Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns

What you may not know is that you must touch your customer at least 7 - 10 times before they will buy from you. So when you are sending out direct mail pieces you must acknowledge this and incorporate this repetition in your overall process.

The biggest mistake most mailers make is doing a "one and done" mailing. Meaning that they submit one mailing and then complain that direct mail does not work. But if you only send out one mailing, how can you accurately evaluate your results? You can't.

We typically recommend using a tight 45 - 60 day repetition cycle. This method can be used at any stage of your sales process. Some people use it before they even have a sales prospect. I personally used this after we had a prospect in our sales funnel. An example of this would be that you performed a painting estimate for a potential client. Your first letter could be a thank you for entrusting us with your detailed painting proposal. Then your second letter would be to follow up if you had any outstanding questions on your proposal, we would gladly be of assistance to you. Then your third letter could be, here's what other Customer's like yourself have to say about our business. Then a fourth letter would be, we are currently painting in your development at ** location. The main point to keep in mind is relevance of your letter and keeping your company in the fore front of their minds. You want to move your customer from general interest, through question and answer, to placing an actual contract or start of a job. You want to keep them motivated throughout the process and take them to the closing of your deal.

So remember in your next mailing, you need a purpose and follow up is critical to make any direct mail campaign successful.

Another consideration in making your direct mail a success is reminding Customers of services that you provide and what corresponding benefits these services offer your customer, the end user. For an example, the oldest most cliché comment that is used is, "We are family owned and operated". What does this mean to a Customer? You need to spell it out and provide the corresponding benefit or relevance of your customer / client. Family owned, does it mean that you are insured? Does it mean that you take pride in your work? Be specific on why a customer should choose you over 4 other companies down the street from you.

It is imperative that you find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In these tough economic times, every edge really can ensure your success or failure.

To Read more: Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns http://www.sooperarticles.com/business-articles/marketing-articles/biggest-mistake-direct-mail-campaigns-771447.html#ixzz1ibLS9osb

Study: Fifty percent of consumers prefer direct mail to email

Fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, according to a study released by marketing services firm Epsilon on Dec. 1. The study also found that one-quarter of all U.S. consumers said they found direct mail to be “more trustworthy” than email.

Of the 2,226 U.S. consumers surveyed for the third Consumer Channel Preference Study, 60% said they enjoy checking their physical mailboxes, highlighting what the study refers to as an “emotional connection” to postal mail.

Over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year.

Warren Storey, VP of product marketing and insight at ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, said the findings are not all that unexpected when “you know the data and consumer trends.”
“It's just ‘surprising' because everything you hear in the media is basically counter to what the consumers are actually telling us, which is that direct mail is still the preferred channel,” Storey said.

While Groupon and LinkedIn, for example, are grabbing high-profile media attention by generating “giant” initial public offerings, “direct mail is one of those mediums that is always quietly there in the background doing a great job,” Storey said. The most ideal way to reach consumers, according to the report, is to use a combination of media to build consumer trust, including media that some marketers might consider to be “old school,” like direct mail, TV and newspapers, said Storey.

“There is definitely a growing trend that email inboxes are getting more and more full,” Storey said.

“Over the last three years, we've seen an increase of the percentage of consumers saying, yeah, they like getting email, but they get far too many. In the U.S., 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.”

Ultimately, the overarching theme of the study, according to Storey, is that marketers should think twice before they disregard direct mail.

“It's not sexy. It's not terribly innovative,” he said. “But it works.”

Article Found @ : http://www.dmnews.com/study-fifty-percent-of-consumers-prefer-direct-mail-to-email/article/217968/

Study’s Indirect Finding: Direct Mail Welcome

In an effort to build long-term, profitable customers relationships, companies often engage in multichannel as campaigns, complete with personalized messages set to existing customers through various channels as part of their marketing strategy. However, what if such a strategy drives customers away from future purchases, rather than closer to the company? Is there a level at which additional communication leads to diminishing, or even negative return?

A recent academic study examined the ideal volume, mix, and alignment of telephone, e-mail and direct mail communications between a large auto dealership with a high-volume
service department and its customers.

Select Findings:
The researchers found that there is an ideal level of communication volume that varies across channels and, after that level is exceeded, there is an adverse effect and customers are turned off. This negative response can be exacerbated by the use of multiple channels that are not in line with customer preferences. In addition to these key findings, the study had an indirect finding and a noted eye-opener for its authors.

The researchers were surprised to find that direct mail was such an effective communication method in the overall marketing mix for this auto dealership. The dealership’s customers were accepting of more than twice as much direct mail, compared to phone calls and e-mails, before their spending levels started to decrease.

The ideal levels of communication to spark customer interest in auto services, new products and locations, promotions and sales, were three telephone calls, three to four e-mails and nine to ten direct mailings. The researchers hypothesize that customers view the mail received in their homes as less intrusive than telephone calls or e-mail, for these messages can be viewed at the customers’ own convenience.

