Measuring Success: KPIs for Evaluating Print Marketing Campaigns

Let’s be honest, print has never had a reputation for being “trackable”.

That’s always been the digital world’s big advantage. Clicks, opens, views, bounce rates – every interaction logged and charted on a dashboard somewhere.

But times have changed.

Today, with smarter planning and the right tools, print is not only trackable, it can also hold its own when it comes to performance metrics. You just need to know what you’re measuring and why.

So, if you’re investing in print as part of your marketing mix (and you should be), here’s what success looks like, and how to track it.

Start With the Goal

Before we get into numbers, let’s start with this question: 

What are you trying to achieve?

Is it:

• Brand awareness?
• Driving people to a website?
• Boosting event attendance?
• Generating leads?
• Supporting sales?

Because the truth is, you can’t measure success unless you’re clear on what “success” means in the first place.

And once you’ve got that locked in, we can build the right print strategy around it.

Trackable Tactics That Work

Thanks to the marriage of print and data, measuring response is easier than ever. A few smart additions can completely shift how accountable your print becomes.

QR Codes: Unique codes that point to specific landing pages, so you know exactly where traffic has come from. Bonus: they can be personalised to location, audience, or even individual recipients.

Personalised URLs (PURLs): Tailor your website links to each campaign or user, and track who’s interacting and when.

Redemption codes: Whether it’s a voucher, discount, or freebie, these are easy to track and great for tying print directly to action.

Ask the question: Old-school but effective. Adding a: “Where did you hear about us?” in your web form, survey or sign-up process still delivers useful data.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; you just need to add a layer of intentionality. 

Key Print KPIs to Watch

Here are some of the most effective metrics for evaluating print, drawn from the Printed Marketing KPI Framework shared by Royal Mail’s Marketreach team (and well worth a read if you’re serious about getting print to work harder). 

Response Rate

How to measure: Number of responses ÷ number of printed items distributed
Benchmark: 2–5% is typical for direct mail – higher with strong targeting 

Conversion Rate

How to measure: Number of sales/sign-ups ÷ number of responses
Benchmark: 10–20% depending on offer and audience 

QR/URL Tracking

How to measure: Scans, visits or form fills from print-only links
Benchmark: Set against size of your print run – even small numbers can be valuable if your targeting is tight

Brand Recall

How to measure: Survey your audience before and after a campaign
Goal: Aim for at least a 20% lift in recall 

Cost per Lead / Cost per Sale

How to measure: Total campaign spend ÷ number of leads or sales
Why it matters: A clear way to compare print against your digital or paid channels 

Better Print, Better Results

At NEXUScpp, we talk a lot about effective marketing, and this is where it really matters.

When you pair well-designed print with clear goals and built-in ways to track response, you’re not just creating something beautiful – you’re creating something that works.

Our Print Wisdom® means we don’t just help you produce the thing; we help you shape the strategy behind it. We’ll ask the right questions, choose the right formats, and make sure you’ve got the tracking in place to prove it’s working.

No guesswork. No fluff. Just good, measurable marketing.

When you’re ready to get started creating quality, trackable print we’re here to help so get in touch – we’d love to support you.