Try Direct Mail

JohnHenry

JohnHenry

New member
The High End Advertising thread reminded me of a marketing technique that I found very successful in a previous service business. I've spent the past twenty minutes on Mailing List - Email, Business, Sales Leads, Consumer - InfoUSA . There are many other similar sites. Just Google Direct Mail.



I found 1,230 leads within four zip codes in my town with each of the following criteria: homes valued at $500K+; income > $250K; resident's age > 40. ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED THIRTY households within ten miles of my house, probably with one or more premium cars in the garages. I defined the search criteria. You can slice the data in various ways.



Adhesive mailing labels for these leads would cost $184.50. A stack of custom printed color postcards would cost less than that. So, for ~$300 or so, I could contact over a thousand potential clients within fifteen minutes driving time.



How many regular customers could you add to your schedule if you had a 2% response to the mail drop (24 households?) Eight, ten, more?



I'm curious to hear of your experiences with this type of marketing.
 
John Henry said:
The High End Advertising thread reminded me of a marketing technique that I found very successful in a previous service business. I've spent the past twenty minutes on Mailing List - Email, Business, Sales Leads, Consumer - InfoUSA . There are many other similar sites. Just Google Direct Mail.



I found 1,230 leads within four zip codes in my town with each of the following criteria: homes valued at $500K+; income > $250K; resident's age > 40. ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED THIRTY households within ten miles of my house, probably with one or more premium cars in the garages. I defined the search criteria. You can slice the data in various ways.



Adhesive mailing labels for these leads would cost $184.50. A stack of custom printed color postcards would cost less than that. So, for ~$300 or so, I could contact over a thousand potential clients within fifteen minutes driving time.



How many regular customers could you add to your schedule if you had a 2% response to the mail drop (24 households?) Eight, ten, more?



I'm curious to hear of your experiences with this type of marketing.
Click to expand...



I was going to do that, but the mag proved to be more attractive to customers in my area. I def see a good responce from the direct mail so long as it isnt cheesy. A company does high end double sided postcards that have maybe 20 to 30 in a pack and it contains a variety of business and coupons, but it is a very nice presentation... nothing cheap and the mailing list is for the top 5% of income winners!
 
What do you think the cost of producing and mailing a really nicely put together post card style thing would cost to say... 5000 people? Around $1 per person?
 
d00t said:
What do you think the cost of producing and mailing a really nicely put together post card style thing would cost to say... 5000 people? Around $1 per person?
Click to expand...



Check out ... PostcardPower - Postcard Marketing. Write. Design. Print. Mail. . You could spend all day perusing similar sites. It appears that the $1 per postcard estimate, including design, two-sided printing and first class mailing, is high. Adding the cost of the targeted lead list, described in the first post, should still keep you under $1.



Good luck! Let us know how it goes.
 
Aaron,



I've connected the dots and realized that you're the guy with the "funding" thread. None of my business, but, I would feel terrible if you blew a significant amount of money on a direct mail campaign at the start-up stage of your business. IMHO, you are not ready for this. There are many other necessities on which your funds would be better spent, at least until your business is established. In other words, I recommend taking it slowly until you have an established customer base and LOTS of experience.



The direct mail idea was intended to take a business to the next level, where most of the variables have already been worked out... buffing technique, routine process, product selection for differing conditions, inventory, pricing, etc.



I am not a professional detailer; however, I have marketed to high-end homeowners for years, both for a Fortune 100 company and as an entrepreneur. Believe me, many of us have made the "too much, too soon" mistake.
 
John,



No I completely agree. I'm not going to spend $5000, hell even $500 at first for marketing. I was just asking what a target price range would be for something like this. I have no intent of following through until, like you said, business is more steady and established. My only marketing strategy thus far is build my website, and rely on word of mouth for about another two or so months, then start going places for contracts, etc, such as businesses, dealerships, etc. I am taking it slow, (still in the process of setting up my funding and business plans with my investor), but it doesn't hurt to gain all the info/knowledge and what not in order to be prepared for the next step.



You are right that there is a "too soon" to start up a business and take on too much too soon. But it's never "too soon" to broaden your knowledge on such things as techniques, marketing, and everything else.