In addition to the study highlighted that multichannel communications must be carefully managed on multiple dimensions to avoid generating negative reactions and potentially driving customers away from, rather than closer to a company – a complementary finding shows, as have other studies, such as the USPS House Diary Study, that contrary to the image that direct mail is “junk mail” and is tossed without consideration, households pay attention to the advertising
they receive.

Source: Enough is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication,
Andrea Godfrey, Kathleen Seiders & Glenn B. Voss, Journal of Marketing
Volume 75 (July 2011), 94 – 109.

*Please note that we are not representing these as our original toughts. The above article is one in which we wanted to share because of its valuable informaiton.

Business First recognizes Louisville’s 50 fastest-growing firms

Business First by Ed Green, Staff Writer

Date: Monday, August 29, 2011, 3:03pm EDT - Last Modified: Saturday, September 10, 2011, 4:30pm EDT

View photo gallery (51 photos)

Related News

• Greater Louisville Inc. recognizes ‘Hot Dozen’
• Greater Louisville Inc. names Inc.credible award finalists
• CFO of the Year: On Bruce Kramer’s watch, Charah Inc.’s revenue has grown almost 400 percent as he found funding for new projects
• Business First recognizes Louisville-area CFOs
• Charah awarded Constellation Energy contract in Maryland

Business First has announced the companies that will be recognized this year as part of the Fast 50 awards program, which will be held in October.

The annual Fast 50 Awards Luncheon recognizes the 50 fastest-growing independent and privately held companies in the Louisville area, based on three-year revenue growth.

The ranking of firms will be announced during the Oct. 27 luncheon and in a Fast 50 special publication in the Oct. 28 print edition of Business First.

Last year’s event drew more than 500 attendees. The top five companies last year, in order, were: PetFirst Healthcare LLC, Charah Inc. , LeapFrog Interactive Inc. , Specialty Earth Sciences LLC and Street Moda .com. (A full listing of the 2010 Fast 50 winners is available here.)

Our Thoughts on U.S. Postal Service Changes

Our Thoughts on U.S. Postal Service Changes

At Strategic Marketing, we are devoted to automotive direct mail marketing. We partner with our dealerships to provide a strong multi-module mail program. We know our mailing campaigns are successful and we have years of statistics to prove it.

We know that direct mail is a viable part of dealership’s advertising budgets. It produces immediate results and can give any dealer an added boost during a calendar month. It truly is one of the best ways to get the consumers attention and produce immediate ROI for the dealer. Direct mail can be the difference between a good month and a great month.

So when we heard of the possibility of the US Postal Service cutting Saturday deliveries and closing some distribution centers, we become concerned. Below are our thoughts on the situation.

The postal service should view themselves as a business. They need to understand where they are not profitable and make adjustments to those areas which are creating the heaviest burden. Cutting daily delivery services, which produce revenue, will not increase profit.

If the postal service cuts their basic service of in-home delivery on Saturday, they are allowing revenue to be pulled away. They also lose their reputation as a reliable source to deliver communications and information. Billing companies, advertising agencies and others will start to look to other avenues to deliver their information. This in turn means even less mail and continued decreases in revenue.

Instead of cutting Saturday service, the internal processes, labor agreements, and pensions should all be reviewed. The postal service needs to operate like a business in the free market. As with the car manufacturers, the market changed and changes were needed to get back to profitability. The manufacturers had to review labor agreements, pensions, and produce products that appealed to the American people. They changed how they did business. Our argument is more about being accountable for one’s own expenses and actions. As of recent, the post office has shut down non-performing or un-needed branches. That was a necessary move, but they should avoid cutting services which produce their basic revenue.

Those are just our opinions, what are yours? Do you think that that postal service changes will affect you and how you communicate through mail.

We know one thing for sure, we are confident that any changes that they make will not affect our mailing campaigns. We will continue to produce quality direct mail campaigns and be a strategic partner with our dealers to produce successful direct mail pieces.

To find out more about how we can help you, contact us.

The Lehman time bomb 3 years after crash, pipe for used cars slams shut

Jesse Snyder
and Arlena Sawyers
Automotive News -- September 12, 2011 - 12:01 am ET

9 comments

Recommend (5)

Thought Leadership

F&I Tip of the Month: Integrity



Sponsored by

» Protect Your Inventory with Xzilon
» What Dealers Are Saying
» Income Generating Ideas in the Service Department
» JM&A Group Dealership Reward Programs

Follow Automotive News

When Lehman Brothers collapsed three years ago this week, new-car sales did, too.

So, starting this week, the shortage of late-model used cars -- already causing used-vehicle prices to soar -- will worsen dramatically because so few three-year lease cars are returning.

Only 90,000 leased BMWs are returning this year, for example, compared with 146,000 in 2008.

