Retailers Drive In-Store Traffic with Personalized URLs

Every retailer understands that direct mail can't do it all. Any campaign needs the other channels to work together, to some extent — and ideally on the same page. While the closely coordinated direct mail and email campaigns are both popular and successful today, perhaps the most effective demonstration of the offline-online marriage are personalized URL (PURL) campaigns.

These campaigns, it turns out, work remarkably well for the retail space. Such campaigns are explored in the comprehensive report PURLs for Profit: Your everything-you-need-to-know guide to personalized URLs, including: Best Practices on why they work, campaign strategy, multichannel creative, analytics, and 10 Case Studies.

So, what kind of retailer qualifies for a PURL campaign?
It's surprising simple and far-ranging. "Any client looking to engage with their customers uniquely or those who have access to a database for a marketing campaign," says Shawn Burst, founder of Dukky, a custom landing page and analytics software platform.

In the report, one case study features a retailer that used a PURL campaign to substantially increase in-store traffic and build up their customer database. Stein Mart is an upscale, off-price specialty store chain with locations nationwide. With both in-store traffic and its customer database stagnating in the Northeast, Stein Mart sought to upgrade its direct marketing efforts, especially its direct mail, to boost the levels of each.

How did the personalized URL fit into the project?
The PURL was a fit because it was designed to personalize the mailers, driving customers into the microsite and then, through the share incentive, leverage those customers to drive an even greater response. More importantly, personalizing the outreach separated the direct mail from previous campaigns.

The mailer was a 6˝ x 9˝ postcard equipped with a PURL on both sides, and the landing pages were designed to make the transition from the direct mail piece to the online experience seamless. There were four pages on the microsite, including a welcome page, a survey page, a share page and a thank you/redemption page.

The mailing was a big hit, achieving a 150 percent response rate because of the mail piece and social sharing. The integrated sharing feature allowed users to do marketing for Stein Mart in this campaign. The company grew its customer database and increased redemption from the expected 3 percent to 40 percent redemption in-store.

To read more about this case study, and learn the latest best practices of Personalized URLs from leading marketers, visit our online bookstore.

Ethan Boldt is the chief content officer of DirectMarketingIQ, the research division of the Target Marketing Group. Reach Ethan at eboldt@napco.com.