’re Not (at All) the Same

Sometimes direct mail gets a bad rep. Why? Because it’s commonly mistaken for junk mail. But other than being mail, these two have nothing in common. Direct mail only falls into the category of junk mail when it’s poorly executed. When done right, direct mail targets, entices, and benefits a specific customer. Someone, who through market research, is most likely in need of your product or service. It’s designed with purpose in mind, is backed by research and data, drives audiences with calls-to-action, and is highly customized and personalized. Take a quick read to further understand how direct mail differs from junk – and why it should be a key part of your company’s marketing strategy.

Direct Mail Starts with a Good List

The biggest difference between direct mail and junk mail is a good list. A list that’s backed by data, and one that targets the right people – not just any people. Before making an effective, comprehensive or specified list, first review the mailing lists you currently have. Who are you sending mail to? Who have you sent to in the past? Are they the right audience(s)? Are there more audiences (or more specific audiences) you should be targeting?

A wrong list will fail to target those who’d be interested in buying from you, and will often also target those who’d have no interest at all (cough, cough – junk mail). For example, sending “get 10% off your first order with us” to a loyal customer, or even worse, trying to sell meat to a vegetarian. Junk mail goes to anyone and everyone, and often with irrelevant and impersonal information. Plus, it’s often a waste of money, as many of those unspecified and uninterested customers will throw your mail out without a second thought.

In contrast, direct mail is sent to people in data-driven lists, and with messaging that makes sense for their specific customer profiles. Compiling this strategic list makes all the difference in targeting the right customers and catching their attention. Direct mail, unlike junk, is sent to direct people for direct reasons. In fact, 42% of recipients read or scan direct mail that’s relevant to them.

Types of Direct Mail Lists

Direct mail lists come in many forms, so it’s good to take a look at them all before deciding what will work for your company and its marketing needs. Here are the 4 most common ones:

House List: A list you’ve collected on your own time of prospects and customers you’ve made connections with. People on this list are likely to respond, because they’ve already responded to previous offerings.

Response List: A list you’ve put together of people who’ve responded to and reacted to your outreach before. Whether they’ve purchased something or have asked for more information, these people have some level of interest in your offerings.

Compiled List: A list of candidates that went through screener questions and possessed a characteristic or set of characteristics you searched for. These characteristics are fixed, and are most commonly age, gender, location, or income level.Another characteristic could be new movers – those who just moved in and are looking to become loyal customers of your services.

Segmented List: A list curated through a high-tech analysis platform that defines key prospects. This type of list accesses information far beyond age, income, and gender, and gives you the ability to micro-target your market for more extreme results and higher ROI. This type of targeted list also helps you avoid sending to “do-not-mail” contacts.

Direct Mail Has Personally Relevant Messaging

After you decide on a list, the next step is deciding on the right messaging. Direct mail isn’t just about knowing who to send to, but how to speak to them to get them to notice, develop interest, and potentially buy from you. Look into your customers’ buying habits. What entices them? What offerings are they most interested in? And, how can you best reach them? Knowing the proper way to connect with your current and potential customers will help your mailer stand out. Don’t just use a cheesy, typical slogan or generic text. Craft words that highlight who you are, what makes you unique, and why they should use your surfaces or buy your offerings (over others). Make your mailer personal by adding their name, incorporating content that makes sense to their age and other demographics, and including offers applicable to them. Lastly, a clear call-to-action can educate the recipient in how to respond in the most efficient and convenient way possible.

Direct Mail Has Purposeful & Impactful Design

Lastly, once you’ve crafted effective messaging, design your mailer with intentional and engaging visuals. Make sure you’re thinking through the following key design aspects:

Sizing: Think about what size mailer makes sense for your audience, and what will help yours stand out in the mailbox among others. And, in terms of font size – think over what message is most important to get across. Use sizing hierarchy to emphasize words like “free” or “grand opening”.

Layout: Always consider how you want the viewer’s eye to be lead across your mailer. One good technique is the “s-curve” layout – which leads the eye down and across by using imagery on the left and words on right, or a similar variation.

Graphics: Using unique and eye-catching graphics is a great way to make your business stand out from the rest. Be sure to use high quality images as well as consistent branding elements – such as a logo, fonts, colors, and textures. And, go further by using variable images depending on who’s receiving the mailer to make it resonate with the viewer.

Color: Pops of color are also a great way to spice things up – especially when they’re not expected, or to emphasize a call to action. For example, use pops of color on new services, departments, or special offers, or to emphasize a QR code.

Altogether, the key to good mailer design it to ensure it resonates with the customer and emphasizes who you are and the message you’re trying to send.

Now that we’ve gone through what makes direct mail, well, direct – we hope you can see that it is drastically different than unsolicited junk mail. If you’re looking to make a change with your direct mailers or simply want to learn more, contact Strata’s experts.

Capture Loyalty from the First Hello

Over 40 million people move each year in the U.S.—that’s more than 13% of the population, and every one of them needs to build new routines, find new services, and establish new brand loyalties. For businesses looking to grow, this isn’t just a data point. It’s an opportunity.

At Strata, we help businesses harness the power of direct mail to reach new movers at precisely the right time—when they’re ready to discover, decide, and commit. Let’s walk through how to build a smart, targeted new mover campaign that delivers results you can see (and measure).

Why New Movers Matter

New movers aren’t just potential customers. They’re high-intent buyers in active decision mode. In fact:

That kind of openness—and spending power—makes new movers one of the most responsive and valuable audiences for direct mail.

The Move Timeline: Timing Is Everything

When you reach someone matters almost as much as how you reach them. Here’s how buying behavior shifts before and after the move:

Pre-Move: Planning & Purchasing

Before the boxes are even packed, movers start making critical purchases—home improvement items, storage solutions, cleaning services, and more. Targeting during this phase lets you offer timely solutions that reduce stress and make life easier.

