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How to: Perform a Direct Response Plan mail matchback

  • January 21, 2025
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Happie Pingol
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(2 min read)

When you have completed a Direct Response Plan (DRP), you can mark all contacts in your audience as Mailed. That means that everyone in your audience is set to receive a mail piece.

If names on your list are removed after your DRP is complete, meaning those contacts don’t receive a mail piece, you can perform a matchback to mark only those contacts you actually mailed.

Getting started

When you export your Direct Response Plan, you will see a column titled Direct Response Plan subsegment ID. The SubsegmentID is a unique ID that ties the contact record to the Direct Response Plan and to the segment they are in within that plan. When you perform your matchback, you will use this ID to mark contacts as having been mailed under a particular plan.
Detail of spreadsheet showing column for Subsegment ID

Creating your matchback file

To create your matchback file, delete the rows for contacts you want to exclude from the mailing. There may have been contacts in your original audience that you cut for any number of reasons, like budget concerns or list hygiene. Performing a matchback will preserve the history that they were selected, but will not mark them as mailed.

Format the list that remains with three columns:

  • VANID

  • Subsegment ID

  • the date the mailing was sent out

Applying Direct Mail Matchback with Bulk Upload

With your matchback file prepared, your next step is to perform a bulk upload.

Open Bulk Upload Wizard from the Sidebar.
Sidebar detail with Bulk Upload Wizard highlighted

Select Load data with VANID.
Detail Bulk Upload, Select Type - VAN ID

After you upload your matchback file, open the Apply New Mapping drawer and select Apply Direct Response.
Detail of Apply New Mapping drawer with Apply Direct Response highlighted

When the pop-up window opens, select Direct Mail Matchback for the Data Type.
Detail Apply Direct Response section with Direct Mail Matchback highlighted

You will then apply values for the Subsegment ID and the Date mailed. You can enter a value to apply to all contact records, or choose a column from your matchback file to load.
Detail matching columns

When you select Next, bulk upload will update the status all of contacts in your file as Mailed as long as the SubsegmentID associated with each contact is the same as that in the original export.

Read more about bulk upload