If you’re sinking budget into direct mail for B2B—especially with a platform like Postal—you want to know it’s paying off. Tracking ROI on these campaigns sounds simple until you actually try to do it. Attribution gets fuzzy. Sales cycles drag on. It’s easy to burn money on swag and mailers that never move the needle.
This guide is for marketers who are tired of vague reporting and want concrete ways to connect Postal campaigns to real results. Let’s skip the vanity metrics and get into what actually works.
1. Set Clear, Realistic Goals Before Spending a Dime
Before you send anything, get brutally honest about what you want to accomplish. “Increase engagement” or “delight prospects” sounds nice but means nothing unless you define the specifics.
Ask yourself: - Are you trying to book meetings? - Shorten sales cycles? - Influence closed-won deals? - Re-engage cold accounts?
Pick one or two goals for each campaign. If you’re just sending coffee mugs hoping for pipeline, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Pro tip: If you can’t tie the outcome to a number in Salesforce or your CRM, it’s probably not worth tracking.
2. Build a Tracking Plan Before You Launch
You can’t measure what you don’t track. Good news: Postal and similar tools give you options, but you’ll need more than just their out-of-the-box analytics.
Here’s what to set up:
- Unique landing pages or QR codes: Make it dead simple to know when someone responds to your mailer. Personalized URLs are your friend.
- Campaign IDs everywhere: Make sure every touchpoint (Postal, emails, ads) uses the same campaign ID in your CRM, so you can actually connect the dots later.
- CRM field for “Gift Sent” or “Direct Mail Touch”: If sales is involved, add a field they can update. Otherwise, automate it.
- Integration with your MAP/CRM: Postal does integrate with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, etc., but don’t trust the sync blindly. Double-check that your campaign members and statuses are flowing correctly.
Don’t bother with: - Tracking “impressions” or swag pickup rates unless you’re running an event. - Counting LinkedIn likes on your unboxing post. That’s not ROI.
3. Tie Postal Sends to Pipeline and Revenue
This is where most campaigns fall apart. It’s not enough to know someone got your package—you need to see if it actually helped move deals.
How to do it:
- Multi-touch attribution: Assign partial credit to Postal touches (first touch, last touch, whatever your model is). Not perfect, but better than nothing.
- Influenced opportunities: Define clear rules for when a Postal send “influenced” a deal (e.g., was sent within 30 days before an opportunity was created or advanced).
- Track meetings booked after sends: If your goal is meetings, log every booked meeting that happens after a Postal touch. Make sure reps note where the interest came from.
- Compare cohorts: Look at win rates and deal velocity for accounts that got Postal touches vs. those that didn’t. If there’s no difference, rethink the campaign.
Reality check: - Direct mail rarely “closes” a deal by itself. You’re looking for lift, not miracles. - If your sales team isn’t logging outcomes, your ROI reporting will be garbage.
4. Don’t Overcomplicate Attribution (But Don’t Skip It, Either)
Attribution is always messy, especially in B2B. Don’t waste time on some perfect multi-touch model. Just pick something, be consistent, and adjust if it’s not telling a useful story.
Simple models that work: - Last-touch: Did a Postal send happen right before a meeting or deal? Count it. - First-touch: Did a Postal send get you in the door? Count it. - Influenced pipeline: Did a Postal send happen at any point before an opportunity closed? Count it, but be skeptical.
What to avoid: - Overweighting Postal as the sole reason deals closed. - Ignoring all other touches (email, phone, ads) that actually warmed up the account.
Warning: If you find yourself making beautiful charts but can’t point to a single deal that moved because of direct mail, you’re probably overthinking it.
5. Calculate ROI Honestly (and Don’t Hide the Costs)
ROI is straightforward math. Don’t fudge it by ignoring shipping, platform fees, or the hours your team spent planning the campaign.
Here’s the formula:
ROI = (Revenue Attributed to Postal – Total Postal Costs) / Total Postal Costs
Total Postal Costs should include: - Cost of items sent (including failed deliveries) - Shipping and postage - Postal platform fees - Time spent by marketing, sales, or ops (be honest)
Revenue Attributed to Postal: Only count pipeline or closed-won deals where you can reasonably argue the campaign moved the needle.
If the math comes up negative: That’s reality. It’s better to know and adjust than to pretend your swag is working when it’s not.
6. Use A/B Testing—But Don’t Chase Statistical Perfection
You don’t need a PhD in stats to run a solid test. Randomly split your target list into “Postal” and “No Postal” groups and compare results.
Keep it simple: - Look for clear patterns: More meetings, faster deal cycles, higher win rates. - Small differences aren’t always meaningful. Look for big, obvious lifts. - Repeat your test if you’re not sure.
Don’t bother with: - Micro-optimizing send times or swag types unless you’re running huge volumes. - Overcomplicating with dozens of test variables at once.
7. Get Feedback from Sales and Recipients
Numbers are great, but sometimes you need real talk from the field.
Ask your sales team: - Did sending Postal gifts actually make follow-ups easier? - Did prospects mention or thank them for the item? - Did it help open doors that were previously shut?
Ask recipients (if you can): - Did the gift stand out? - Did it make you more likely to take a call or meeting?
If you hear crickets: That’s useful feedback. Not every campaign is a winner.
8. Double Down on What Works, Kill What Doesn’t
Post-campaign, look at your honest numbers. If Postal is helping move pipeline or close deals, scale it up. If not, pause and rethink before burning more budget.
Signs Postal is working: - Noticeable lift in meetings or opportunities for the target group. - Positive, unsolicited feedback from sales or prospects. - Clear, trackable pipeline tied to your sends.
Signs to kill or tweak: - No difference in conversion or deal velocity. - Higher costs than revenue generated. - Sales reps groaning about “one more thing” to manage.
Pro Tips That’ll Save You Headaches
- Automate what you can: Manual tracking always breaks down. Use Postal’s integrations, but verify data.
- Keep your lists tight: Spray-and-pray is a fast way to waste money.
- Don’t believe the hype: Direct mail works, but it’s not magic. If someone tells you otherwise, ask to see the real numbers.
- Iterate, don’t overthink: Mailing one great item beats sending 50 kinds of swag nobody remembers.
Keep It Simple. Test, Learn, Repeat.
Tracking ROI on Postal campaigns in B2B isn’t rocket science—but it does take discipline. Set clear goals, track the right things, be honest about what’s working, and cut what isn’t. Skip the vanity metrics, focus on pipeline and revenue, and don’t be afraid to call it quits if the numbers don’t add up.
Keep it simple, keep testing, and remember: direct mail is a tool, not a miracle cure.