Post-Move: Urgent Needs & Routine Building

Once the move is complete, spending accelerates. Movers prioritize essentials like grocery stores, healthcare, utilities, and nearby services. It’s a crucial window to introduce your brand and become part of their new routine.

Direct Mail: The Most Trusted Channel

Nothing builds credibility quite like a well-timed, well-designed piece of direct mail. In fact:

Direct mail is tactile, memorable, and most importantly—timely. It reaches people where they live (literally), and when paired with smart data and segmentation, it speaks directly to what they need.

Make Your First Touch Count

The key to successful new mover outreach? Make the first impression a lasting one. Your mailpiece should:

  • Welcome the recipient to the neighborhood
  • Clearly explain your value
  • Offer a relevant incentive (think: BRCs with discounts or free trials)
  • Encourage response or engagement right away

Need a measurable way to drive ROI? Include a Business Reply Card (BRC) or use a trackable phone number or QR code. The more seamless you make it for them to respond, the more likely they are to take the next step.

Build Relationships That Last

New mover marketing isn’t one-and-done. It’s about building trust over time. A strong follow-up cadence—through additional personalized mail drops—helps reinforce your message and position your business as a go-to resource in their new community.

By planning a thoughtful series of direct mail touchpoints, you can:

  • Drive long-term loyalty and referrals
  • Increase brand recall
  • Encourage repeat interaction

Your New Mover Strategy Starts Here

Whether you’re targeting by ZIP code, homeownership status, or behavioral insights, direct mail gives you the control and flexibility to craft a campaign that truly performs. At Strata, we combine deep industry experience with precise data and fully in-house production—ensuring your message lands exactly where (and when) it matters most.

Let’s turn new neighbors into new customers. Reach out today to learn how Strata can help you create a high-performing new mover campaign that delivers measurable results—no guesswork, no middlemen.

How to Apply the Latest in eCommerce Functionality and UX Design to Increase Adoption

Digital capabilities and payment technologies have changed the way consumers shop; your colleagues are no different. Yet many businesses struggle to keep current internal marketing portals (also commonly referred to as “marketing stores”) that offer some form of ordering/purchasing features. Legacy marketing store systems were often built without scalability in mind, and thus many remain in a form where orders still have to feed through to purchasing departments or internal marketing teams for approval and fulfillment. Not providing a fully self-serve, user-friendly environment makes it harder for marketers to leverage all of the assets they’ve produced, and low self-sufficiency slows down customer-facing functions.

The lack of investment in these systems is understandable; they don’t directly correlate to the bottom line. But if you take the long view, they’re invaluable when it comes to brand and sales enablement. Customer-facing teams are among your best channels for promoting your brand. And with marketing increasingly being held accountable for justifying every expense, it’s critical that what you produce is visible and accessible to stakeholders.

The good news is that big hitters like Amazon and Zappos continue to update and perfect eCommerce, so companies wishing to upgrade internally-facing purchasing systems can capitalize on what is already in existence.

User Experience Is Top Priority

Research is increasingly confirming that one of the most critical determiners of the success of a web application is the user experience.

User Experience (UX) comprises a site’s look and feel, architecture, overall ease of use, shopping cart experience, and more.

You can leverage these very same principles to optimize efficiencies in your brand merchandise and marketing content ordering and purchasing portals. The superior UX and secure, controlled online purchasing available via your favorite websites can now be safely – and more easily – applied to better serve business stakeholders such as sales teams, distributors, and field marketers.

A UX-optimized marketing portal can accelerate many basic sales and marketing functions:

  • Increasing adoption and transparency: Pricing and inventory are readily visible and can be updated in real time. Purchasers are better informed, reducing the risk of order changes.
  • Improving internal perception of the marketing team: Providing excellent customer service always makes a good impression.
  • Speeding up purchasing, fulfillment, and billing: Put merch within users’ reach with features such as frequently purchased items and smart content: similar to what you see in eCommerce sites that feature product recommendations and related products.
  • Expediting order submissions and processing: Whether you need to change a ship-to on the fly or quick-ship 50 different pieces of merchandise to 50 different clients, those options are easy to access and process.

One aspect of customer experience that seamless eCommerce functionality does well is convenience. Users want to find what they’re looking for quickly, receive it hassle-free, and pay with their preferred method. While many older systems take in static requests that have to be routed to marketing teams for approval and fulfillment, a more streamlined portal enables automation that empowers users to take care of these processes themselves – easily and quickly.

And importantly, today’s best eCommerce-centric online marketing stores let users upload mailing lists to attach to their orders, rather than offering only a few predefined ship-to address options.

The Personalized Shop…

The level of personalization and ease of use that an eCommerce-style corporate marketing portal provides does well for internal brand perception. Consumers still highly value relationship – strong customer relationships boost loyalty, improve net promoter scores, reduce acquisition costs, and increase the likelihood of conversion, upsells, and expansion. Again, your colleagues are no different. When your tech can support them in every step of their tasks, you are building internal loyalty and teamwork.

Further, because eCommerce is primed to handle large amounts of data with minimal risk, it’s the ideal space to deliver personalized content and services and test new strategies.

…Integrated

If you integrate your internal corporate marketing portal with a robust content management system, you can take your online ordering and purchasing well beyond a more dated inventory library. You can deliver engaging content based on user activity and other data points.

You can also use personalization to move the relationship across channels conversational (chatbot-based) ordering and other purchase-based trigger communications. Such technologies make processes seamless, hassle-free, and scalable into the future.

Ready to talk about taking the best in UX and eCommerce to your online marketing store? Contact us to learn more.

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