Customer win-back direct mail: a complete guide

Overview

Lapsed customers already know your business, so the job is to remind them and remove whatever stopped them returning. Post reaches people whose email has gone quiet or who unsubscribed from newsletters but are still happy to hear from you.

Keep the message about them: what they last bought, what has changed since, and a simple incentive or reason with an end date.

When to use it

How to start, step by step

1. Define "lapsed". Pick a cut-off that fits your business, for example no purchase in six or twelve months.
2. Export a clean list. Include names and full UK addresses, and remove anyone who opted out of post.
3. Personalise the reason. Mention the last product or service where you can, and say what is new.
4. Add a time-limited offer. A clear deadline and a unique code let you measure exactly who came back.
5. Compare against a holdout. Leave a small group unmailed so you can see how many would have returned anyway.

Which format to choose

Prices come from the live AutoLetters price list. They include printing and UK postage, are the same at any quantity, and have no VAT added because AutoLetters is not VAT registered.

Worked example

Illustrative scenario, not a customer case study. A shop posts a "we miss you" postcard to 1,000 customers who have not bought in a year. The postcard carries a unique code valid for 30 days.

1,000 × Postcard — A5 landscape at £2.20 each = £2,200.00, printed and posted.

Response depends on your list, offer and timing, so we do not quote response rates. Measure your own with a unique code or web address.

Mistakes to avoid

• Mailing customers who cancelled because of a complaint without addressing it.
• Offers with no end date, which lose urgency.
• No unique code, so returns cannot be attributed to the mailing.
• Old addresses: clean the list before you send.

Preparing artwork that prints correctly

Every format has a trim size, a bleed area and a safe zone. Extend background colours and images into the bleed so no white edge appears after cutting, and keep text, logos and QR codes inside the safe zone. Use images at 300 DPI at printed size, and leave the address area clear, because the printer adds the recipient's address there. Each product page lists the exact supplier measurements, and Lenny checks uploaded artwork against them before you approve it.

Building a list you can use

You can send to a list you already hold or to an audience of UK addresses built around a postcode. If you use your own list, include only people you have a lawful basis to contact by post, remove anyone who has asked not to hear from you, and keep a record of where the data came from. The Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on direct marketing under UK GDPR. Check that every address is complete and current: incomplete addresses cost money and do not arrive.

Measuring the result

Decide how you will count responses before you send. A unique discount code, a short web address, a dedicated phone number or a simple “how did you hear about us?” question all work. Divide the campaign cost by the number of responses to get a cost per response, then compare it with your other marketing. Where you can, hold back a small group from the mailing, so you can see how many of them would have responded anyway.

How AutoLetters handles it

Lenny, the AutoLetters AI campaign specialist, helps you choose a format, drafts the wording and artwork to the printer's exact measurements, and helps build the audience: either UK addresses around a postcode or a list you already hold. You review a print-accurate preview, then approve the exact print file. Nothing is printed or posted until you approve it.

AutoLetters sends addressed mail to UK addresses only and does not offer unaddressed door drops. Postal delivery timings are not guaranteed.

Questions