Webinar 3 Recap: The Benefits of Postal Code Targeting in a Digital World

When it comes to creating marketing campaigns, small businesses have many options. That said, postal code targeting (PCT) is one of the best strategies. But what are the benefits of postal code targeting, and why should businesses use this type of direct mail campaign?

In Webinar 3 of our direct mail for small business series, we discuss the benefits of postal code targeting in a digital world. Our experts look at what postal code targeting is, what it allows small businesses in Canada to accomplish, and how it compares to digital forms of targeting.

Couldn’t attend our Postal Code Targeting Webinar? No problem! You’ll find a complete recap of Webinar 3 below.

Want to watch the entire webinar? Check it out here.

P.S. Did you miss Webinar 2 on Direct Mail Design? Check out the recap – How to Design Direct Mail. 

An Introduction to Postal Code Targeting

First thing’s first – what is postal code targeting? For those who don’t know, there are three common types of direct mail.

1. Neighbourhood Mail
2. Personalized Mail
3. Postal Code Targeting Mail

What sets these types of direct mail apart? Let’s take a look.

Neighbourhood Mail

Neighbourhood mail is unaddressed mail that is delivered to an entire neighbourhood, city, or even country.

For example, general flyers from large companies, like The Brick and Shaw, are often neighbourhood mail pieces.

Personalized Mail

Personalized mail pieces are addressed and sent to specific individuals, companies or locations. If you’ve ever received a piece of marketing mail with your name and address (or company name and address) on it, that was personalized mail!

Postal Code Targeting

Postal code targeting is a type of direct mail that falls in between neighbourhood mail and personalized mail. PCT allows businesses to send mail to all addresses in a 6-digit postal code.

Using postal code targeting, small businesses can target specific audiences based on several demographic, behavioural and lifestyle characteristics.

Here are some additional features of postal code targeting mail campaigns:

• Fast, reliable delivery – a PCT direct mail campaign can be created and delivered in just 3 to 5 days (sometimes even faster)!
• Target ANY 6-digit postal code – businesses can define a target area as small as 15 to 20 homes using postal code targeting. No other targeting tool provides such a refined audience – including social media. In fact, social media can only narrow down a target audience based on a 3-digit postal code. (More on this below!)
• Create postal code targeting campaigns online – using PostNow’s online PCT Audience Builder, small businesses can easily target their ideal audience. With all-in-one print, design and postage, PostNow offers a one-stop shop for PCT campaign creation and delivery.
• Reach a minimum of 150 households – with postal code targeting mail, businesses can create small, hyper-targeted campaigns that won’t break the bank.
• B2B postal code targeting capabilities – this type of direct mail can be used to target more than just households! PCT can also be used to effectively and efficiently reach businesses.

Want to learn more about postal code targeting and why it should be on your marketing radar? Check out this article – Why Postal Code Targeting Should Be on Your Marketing Radar.

Now that you know what PCT mail is and how it works, let’s look at some of the benefits of postal code targeting.

Benefits of Postal Code Targeting for Small Businesses in Canada

Postal code targeting offers many benefits for small businesses in Canada. Four of the most significant benefits of postal code targeting include:

1. Expand into New Markets

Postal code targeting allows small businesses to identify postal codes that match the profile of their ideal prospects. As a result, companies can target the right consumers and break into new markets quickly and easily.

2. Target an Ideal Audience

PCT allows businesses to layer geographic, demographic and lifestyle insights in order to reach the right audience.

For instance, a postal code targeting mail campaign can target characteristics such as:

• Demographics – age, family size (e.g. number of children), household income, occupation, etc.
• Address Attributes – rent vs own, home value, age of construction, etc.
• Interests and Behaviours – loyalty card holders, charitable donors, car owners, etc.
• Life Stage and Lifestyle – retirement, movers, etc.

But how does targeting multiple characteristics help a business reach the perfect audience? Here’s an example.

To reach ideal customers, a tax company could target homes with residents in a particular stage of their lives and with a certain household income. For instance, households with higher incomes and older residents will likely have more complex tax needs. Thus, this narrowly-defined audience is most likely to require the help of a tax firm.

