VIP Postcards: How to Treat Your Best Customers Like the Magnificent People They Are

Not all of your customers are created equal. 

Some buy once and vanish. Some pop up a couple times a year.

And then there are your VIPs—the customers who, when it comes down to it, are likely the ones truly growing your brand. They buy often, spend big, and tell their friends about you.

These are the folks you don’t just market to. 

You roll out the frickin' red carpet for them.

And while the best brands have full marketing strategies built around their VIPs, we’re here to talk about a specific, ridiculously ROI tactic: sending them postcards. 

Postcard marketing built for your very best customers is a virtual (actually, a physical) guarantee you’ll drive additional outsized revenue from them.

Let’s make like an Olympic event and discuss. (3/10 pun.)

Segmenting Your VIPs

If you’re sending postcards to everyone and calling it a VIP campaign, you’re doing it wrong. 

The magic of VIP postcards starts with better segmentation.

RFM Analysis: The Gold Standard

The most reliable way to identify your VIP customers is with RFM analysis. It’s the most powerful framework to turn transactional data into VIP segments:

• Recency: How recently someone purchased. Customers who bought last week are more likely to buy again than those who bought last year.
  
  • Recency is the #1 predictor of future purchases.
• Frequency: How often they purchase. Your one-off holiday buyers aren’t VIPs. The people who keep coming back for more? They’re your backbone.
• Monetary: How much they spend. Naturally, since we’re talking about value, the amount spent is usually necessary (though some brands stick to RF segmentation and have a general understanding of how many orders indicates someone’s VIP status).

When you score each customer on these three dimensions, you start to see patterns:

• High Recency + High Frequency + High Monetary = VIP status
• High Recency + High Frequency = Likely also VIPs
• High Monetary but Low Recency = Whales you need to reactivate
• High Frequency but Low Monetary = consistent buyers you might upsell or target with subscription offers.

Putting RFM Into Action with PostPilot

Doing RFM by hand is a nightmare (think: pivot tables and late nights). PostPilot integrates with your Shopify and Klaviyo data and will handle the segmentation for you—simply select the RFM parameters you’d like to target, and we’ll handle the rest.

That means you can:

• Target your true VIPs. Instead of wasting print and postage on casual shoppers, your postcards go to the customers who’ll deliver the most incremental revenue.
• Set thresholds easily. And make it based on your data. Your “VIP” might be someone who “purchased 5+ times, spent $500+ in the last 6 months,” or it might be someone who “purchased 2+ times, spent $3500 in the last 2 years.” Either way, it will only take a minute to set up that targeting.

Why VIP Postcards Are a No-Brainer

They Drive (Actually) Outsized Revenue

Here’s the 80/20 rule in action: a small fraction of your customers (the VIPs) drive a huge share of your profits. A personalized postcard thanking them or offering something special doesn’t just make them smile—it keeps that flywheel spinning.

These aren’t discount-hunters. They’re loyalists. And loyalists deliver the highest margins.

They Create (Actually) Memorable Experiences

Digital thank-yous are easy to ignore. A postcard is tangible. It’s fridge-worthy. It’s something they’ll show to a friend.

Brands are using creative design to make postcards for VIPs feel like collectibles. Think exclusive artwork, hand-drawn notes, or designs that reference inside jokes only their superfans get.

Real-World Examples of VIP Postcards

Let’s zoom in on three direct mail case studies that prove the impact of treating VIPs like, well, VIPs.

Example 1: Portland Leather Goods – “Unicorn Whisperers”

PLG has a cult-like following, and they nurture that fandom with exclusive postcards for their top customers.

Being a “Unicorn Whisperer” is an honor, and it's an honor reserved for the VIPiest of VIPs. Customers who have spent many, many times more than the average with off-the-charts RFM scores.

And the result? Ridiculously strong: a 15x ROAS from these cards.

Perhaps equally importantly, PLG's unicorn whisperers feel part of an inner circle. That kind of recognition can’t be faked. It cements loyalty and keeps their repeat-purchase machine humming.

