5 Ways to Use Direct Mail in Your Business
By Melanie Schaefer
How can you bring in more customers for your business than you're getting
through print, radio or local TV advertising?
The answer for many businesses is direct mail. Direct mail puts your message
right in front of your prospect in their own home or business. When you send the
right mailing to the right list at the right time, your direct mail is a cost
efficient and easy way to get customer attention and sales.
Here are five ways to consider using direct mail to increase your business:
Reminders
In the fast paced world that we live in it is hard enough to remember what we
ate for dinner last night let alone when our last dentist appointment was. That
is where your direct mail piece comes in. A reminder could be anything from a
postcard reminding the customer when they are due for an oil change or a
suggestion to repeat the purchase of a birthday cake for their Aunt Tilley. As
long as the service or product is something that needs to be repeated or gets
used up, this method will work for your business. In addition to a response the
customer will be happy that they were provided with such individual attention.
Promotions
Everyone loves to save money. So what better way to grab attention than by
offering an opportunity to spare a little green? Sending a postcard with a
chance to win a new product or offering $15 off a purchase of $60 or more, will
inform new and existing customers about what you have to offer. Be sure to set
an expiration date and make it prominent on the mailing so customers will rush
to save money now, before the promotion is over.
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 Start a Catalog
By sending out a listing of all the services or products you provide you are
able to educate the consumer on what your business has to offer. This type of
direct mail can also give an individual the opportunity to buy your product or
service through mail order. Be sure to include your telephone number and your
web address as an alternate way to order your products. By mailing out a catalog
of services and/or products you are notifying the public of your business and
giving them the opportunity to purchase your products if visiting your store is
not an option. If creating and mailing a print catalog is out of your budget,
put the catalog on a website, then send out an inexpensive postcard to customers
and prospects pointing them to the catalog on the web.
Notification of New Products or Services
When your business decides to offer a new service or handle a new product it is
an exciting time. Why not share the excitement with your customers? Sending a
postcard notification that you now lay retaining walls along with the usual
landscaping or that a computer program you offer has just been updated allows
the consumer to utilize the new service or product. Perhaps one of your
customers were looking into retaining walls but knew that you did not offer that
service. Now that they see the company they trusts offers the service they need
the decision is easy. People like to be kept informed.
Start a Newsletter
The best way to keep your customers informed is by a newsletter. In your
newsletter you may want to include articles that have to do with your business,
special offers for newsletter readers, announcements about new products or
services, or possibly stories about your staff. Pick a schedule for the
newsletter (monthly works well for many businesses) and stick to it. When
customers and prospects see your newsletter on a regular basis they'll start to
remember you and your company as an authority and a reliable source for the
products and services you sell.
If you don't know how to format newsletters for publication, take a look at
Microsoft Publisher. It comes with a variety of free templates. By playing
around with colors and graphic you are able to make a product unique to you even
if it is a pre-made publisher layout. Or, look in industry trade publications
for companies that prepare the newsletters for you, leaving you a place to put
your own business information and return address on the finished product.
As you begin to utilize direct mail in your business be careful not to
bombard the customers with mail. Like the not so courteous courtesy call during
dinner, an onslaught of mail may invoke unfavorable thoughts every time your
company is mentioned and lead to a direct root to the trash bin at the site of
your company's name.
© 2008 Attard Communications, Inc.
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