Near Field Communication Modernizes Direct Mail

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short range wireless connectivity technology that permits the exchange of data between devices, according to the Paragon Group. Now there is now an opportunity to revitalise your direct mail campaigns using NFC technology.

Unlike the pre-digital marketing era, direct mail is now more interactive and linked to online channels. Great campaigns may include something that the customer can interact with to heighten their experience. Including an NFC chip in your direct mail piece makes your campaign mobile ready – linking the physical and digital worlds with the opportunity to direct the customer to further relevant information.

For example the NFC chip could also activate a voice message or video on the consumer’s mobile. The inclusion of an NFC chip allows immediate mobile conversions and means the user doesn’t even have to open up their phone: they can just hold their phone near the code and the information will transfer automatically, with no app download necessary.

There are numerous ways you can utilise NFC technology in your direct mail campaign such as generating a personalised message, video, directing the consumer to a specific webpage and even allowing the consumer to automatically autodial by scanning the NFC chip. NFC has the potential to really accelerate your campaign.

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Paragon utilised NFC technology ourselves by sending out an invitation mailing to customers with a card enabled with an NFC chip. No app download was needed, when the chip was activated by a phone a pre-recorded voice message automatically played, inviting customers to a trade show where we were exhibiting.

A report by Xerox shows that direct mail outperforms all other digital channels combined by nearly 600%, so even though a direct mail campaign can be perceived as being more expensive than an online campaign, the return on marketing investment can challenge or surpass online advertising. If the goal of your marketing campaign is to motivate the consumer to act, there really is no better way to do this than with a piece of direct mail.

Recently there has been a surge in large companies returning to direct mail as a channel. The transition from printed to online advertising has been defining the current era for marketers, but now online advertising channels have become so crowded that consumers have become immune to the advertisements they are served online: from spam filters to adblockers, as well as people’s in-built ‘filters’, it’s harder to get through to consumers who see 1000’s of advertising messages each day.

Direct mail on the other hand has become a novelty – as so many companies have directed their budgets towards online advertising there is enormous opportunity to differentiate and drive web traffic using direct mail. according to Paragon.