Example 2: The Beard Struggle – Programmatic Triggers + Winback Cycles

The Beard Struggle built their VIP postcard strategy around behavior-based triggers to specifically recruit VIPs to their loyalty program.

As soon as a customer hits the VIP mark (in TBS' case, it's based a monetary threshold), they automatically receive a postcard like this.

Who could resist? Not I, said the PostPilot writer.

The results are super strong: all of these campaigns pull in an incredible 10x ROAS.

Example 3: Laird Superfood – Reactivating VIPs Unsubscribed from Email

Laird Superfood has been running direct mail with us for years (since 2022) and sending postcards to their best customers has been a fundamental portion of that strategy.

One of their tactics: send postcards to VIP customers who bought at least three times in the past two years but have unsubscribed from email lists. These are incredibly important customers who were engaged and spent a lot of money. But unfortunately, they're folks you can't reach via digital channels.

Laird also sends postcards tailored by cancellation reason (price too high, flavor fatigue, etc.) to churned subscribers—which are another VIP group. For example, one postcard campaign addressed price concerns; another reminded customers of other flavor options

And the performance speaks volumes: Laird saw a 5x ROAS targeting VIPs who hadn't purchased in up to two years!

Ten VIP Postcard Campaign Ideas

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to postcard strategy.

Many of the campaigns you’d run through email or SMS translate beautifully into print—except postcards get noticed, kept, and acted on.

Here are ten ideas to inspire your next VIP drop:‍

1. Exclusive Product Launches‍

Announce a new product with a postcard that makes your VIPs feel like they’re first in line. Include a scannable QR code for early access.

2. Birthday or Anniversary Mailers‍

Celebrate customer birthdays or the anniversary of their first purchase. Personal touches like “Happy 3 Years With Us” make them feel recognized.

3. Thank-You Notes‍

A simple, heartfelt “thank you” postcard to your top spenders goes a long way. No discount necessary—just gratitude.

4. VIP-Only Discounts‍

Send a limited-time offer that’s only for your best customers. Framing it as “not available to the general public” amplifies the exclusivity.

5. Surprise & Delight Freebies
Tease a free gift they’ll receive with their next order. Postcards make the promise feel tangible and exciting.

6. Push to Review

This is a brilliant tactic that we'd love to see more of. Send cards to VIPs and add a CTA for them to write a Google (or on-site) review. These are the most likely customers to want to write one, and given direct mail's high response rate, you'll likely drive tons of new five-star reviews.

7. Event Invitations‍

Hosting a pop-up shop, launch party, or brand event? A printed invite makes it feel formal and special, not just another RSVP link.

8. Subscription Perks‍

If you’re subscription-based, use postcards to remind VIPs of upcoming drops, new flavors, or bonus items just for your most loyal subscribers.

9. Referral Boosts‍

Encourage VIPs to refer friends with a postcard that feels more like a personal note. Include a unique referral code or QR to track.

10. Seasonal Greetings‍

Holiday cards, New Year's well-wishes—and anything else that might be relevant for your brand—add warmth and seasonality to your relationship with top customers.

The VIP Playbook

Here’s the quick-hit checklist for running VIP direct mail campaigns that actually work:

• Identify your VIPs with data. Use your own RFM segments or PostPilot’s built-in RFM segmentation.
  
• Design something special. Make it feel like a gift, not a generic mailer. If you need design support, we'll design everything for you! Check out some of our VIP postcard designs.
• Layer in a handful of tactics: Or test them all. ‍
• Automate everything. This isn’t a one-and-done thing. Dynamically reactivate VIPs as soon as they cross expected purchase thresholds (i.e., using time between orders data), and watch the revenue roll in (without doing anything).
  

Direct Your Direct Mail Questions to Us

Sending postcards to your very best customers are a proven way to grow profit, loyalty, and brand love.

After all, you're investing in the customers who invest the most in you.

And you can launch an entire direct mail program in less than a week—one where you can send unique, memorable postcards designed by the best in the biz (that's our team)

Talk to an expert and learn more here.