Direct mail for car dealers: how to pick a provider

Direct mail providers design, print and send mailers for sales events, conquest campaigns, equity offers and service specials. Lists come from the store's DMS, from audience data providers or from both. Many campaigns now pair the mailer with digital ads and a personalized landing page.

Mail still reaches households that ignore email and skip digital ads. Personalized pieces, such as an equity offer with the owner's own vehicle, tend to outperform generic flyers. The risk is in the offer itself. Prize, rebate and "pre-approved" claims draw scrutiny from state attorneys general and the FTC, so the fine print has to hold up.

Measure mail by matching recipients to sold vehicles and repair orders, not by response cards. Ask for a holdout group so you can see whether the campaign moved sales.