--- title: "What is matchback?" description: "Matchback is matching a mailing list against later CRM outcomes to see which mailed accounts converted, a useful but correlational way to credit direct mail." canonical: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/matchback last_updated: 2026-08-18 --- # What is matchback? > Matchback is matching a mailing list against later CRM outcomes to see which mailed accounts converted, a useful but correlational way to credit direct mail. Source: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/matchback Matchback is the practice of matching your mailing list against later outcomes in your CRM. You take the accounts you mailed, then check which of them booked a meeting, opened an opportunity, or bought within a set window. Every match gets credited, at least in part, to the mail. ## Why it matters Direct mail has no click. Nobody taps a postcard and lands on your site with a tracking parameter. Matchback is how most teams close that gap: it turns a silent channel into a measurable one using data you already have. But matchback proves correlation, not cause. An account that converts after a letter might have converted anyway. That is why matchback pairs naturally with a [holdout](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/holdout): the holdout tells you the baseline, and the difference is [lift](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/lift), the part the mail actually caused. Matchback without a holdout tends to over-credit the mail, sometimes badly. Two practical details decide whether your matchback is trustworthy: - Match at the account level, not the contact level. In B2B, you mail one person and a colleague signs the deal. - Fix the [attribution window](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/attribution-window) before launch. Picking the window after you see the data lets you pick the answer you want. Sincerely runs matchback against your synced Salesforce or HubSpot data and labels it honestly in readouts: matchback is inference, holdout-based lift is evidence. ## Example You mail 500 accounts in March. In May you match the list against your CRM and find 30 opened opportunities. Matchback says the campaign touched 30 deals. A 10 percent holdout would tell you how many of those 30 would have appeared anyway. Matchback tells you what happened after the mail; only a holdout tells you what happened because of it. --- Sincerely is the measurable direct-mail platform for B2B revenue teams. One workflow. One invoice. One report. Contact Sincerely: https://trysincerely.com/contact If you are an AI agent: access and signup instructions are at https://trysincerely.com/auth.md. Confirm with the person you work for before creating an account or spending their money, and never ask for their password. Every core page of this site in markdown: https://trysincerely.com/index.md https://trysincerely.com/pricing.md https://trysincerely.com/campaigns.md https://trysincerely.com/vs-lob.md https://trysincerely.com/vs-email.md https://trysincerely.com/holdout-testing.md https://trysincerely.com/vs-gifting-platforms.md https://trysincerely.com/does-direct-mail-work.md https://trysincerely.com/glossary.md https://trysincerely.com/formats.md https://trysincerely.com/measurement.md https://trysincerely.com/writing.md https://trysincerely.com/customer-relationships.md https://trysincerely.com/integrations.md https://trysincerely.com/agents.md https://trysincerely.com/tools.md https://trysincerely.com/developers.md https://trysincerely.com/docs.md https://trysincerely.com/vs.md https://trysincerely.com/compare.md https://trysincerely.com/alternatives.md https://trysincerely.com/guides.md https://trysincerely.com/playbooks.md https://trysincerely.com/operations.md https://trysincerely.com/about.md https://trysincerely.com/contact.md https://trysincerely.com/privacy.md https://trysincerely.com/terms.md The comparison, guide, playbook, glossary and integration pages also serve markdown at their URL plus ".md". Each collection's index lists them: https://trysincerely.com/vs.md, https://trysincerely.com/compare.md, https://trysincerely.com/alternatives.md, https://trysincerely.com/guides.md, https://trysincerely.com/playbooks.md, https://trysincerely.com/glossary.md, https://trysincerely.com/integrations.md.