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Tag: Inver Grove Heights

Direct Mail Marketing Options: Saturation Postcards, Targeted Postcards, New Mover Marketing

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Direct Mail Marketing Postcards

Choosing the best platform to make the most of a tight marketing budget during uncertain times can be daunting for small business owners. Despite the increasing dependence on social media, one-click purchasing and online recommendations, direct mail marketing remains one of the most effective tools for boosting sales and developing loyal customers. Direct mail is said to be easier to understand and more memorable than digital media. It requires 21 percent less cognitive effort to process, and elicits a much higher brand recall, according to a study conducted by Canada Post Corp. Direct mail is also more likely to drive behavior than digital media, the study revealed. At least 70 percent of consumers say direct mail is more personal than online interactions, and 39 percent of consumers try a business for the first time because of direct mail, reported Fundera, a financial resource for small businesses. There are more than 30.7 million small businesses in the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Association’s most recent report released in 2019. Small businesses created 1.8 million net jobs in 2016 and employed 59.9 million people. Our Town America offers a number of direct mail solutions to help small businesses promote customer loyalty, add new patrons and appeal to new area residents. But maybe you need some direction to figure out which type of direct mail program is best for your business needs. Easy & Affordable Method to Reach Community Members without a Mailing List Every Door Direct Mail® is a complete neighborhood mailer designed to reach every home and address in the selected ZIP codes without relying on a mailing list. EDDM® is a cost-effective saturation marketing method that allows you to filter by age, income and household size. Our Town America’s full-service EDDM® program includes printing, service preparation, postage and delivery. As people have been staying closer to home these days, EDDM® is a great way for local businesses to draw customers by delivering them a message directly to their home. Generate Customer Loyalty by Reaching out to Chosen Mailing List Targeted Postcards help celebrate existing customers by aligning with their motivations and goals. It’s a great method for businesses to send birthday specials, highlight new location openings and offer holiday specials. Targeted Postcards help form a connection between the customer and the business, building brand loyalty. During slow economic times, some customers rely on the brands they already trust, according to Harvard Business Review. It is important for businesses to reward their devoted customers with special offers or a simple holiday greeting or reminder of an upcoming sale. Our Town America uses your mailing lists to send Targeted Postcards. Make New Residents Feel at Home Moving to a new home during a time when social distancing guidelines are enforced can make it difficult to turn a new house into a home, but New Mover Marketing helps businesses make a great first impression on new residents by welcoming them to the area. It also gives residents the opportunity to support local businesses. “People are very loyal to their veterinarians. For us to grow just from people changing veterinarians would be a very slow growth,” said Dr. Sherry Weaver, owner of Animal Hospital of Towne Lake in Woodstock, Georgia. “Really, we’re much smarter specifically advertising to the people who are just moving in.” Our Town America’s New Mover Welcome Packages are filled with hand-selected proven offers. The 48-year-old company prides itself on offering the most accurate new resident mailing list in the country. Each Welcome Package contains only one business in each industry to ensure exclusivity. Our Town America also provides businesses with access to a proprietary mobile app that records redemptions, triggers an optional follow-up postcard and efficiently tracks return on investment. No matter the particular direct mail marketing method you choose, Our Town America will provide your business with an affordable solution to draw customers in. Learn more about how we can help your business grow today. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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Millennials are Moving to a House Near You, Restaurants Should Get Moving to Greet Them

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Restaurant Marketing New Movers

Modern Restaurant Management — When you own a restaurant, you’re often considering and painstakingly planning new entrées to add to the menu, but are you spending the same amount of energy thinking about the new customers who may soon be ordering from it?  When you own a restaurant, you’re often considering and painstakingly planning new entrées to add to the menu, but are you spending the same amount of energy thinking about the new customers who may soon be ordering from it?  Likewise, you could be losing a lot of Millennial customers, too, if they’re moving to a house that’s far from your place of business. You may not often think about it, or notice, but people are likely moving in and out of your neighborhood all the time. We’re a very mobile society. Estimates suggest that 35.5 million Americans move every year, far more than many countries such as those in Europe. That means you often can gain customers (new movers) and lose them, too (customers who move away). If you aren’t already marketing to new movers, the transient nature of our society is something you and, well, every restaurant owner should consider when marketing. After all, we’re all creatures of habit. You probably have a lot of loyal customers –but you may struggle to attract new people who have lived in the area for some time because they’re loyal to your competitors. It’s just human nature. People find a routine that they like, and they stick with it. But new movers? They don’t have habits and routines yet. They also don’t have a favorite restaurant –yet. That’s the argument for restaurants –or any local business, really –marketing to new movers. You want to find potential loyal customers and bring them in to try out your place, and hopefully get them to return a second and third time before they put down roots and start picking their favorite restaurants, which may or may not end up becoming your place. You also need those new movers, to make up for the loyal clientele who moves away. Fortunately, the good news, according to the Our Town America new mover survey, is that new movers are very interested in finding restaurants when they move in. You just need to make sure that you make it clear that you want them to find you. Marketing to the New Mover There are a variety of factors that appeal to any new mover when they move to a new city. When asked in Our Town America’s new mover survey for the reasons a city becomes their dream city, 33.1 percent of respondents listed “affordability” as being important, 59.7 percent cited “good scenery” as being important to them and 54 percent said “good weather.” As for how the dining and hospitality industry did, over a third of respondents (38.2 percent) said that it’s important to them that the “restaurants are phenomenal.” In other words, if the restaurants are top-notch, that helps make a city a dream city. Market your restaurant as one that has phenomenal food and atmosphere, and if you can make it affordable, that’s all the better, at least judging from the results of the survey. But the main takeaway from the survey is that Millennials moving to your neighborhood are as eager as you would hope to discover amazing local restaurants. The question that you should be asking yourself as a restaurant owner is –are you doing enough and are you equally eager enough to find new customers? Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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