Direct Mail Who?
From time to time we get a sneer when we bring up the idea of Direct Mail to a person we’re having a conversation with.
Comments range from “Does anybody still read that stuff?” to “Aren’t postage rates outrageous?” The simple answer is – it works great if you’re doing it right.
It’s All About Targeting, Dummy
Targeted Direct Mail such as targeting New Homeowners, or New Movers has continued to be an effective way to get new customers because it works.
Helping local businesses create valuable, long-term relationships by delivering thoughtful and personalized gift certificates directly to the right people at the right time is what we do. It’s in our DNA. Sure, it’s old-school, print-based advertising, but it’s effective because it can reach a niche customer base when they’re interested in finding new, go-to solutions for everyday needs (groceries, hair care, restaurants, pet care, after school education, lawn care, pool care, etc.).
That’s the key to effective marketing, both online and offline: the ability to reach customers when they’re actively searching for answers. And in today’s world, technology plays a pivotal role in determining who those customers are and where/how they’re searching for solutions.
Save Money by Mailing Only Your Target Audiences
Direct Mail efforts without demographic-based strategies can be a waste of money. These days, you can use technology to pinpoint target audiences:
- If your core customer group is within 2 miles of your place of business, don’t mail a 15-mile radius.
- If your services revolve around making big changes to the home (like painting walls, plumbing, remodeling rooms, replacing roofs, installing solar solutions or security solutions) don’t mail to people who are renting, mail to Homeowners.
- And what better time to reach them than when they have just moved and are most likely to consider such a products/services.
- If you’re offering Spanish classes you are more likely to make customers out of people who do not speak Spanish. Targeting residents by ethnicity can help reach the right demographics.
- If your products and services are highly priced, such as high end security systems, home projection systems or high-end pool maintenance products, you want to reach the population that can afford them – people who purchased a house of certain price and up which tells you of their available income and readiness to purchase such services.
- If you want apartment dwellers, it’s silly to send Direct Mail to every residential address as many will offer you. You should target condos only.
- Certain products and services, such as mineral water dispensers & refills are far more likely to get a “deal closer” with New Movers who rent and don’t have high end purification systems, as most of us know don’t exist in rental properties. However if water purification systems are what you sell (and the services that come along with), New Homeowners are your perfect target audience as they can make the decision of putting in new systems.
Many businesses throw money to the wind because they aren’t specific about reaching their core audiences at the right time. Data collection & processing technologies affords us the ability to make sure your hard-earned money is spent mailing only to the best, most likely to purchase audiences – or as we say – mail to the right people at the right time.
Connect With Customers Ready To Act … Then Track Conversion
That is, when you send potential customers gift certificates to try out your business, include a tracking mechanism (like a QR or barcode on the certificate that you can scan). This should be done so that if they redeem your offer, you will know it’s being used. This also helps you secure their contact info, so you can follow up with an additional offer, thank them for being a customer and invite them back.
You can create your own QR code using this tool for free. Then you can print it on any flyer, letter, postcard even in your own home printer and make a professional mail piece that tracks your leads, so you know who was interested before they even purchase.
Don’t Confuse Online and Offline
It’s easy to think that direct mail doesn’t work because everyone’s using the internet to find out where they’re going and what they’re buying. But that’s actually a reason Direct Mail could be beneficial. Potential customers can be overwhelmed by all the information they find online and don’t know where to turn. You’ve got that person’s mailbox, sometimes to yourself, and you can use technology as a facilitator to help connect with potential customers in a direct way.
Also, let’s talk turkey – if you really think that every ad on facebook turns into an order let me give you a quick “reality check”. Let’s start with a few statistical facts (courtesy of the USPS Household Diary Study):
42 percent of recipients read of scan direct mail pieces: That means that nearly HALF of your target audience is actually stopping, for a few seconds, to read your message. If you’ve designed it properly with a strong and relevant offer/call-to-action, you might achieve a 1 percent, 2 percent or even 14 percent response rate (yes, we’ve had customers achieve crazy success with conversions!).
Digital ads, in comparison, are lucky if they get a 0.14 percent ad CTR (click through rate) and then, once those who clicked finally get to the merchant website, you’ll be lucky if you convert 2.35 percent of that 0.14 percent.
Targeted Direct Mail – Conclusion
If your business needs more customers and you want to grow your sales. whether you have a big budget or on a shoestring, you should use the right data, the right mailing list, and one which is “FRESH” (meaning updated frequently), so that you get the right people at the right time.
Then your offer is likely to land in the hands of someone who was looking for what you are offering.
The combination of reaching the person while they are open and need what you are offering – is a killer combination and usually leads to closing a sale and making you a new customer.
This is what Homeowners Marketing Services has been doing for over 40 years and we have thousands of loyal customers who weekly get our mailing labels, place them on humble self-printed letters or super-fancy professionally designed postcards, and mail them – and it’s been working for them great. How do we know? because our average customers is with us for over 5 years. that’s how.
What’s Next?
Want to try our service free of charge? no problem.
Have a question? Want specific example of customers in the same area of business as you are who is having success? Sure.
Contact us or call us and just ask – we can’t wait to have a conversation about your goals for growing your business.