3. Leverage Customer Data to Maximize the Benefits of Postal Code Targeting

With PCT, small businesses can use postal codes from their existing customer base to target look-alike audiences. More specifically, companies can use proprietary postal code data to find consumers who resemble an existing audience.

For example, a business could send postal code targeting mail to the neighbours of their current customers.

By using this valuable data and targeting consumers similar to existing customers, a business can optimize the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns.

4. Maximize Acquisition Efforts

While postal code targeting can be used to reach consumers that look like current customers, it also allows businesses to suppress existing contacts. In other words, a company can send out direct mail that purposefully does not reach current customers. As a result, small businesses can optimize their campaigns by focusing on messaging targeted at new audiences.

As you can see from this list of postal code targeting benefits, PCT mail is one of the top ways to build brand awareness and provoke action from a qualified audience. Overall, postal code targeting allows businesses to send the right message to the right audience at the right time. Better yet, direct mail tracking techniques allow companies to closely monitor the success of each campaign.

But how does postal code targeting mail compare to other forms of marketing?

Digital vs Direct Mail Targeting

Like postal code targeting mail, digital targeting has many benefits. That said, digital targeting can not offer the same precision as PCT.

For example, digital targeting has significant geographic limitations. That is, digital campaigns cannot offer targeting that is nearly as granular as postal code targeting mail. More specifically, digital targeting only allows businesses to narrow an audience to a 3-digit postal code or 1-kilometre radius. In some cases, this can include more than 25,000 addresses! On the other hand, postal code targeting can target a 6-digit postal, meaning just 15 to 20 homes!

Below are additional disadvantages of digital targeting.

• Auction-based pricing – the cost of a digital campaign depends on who you’re targeting, how many other organizations are targeting the same audience, and who is willing to pay the most. Thus, popular audiences cost significantly more to target using digital marketing.
• Digital privacy laws – online privacy laws make it challenging to target the right audience. Many audiences have also been removed due to privacy, meaning businesses cannot reach particular groups.
• Audience size constraints – digital targeting also imposes audience size constraints. Postal code targeting mail, however, has no such limitations.
• Perceived as “creepy” – consumers often view highly-targeted digital campaigns as creepy and invasive. PCT does not create this same impression.
• B2B targeting is extremely expensive – reaching other businesses can be costly with digital targeting. In addition, targeting the right people online depends on whether they are active on digital platforms like LinkedIn (and many are not). With postal code targeting, however, businesses can easily reach ideal B2B contacts with the right message.

Now that you’ve seen the many benefits of postal code targeting, you might be wondering – how do I create a PCT mail campaign of my own?

Luckily, the process is fast and straightforward with the help of PostNow.

Set Up Postal Code Targeting Mail Campaigns in a Few Clicks with PostNow

In the past, creating and sending postal code targeting campaigns was difficult for small businesses in Canada. But, thanks to PostNow, companies can create PCT campaigns in just a few clicks – and for a fraction of the price.

Want to create your own postal code targeting mail campaign? Here’s how to use our PCT builder.

1. Log in to your PostNow account and select Build a Campaign from your dashboard. Don’t have a PostNow account? No problem! Visit PostNow.ca to create a free account.
2. Name your campaign and select Postal Code Targeting as your direct mail campaign type.
3. Choose a campaign date (i.e. the earliest date you want your campaign delivered to Canada Post). Please note: this is not the in-home delivery date.
4. Let us know where to send your direct mail campaign. You can use your existing client postal code data, a saved audience previously built using PostNow, or create a new audience with the help of our address targeting tools.
5. Design your campaign. Select a mail format (postcard, letter and envelope, etc.) and choose to use a direct mail template or upload your own design.

That’s it! Click Generate Campaign and Checkout. We’ll take care of the rest – from prep and printing to delivery.

Need help creating the perfect PCT direct mail campaign? Your dedicated account manager is happy to provide personalized assistance so you can take advantage of all the benefits of postal code targeting and get the campaign results you want!