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INSIDERS REPORT
Why Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct mail marketing can be especially effective when you want to:
Sell more to existing customers
Reactivate non-active customers
Reach all of your customers
Generate new leads
Secrets to Growing Your Auto Repair Business with Direct Mail Direct mail marketing can be a very successful mar-
keting tactic for auto repair shops. This special Insid-
ers Report gives auto repair show owners the inside
scoop on how to create direct mail marketing pieces
17 Essential Elements of a Successful Direct Mail Mar-keting Campaign (cont’d)
2. CUSTOMER:
Have a clear understanding of who the customer is that you want to attract and
tailor all aspects of the direct mail piece toward them.
3. LIST:
Your customer database is a veritable goldmine and yet too many auto repair
shops fail to mine it! This database can be the starting point for hundreds, thou-
sands, tens of thousands, even millions of dollars in sales because the people in
your database already know you and trust you! When was the last time you
mailed an offer to your whole database?
INSIDERS TIP: Clean up your mailing lists by using a 4” x 6” postcard once a year. The postage is only slightly more than Stand Mail rates and will return any undeliverable mail.
4. WIIFM (What’s in it for me?):
According to Dan Kennedy, author of No BS Direct Marketing- Second Ed.,
“People are most easily and quickly interested in
information that directly related to what inter-
ests them. Especially information that promises
fascinating secrets, solutions to problems, pro-
tection from “dire threats” promises of seductive
benefits or timely breaking news.”
Make sure your direct mail marketing piece
clearly communicates what’s in it for them.
INSIDERS TIP: Make sure that the WIIFM is what
your prospects want! In the auto repair industry this
usually equates to a really great deal!
5. SIGNATURE:
This might sound like a no-brainer but it’s
something that many direct mail marketers for-
get! According to Direct Mail Marketing Expert
Doug Dickson, owner of Print Source One in Phoenix, Arizona, “When the reader
examines a piece of direct mail, they are focused on answering two questions: 1)
who is this from; and 2) what is it about? “ Make sure you tell your prospects
who you are. Include your phone number, address, website, etc.
trick on deadlines is to not make them too far out that people forget to re-
spond or too close that they don’t have time to respond. We have found that
30 days is a good deadline for direct mailers.
Another option is to indicate that there is a limited supply. The key here is
that if the “limited supply number” is too low, the customer won’t even try to
respond because they don’t think they will have a chance. An example of this
is “The first 50 people who respond will get…..”
11. PERSONALIZATION:
Personalization can have a dramatic impact on your direct mail marketing
campaign. Because the one thing that people are most interested in is them-
selves, many will respond favorably when they see their name all over the
mailing piece. However, personalization can backfire if you spell their name
wrong. Personalization is especially effective when marketing to your own
customer database. We love to use personalization to reactivate nonactive
customers! It works like a charm!
INSIDERS TIP: Instead of asking for a specific paper, use your printer ’s “house sheet”. This is their preferred paper and it is usually ordered in large quantities providing you the very best price.
According to marketing expert Mike Capuzzi, author of High Impact Marketing
Manifesto, “Timing is a funny thing. On one hand it can be an almost exact
science and on the other, luck has a huge part to play in it.” Timing is critical
to the success of your direct mail marketing campaign. You want to mail your
piece when your prospects will most likely respond.
INSIDERS TIP: Every community seems to have a day when all the coupons arrive in the mail (in Phoenix it’s Wednesday). Try to avoid mailing to arrive on that day because the more junk mail ar-rives in the mail with your piece, the more likely it will get discarded..
15. POSTAGE:
Direct mail expert Doug Dickson says “Postage is the most costly element of
any direct mail campaign. Most campaigns can benefit by being mailed as
standard mail, saving about .10¢ over the first-class rate.
INSIDERS TIP: I f you are mailing prospects in a specific area around
your business, you might consider the US Post Office’s EDDM (Every Door Di-
rect Mail) program. This rate reduces postage to as low as .174¢ per piece
and eliminates the cost of a mailing list, but requires that you mail to everyone