Direct Mail Is “Instrumental” in Driving Repeat Purchases for M&S Meats
TLDR:
M&S Meats crushed BFCM with direct mail then immediately scaled up its program, making direct mail a key marketing channel in the New Year.
- M&S Meats turned to PostPilot due to high Meta/Google costs, the BFCM email free-for-all, and the need for a new, low-lift channel.
- Over BFCM, M&S used direct mail to reactivate gift-buying customers and has subsequently launched several automations for hands-off retention and retargeting.
- PostPilot was “crucial” to M&S’s 2x YoY holiday revenue and has yielded an average 15x+ ROI across all campaigns.
The Pre-PostPilot Challenge:
Like other brands reliant on digital channels and email during BFCM, M&S Meats faced a classic challenge: the need to break through customers’ ridiculously crammed inboxes.
Luke James, Director of M&S Meats’ agency, Eljay Marketing, explained:
“We wanted to leverage existing customers and generate more revenue in that window. But we’re bandwidth-limited and cautious about adding additional channels.
PostPilot’s done-for-you service made it a great option—we wouldn’t have to manage anything.”
The PostPilot Solution:
While email rightfully remains a core component of M&S Meats’ marketing strategy, it has its limitations.
As James says, “Direct mail has more permanence. You’re in people’s homes. You’re on the kitchen counter. Postcards have a way longer lifespan than a link click in the middle of the workday.”
And there’s no better time to have more permanence than in November: brands need an edge to stay top-of-mind and drive sales over competitors.
The Gift of BFCM Meats
M&S Meats “wanted to lean into BFCM gifting” and had plenty of new product photography for the occasion.
Where better to show off the photos than in postcards?
James focused on reactivating previous gifters and broke them into 4 segments based on recency (when they last purchased) and frequency (how many times they’ve purchased). The PostPilot dashboard allows them to easily track how each cohort performs to optimize targeting on future sends.
“Interestingly,” James noted, “Many customers were reactivated, didn’t use discount codes, and purchased other products at full price.”
Ringing in the New Year with Full-Funnel Direct Mail
M&S Meats had a blowout BFCM. So, why not add more fuel to the fire?
James worked with the PostPilot team to use those BFCM learnings to build out a more robust direct mail program based on automations (i.e., sending individually personalized cards to customers and prospects as soon as they meet certain criteria), including:
- MailMatchTM: Customers who signed up for email but who have never purchased. Brands can retarget customers based on their email addresses alone.
- VIP Winbacks: High-value customers who haven’t purchased in 90 days.
- Abandoned cart postcards: Customers who abandoned their carts ~1 week ago.
“We’ve been able to increase the number of campaigns over time and our Account Manager, Yekaterina, has kept me updated every step of the way. We have been able to pivot and adjust our campaigns based on the data.”
Results:
“December was truly an eye-opener for us. We kept checking sales throughout the day and telling each other we've not seen numbers like this, ever. Particularly after December 20, sales kept going and did not slow down like they would every other year.”
—Trish Nguyen, Owner, M&S Meats
Direct mail is more than “meats” the eye (not sorry): PostPilot was a “crucial component” of M&S Meats’ 110% YoY increase in holiday revenue.
And it’s been bang for their chuck, too (a little sorry about that one). Across the one-off BFCM campaigns and active automations, the brand has seen an average 10x+ ROI.
With direct mail as their new full-funnel marketing pillar, we’re excited to see M&S Meats have another banner year.
Bonus question for M&S Meats: How would you describe PostPilot to someone who’s never heard of us?
“It’s the perfect additional channel for your marketing.”