Get Higher Response Rates with Direct Mail Marketing. When business owners reach out to new customers in their communities, they turn to direct mail marketing. It is effective and relatively inexpensive, compared to other forms of advertising, such as radio and television. What is Direct Mail Marketing? Direct mail marketing is the use of attractively designed mail pieces – from postcards to brochures to catalogs and everything in between – which are mailed directly to the homes of prospective customers. Business owners usually choose standard direct mail, which blankets the entire ZIP Code, sending ad pieces to every address regardless of who lives there. This can be more expensive and less effective than New Mover Marketing, which targets new residents. How Does Direct Mail Marketing Work? Our Town America mails a welcome package containing gift certificates from local businesses to the homes of new residents, allowing you to reach a unique and profitable customer base. We obtain an accurate and timely list of new addresses and mail the welcome package only to those addresses every month. Direct Mail Marketing Campaign – Get Higher Response Rates Here are just a few reasons why mailing to unique addresses every month provides a higher response rate than standard direct marketing: When people move to a new town or neighborhood, they must find new local businesses to create their new network of resources. Our welcome packages direct new movers to our partnered businesses locations. New residents spend five times as much as established residents in the 12 months after they move in. New residents are very receptive to Our Town America’s decorative welcome package, which contains housewarming gift certificates from local businesses. The businesses gift certificates are specifically designed to create customer response. New mover campaigns can be designed to attract new customers. From free pizza to discounted kitchen supplies, homeowners will redeem gift certificates for products and services they need. Marketing studies show that 80 percent of new movers redeem gift certificates from local vendors. Why Our Town America for your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign? Our Town America’s New Mover Marketing program has been refined for more than 45 years. By obtaining the most accurate new mover address lists available, we help businesses save money and gain new, loyal customers who are uniquely positioned to respond to your marketing campaigns. Let us help you welcome new families to the neighborhood! John GuerraJohn is a guest blogger for Our Town America and previously worked in national sales at our Clearwater, FL corporate headquarters. www.ourtownamerica.com […]
John is a guest blogger for Our Town America and previously worked in national sales at our Clearwater, FL corporate headquarters.
Articles by John Guerra:
Shop Small to find unique things, while supporting your local economy In the 1920s and 1930s, cities and towns from the Appalachians to the Pacific Northwest had a busy shopping district, with independently owned businesses like shoes stores, clothing stores, jewelers, barbershops and other establishments serving the locals. A couple decades later, in the 1950s, the interstate highway system routed traffic away from downtown America, which led to the construction of shopping malls near exit ramps. This drained the commerce from downtowns. In the last 15 years, the explosion of e-commerce hurt shopping malls and big box stores the way highways harmed small-town shopping districts. Small Business Saturday, launched in November of 2010, has become a great way to support small business owners in your local town or neighborhood. The “Shop Small” program supports local economies and promotes vibrant, diverse communities, but there are other practical reasons to shop locally every day, not just on Small Business Saturday: 1) Small businesses give back to the community When you spend money in your neighborhood, your sales tax stays in your neighborhood. You help fund public education, parks, and street improvements, not to mention vital services like firefighting and mosquito control. 2) Local store owners create local jobs The Small Business Administration reports that local businesses added 8 million jobs to the American economy since 1990 while the expansion of large chains reduced jobs by 4 million. 3) Local owners buy local services themselves Independent local businesses go into their local community to buy the supporting services they need, including architects, designers, cabinet shops, sign makers and contractors for construction and accountants and lawyers to keep themselves operating within the guardrails. 4) Local establishments provide great customer service Business owners rely on great customer service to build a loyal customer base, so it is comforting to know you will be shopping in a store that is genuinely happy to assist you. 5) Small businesses create a sense of community Human beings seek a feeling of belonging and familiarity in the towns in which they live. It is only natural to seek connections with those we share our neighborhoods with. It’s always a comforting feeling to see that poster of the local Little League team in the coffee shop window. 6) It feels good to help neighbors and friends succeed There’s something special about knowing the owner of the store when you walk in. You can ask about family, congratulate them on their anniversary, and feel the comfort of familiarity. 7) It’s about preserving the community The American Independent Business Alliance has another great reason to shop locally: “The disappearance of local businesses leaves a social and economic void that is palpable and real — even when it goes unmeasured,” AIBA says. “A community’s quality of life changes in ways that macroeconomics is slow to measure, or ignores completely.” We hope you’ll shop locally year-round, as well as on Small Business Saturday, and when you’re visiting those businesses, make sure to thank the owner for keeping his or her doors open. After all, small businesses are what built America, one neighborhood at a time. John GuerraJohn is a guest blogger for Our Town America and previously worked in national sales at our Clearwater, FL corporate headquarters. www.ourtownamerica.com […]