The reason I post is to learn, not to assume I'm going to do everything people on here suggest. Like in my post above, it was a fictitious figure of 5000 people and the reason why I chose $1 is to see (for down the road) what something like this would potentially cost.
 
I have been mailing coupons to 30,000 homes, similar to valpak. I have received a good amount of business from the coupons, however, I am finding I get calls from people who are not my target market. My next step is to purchase a targeted list, and mail a nice hand addressed post card to the people on the list. The list I plan to buy is similar to the one mentioned above. I will keep everyone posted on the results.
 
brwill2005 said:
I have been mailing coupons to 30,000 homes, similar to valpak. I have received a good amount of business from the coupons, however, I am finding I get calls from people who are not my target market. My next step is to purchase a targeted list, and mail a nice hand addressed post card to the people on the list. The list I plan to buy is similar to the one mentioned above. I will keep everyone posted on the results.
Click to expand...



Brad,



Good luck! I've used a company like InfoUSA previously in another business, with excellent results. Interestingly, InfoUSA has called me since I ran the test query on their site a couple of days ago. They were incredibly helpful.



If/when I pull the trigger on this mailing campaign, I've decided to limit my search to one zip code. I want to do a test before I get into this too far. I don't know if these companies have minimum orders; but, $185 for over a thousand targeted hits ain't bad, I think.



The postcards cost more than I initially stated... about $250 for 1,000. Maybe you can do better with a local printer.



I would think that, in your area, this marketing method would be very effective. (I'm a former Fairfax County Police Officer.)



Let us know how it goes,



Regards,



Jay
 
Have you factored in the cost for postage?





Mailing 1000 postcards is not cheap.





I've had bad luck with directmailing in the past. I ordered a mailing list from infoUSA, and got a few clients, but enough to justify the cost.





Also, don't give your email adress to infoUSA unless you want to be bombarded with spam the rest of your life.
 
Thanks for the observation.



I have not dealt directly with InfoUSA, other than the recent call, but I have used similar services. I've experienced a 2% "return" or "contact" rate, i.e. 24 calls from 1,200 postcards.



The trick at that point is ... how do you convert these inquiries into detail jobs, and ultimately maintenance customers? Assuming that you have effectively targetted households that are likely to own two high-end cars, landing 5 to 8 regulars from the 24 calls at an investment of approximately $400 would prove to be a productive exercise. Each of those customers would also presumably have some "word-of-mouth" spinoff value.



The PostCard Power link above does include postage price, if you so choose.



Hey... Boston! You've gotta have some high roller zip codes up there! And Telluride? Last time I was there (Ride the Rockies) I bumped into Christie Brinkley.



Good luck!
 
A bit if an update on my direct mail campaign. I just mailed the second round of 500 postcards to my mailing list. The first mailing did not generate any leads so far, which does not surprise me. I will keep you guys updated on the second mailing. I still think this has good potential because of the quality of the list I bought. If I can get just a few of these people, it will easily pay for the mailing.
 
brwill2005 said:
A bit if an update on my direct mail campaign. I just mailed the second round of 500 postcards to my mailing list. The first mailing did not generate any leads so far, which does not surprise me. I will keep you guys updated on the second mailing. I still think this has good potential because of the quality of the list I bought. If I can get just a few of these people, it will easily pay for the mailing.
Click to expand...



Brad,



Curious to know the selection criteria that you used, if you'd care to discuss.
 
Jim- Yes, it is my intention to mail to this particular list at least four or five times. If I do not get a decent response after that, I may have to change something in the ad. John- The selection criteria I used was; males in Loudoun County Virginia aged 35-60, incomes greater than $250,000, home values $600,000-$1,000,000 Plus, and who are car enthusiasts. BTW, I am mailing once every month.
 
Well, something promising just happened. I just go a call from a person on the list. He just got the second postcard today, which would be the first mail day after I mailed the cards. He said he still had the first one, but decided to call after he got the second one. I guess this just proves the theory about repetition with these types of things. As the rest of the cards get delivered tomorrow or the next day, I hope to get a few more calls.
 
Good going, Brad. "Car Enthusiasts"... that's interesting. I wonder where they get that info. Maybe magazine subscription data?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top