What are Snap Packs in Direct Mail Marketing?

Direct mail remains one of the most impactful ways to connect with customers and prospects. When used right, direct mail is a potent tool that you can utilize to generate a deeper connection with your customers: That's why 84% of all marketers believe direct mail provides them with the highest ROI of all the forms of marketing that they use.

Direct mail remains so powerful for a variety of reasons, including its versatility. Snap packs are one example of the highly flexible direct mail formats you can use to connect with customers.

What are snap packs?

Snap packs are pressure-sealed mailers, perforated on two or three sides. Once opened, additional information folds out. These mailers can be highly effective for communicating sensitive information or ensuring that the content of your direct mail has an air of importance. They are also highly cost-effective, as you can communicate a great deal of information in one attention-grabbing package.

Which industries utilize snap packs?

Numerous industries have used snap packs to fit their needs. Examples include:

• Financial services: Snap packs can be used to communicate sensitive financial offers, like loans or credit cards. They can also provide financial statements or investment updates with an added degree of privacy.
• Education: Schools might use snap packs to communicate attendance reminders, report cards, bills, or disciplinary updates.
• Nonprofits: Nonprofits can use snap packs when sending information like donations or volunteer requests.
• Healthcare: Since snap packs are sealed, healthcare professionals can use snap packs to mail test results, appointment reminders, or other healthcare information.
• Government: The government may be the most prominent user of snap packs. They use this direct mail format to send various official notices, such as bills, forms, public service announcements, and more.
• Businesses/professional services: Many businesses use snap packs to communicate offers, checks, or refunds.

Of course, there are many more potential uses for snap packs. These examples are meant to give you a broader idea of how you can use this direct mail format. With the right expertise, you can customize snap packs to fit your needs, no matter your industry.

Recommended resource: See how Personify Financial uses snap packs in its direct mail marketing efforts

Best practices for using snap packs in direct mail marketing

The sealed nature and size of the snap packs mean that they aren't ideal for all types of mail campaigns. As such, there are a few best practices you should adhere to when using snap packs:

• Use them for time-sensitive or "urgent" communications: As noted above, the sealed nature of the snap packs commmunicate the importance of the content inside. This makes snap packs ideal for urgent or timely communications.
• Add valuable offers or promotions: Remember that snap packs require more time and effort to open than regular mail. To respect your customers' time, use them when giving out particularly valuable offers that are valuable and relevant to the customer.
• Use a noticeable call to action: Make sure that whatever action you want your customer to take is large and obvious. You can have a QR or redemption code that lets them take a preferred action. These tactics also make it easier for you to track ROI.
• Use bold colors or graphics: Doing so makes it easier for you to capture your customers' attention.
• Personalize: Personalization is about more than just the greeting and salutation. You can use digital data to make the mailer more relevant to the customer and customize the offer or preferred action. At Lob, we offer tools that can capture and deploy digital data.
• A/B test: A/B testing enables you to test the impact of different versions of your mailers and refine them accordingly.

Recommended resource: See how ZipRecruiter uses snap packs in its customer acquisition efforts

Tracking the impact of snap packs

While snap packs can be incredibly impactful direct mail formats, they're only truly effective if you track your results. Different methods of tracking the impact of snap packs include:

• Response rates: Tracking how many people respond to your mailer is an excellent way of determining impact. Remember that you'll need to benchmark your response rates against multiple pieces of data, including your individual and industry-wide response rates. Intelligent mail platforms like Lob can help you in this process.
• Conversion rates: Tracking conversion rates is as simple as determining how many of your direct mail senders ultimately turn into customers, download a coupon, or take advantage of an offer. Some conversion rates may be more complicated to track than others. For example, you may have a mailer with multiple offers. If that's the case, you'll need to track each offer's conversion rates to determine which was most successful.
• Return on investment (ROI): Every mailer requires expenditure. How much money your mailers generate lets you calculate your ROI. Remember that this requires robust data tracking on your part, as you will need to know how much money you spend and how much money returns as a result of these expenditures. Furthermore, ROI may take time to calculate. For example, if one mailer turns a prospect into a multi-year subscriber, the ROI will continue to grow over time. As such, you need the right data tools to appropriately calculate ROI.

How to get started with snap packs

Snap packs can be complicated, but at Lob, we're here to help. Our system supports your efforts, and we can provide you with appropriate snap pack dimensions, design templates, and content ideas. If you are new to snap packs or direct mail marketing, we also provide a wide range of assistance to help you craft the most effective direct mail marketing campaign.

You can also hear more about snap packs and best practices for using them in your direct mail by watching the recording of our Latest From Lob: Trifolds, Legal Letters, and Snap Packs webinar.

Ready to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn more about our automation platform and the multiple mail form factors we support.