Now is the time to develop a targeted postcard mailing plan for the upcoming holidays. The fourth quarter is vital – a make or break time that includes football season, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. What you do to ensure a strong showing during peak buying season is up to you, but targeted postcard mailings are sure to grab the attention of buyers. […]
So how does one personalize direct mail pieces? How far can one take it? Personalization includes details that attract customers within a cohort, such as common hobbies, beliefs, or lifestyle. The images one chooses on the envelope can be matched to the personal likes or interests of the recipient. If the target likes golfing, then a photo of golf clubs, a long fairway or houses near a green personalizes direct mail intended for that consumer. […]
Marketing experts and business consultants who help companies win more market share always urge clients to build customer loyalty. Why does everyone keep harping on customer loyalty? It’s because loyal customers return repeatedly resulting in you making money. They spend more at your store because they trust your products and customer service. […]
Your marketing is underway whether you have a plan or not. That sign above your store? That’s marketing. How you treat customers? That’s marketing. What your customers tell their friends? That’s marketing. Read on for more ways to identify marketing within your business. […]
In a time when a smart phone and a palm-sized Wi-Fi speaker can fill a home with digitally enhanced music, a growing swath of Americans search classified ads, estate sales, and vintage record stores for vinyl LPs (that’s “long-playing” for you Millennials). […]
Direct mail marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing. According a 1921 business primer, “Effective Direct Advertising”, the world’s first example of direct “mail” was a piece of papyrus distributed to residents of an Egyptian town around 1000 B.C. The papyrus contained a written plea from a landowner for the return of his runaway servant. […]
You know who your favorite customers are, right? You’re probably thinking of one of them right now… the ones that order the same thing each time they come into your business, or they come in on the same day every week, or even every day of the week! These are the customers you get to know the best, as you build a relationship that extends beyond the transaction. Have you ever had one of those great regular customers disappear? Suddenly, they stop coming in every Friday and sitting at the same table. What happened to them? Chances are, they moved. You did everything right to keep that customer, but unfortunately, they’re a lost customer anyway. 19% percent of the population moves every year. With our society being as mobile as it is, these new movers represent both a potential downside and an upside for you. It is true you can lose great customers due to a move, and will need to replace them to keep from losing business. But, you also have an opportunity to earn a new loyal customer who recently moved into your area and needs your services. That’s where New Mover Marketing comes in. Turning New Movers Into New Customers Targeting this small, but very potent, market of new movers, you have an opportunity to get to these people before your competitors do. If you can create an opportunity leading them to your door, you can turn them into a regular customer, right? In order to find these new movers, it’s important to work with a New Mover Marketing company that allows only one business of each category in their package (one car wash, one pizza place, etc.). With the market becoming more competitive each year, exclusive rights in your local Welcome Package will give you a key competitive advantage. Our Town America is the nation’s leading New Mover Direct Mail Marketing company and can bring new movers to you by sending them a Welcome Package filled with FREE housewarming gifts from the local businesses in your area. While most direct mail programs attempt to get current customers to come back again, current customers usually have pre-established purchasing patterns and don’t necessarily need a coupon or discount to come visit your business. A marketing strategy with focus It’s important to note that some direct mail programs mail to tens of thousands of homes, and will mail to the same home more than once. Unfortunately, this results in you only being able to offer a watered-down coupon which, over time, can create “coupon-dependent” customers who only come in for discounted offers. Typically, these types of customers are not as loyal. With Our Town America, you will only be targeting people who have never been through your business doors before, as they just moved to the area. By mailing to these new customers one time only, you can provide a much more generous gift. When compared to the typical coupon mailed to existing customers, a generous offer mailed to new movers will create a higher rate of response. Treating these valuable new movers like royalty will turn them into regular customers, and will help grow your business for years to come! John GuerraJohn is a guest blogger for Our Town America and previously worked in national sales at our Clearwater, FL corporate headquarters. www.ourtownamerica.com […]