Dealers are having trouble getting enough used cars. And the short supply means used-car prices are bumping up against some new-car prices. For example, kbb.com lists a used 2008 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ with 23,000 miles at $19,950 -- and a new 2012 Hyundai Sonata GLS at $22,450.

And things will stay that way because three years of far-below-trend new-car sales mean tight supplies of used cars until 2014 or later if the economy doesn't pick up. Jonathan Banks, an analyst at NADA Guide, said returns of three-year leases will be especially starting low in the fourth quarter.

The short used-vehicle supply is a problem for dealers because they depend more than ever on used-vehicle volume to make up for low new-vehicle sales.

Compounding the problem: The high values of cars coming off lease now mean more customers will buy their vehicles at the end of the lease term because the purchase price is significantly lower than that of a comparable replacement.

Keeping lease cars

At Mercedes-Benz of South Orlando in Orlando, dealer Dorian Boyland says owners are buying 30 percent of their Mercedes vehicles at the end of leases -- a higher percentage than in the past.

Boyland said he keeps most trade-ins and lease returns for his used lot, but he must also buy at auctions to stock his certified used-vehicle program.

"You cannot live on your lease returns ... to be in the certified pre-owned business, says Boyland, owner of the 13-store Boyland Auto Group. "There is not enough off-lease inventory to do that."

Factories once subsidized low-cost lease deals mainly to boost new-vehicle volume. Now they are setting leasing strategies with an eye on eventually feeding dealers and the automakers' own certified used-vehicle programs, said Eric Lyman, director of residual value solutions for ALG, which forecasts future used-vehicle prices and supplies.

"Leasing can be a sales channel for used-vehicle stock that a manufacturer controls," he said.

That has increased significance since automakers ceded control of rental-car returns. Back when automakers, especially the Detroit 3, sold hundreds of thousands of "program cars" to rental companies and bought them back at a loss, dealers got lots of same-make used cars. Today rental fleets buy fewer vehicles, keep them longer and take the risk of reselling them. So automakers can't funnel them to their dealers.

Shaun Bugbee, vice president of sales and marketing for BMW Group Financial Services, said a strong supply of late-model used vehicles for BMW dealers is key to setting a leasing strategy.

"It's extremely important that our dealers have a good supply of used vehicles," he said.

Limited availability is forcing dealers to sell older, high-mileage vehicles. Publicly held Penske Automotive Group is among dealership groups now selling vehicles that they used to sell at wholesale.

For example, penskecars.com recently listed a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder with 197,292 miles for $1,588 and a 2003 Ford Taurus with 164,945 miles for $2,988.

NADA Guide says used-vehicle supplies will fall 5 percent this year and another 4 percent in 2012. ALG says supplies will hit rock bottom in 2012 and 2013 and won't return to 2008 levels until 2017.

Counting only 3-year-old used, kbb.com sees the bottom 12 to 18 months out.

"We won't bottom out until late 2013," said Greg Russell, national risk manager for Toyota Financial Services, counting up to 5-year-old vehicles. "It may be a decade until we return to the supply of used vehicles we once had."

Less auction action

Jim Hallett: Hard to predict With dealers keeping almost every used vehicle traded-in, auctions are being hit hard. And dealers also are more willing to buy used vehicles online and outside of the traditional auction channel. Auction operators are consolidating sites and buying competitors. In June, privately held Manheim, the nation's largest auto auction company, closed half a dozen auctions. It now has 73 North American auction sites. In August, Jim Hallett, CEO of KAR Auction Services Inc., parent company of No. 2 auction house ADESA Inc., said forecasting future conditions is difficult. ADESA recently agreed to buy online auction competitor Openlane Inc. In the second quarter, ADESA's vehicle volume fell 14 percent. Nationally, auction volume fell 11 percent in the second quarter, the National Auto Auction Association said. Larry Dixon of NADA Guide said: "We're very bullish on the used-car market," although he doesn't see prices continuing to rise. "On the flip side, we don't expect prices to drop off dramatically either," he said. ALG's Lyman forecasts prices for used vehicles will peak in January and then slowly ease. "As a recovery starts, the first buyers to come back are focused on used cars, the rational, safe buy," he said. "But as the recovery gets stronger, buyers shift their attention to new cars." Projected residuals on 3-year-old off-lease vehicles at mainstream brands are 48 percent of retail value so far this year, up from 45 percent in the first eight months of 2008, Lyman said. But the residual forecasts set by ALG and others are not high enough to suit some carmakers. Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting at Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, expects captive finance companies to increase their projected residual values on leased vehicles, thus cutting the payments for consumers. Essentially, automakers would be betting that those cars will be worth more three years from now than kbb.com thinks they will. Said Ibara: "As long as they reserve for the difference between their enhanced residual and the more realistic residual, they should be OK."

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20110912%2FRETAIL07%2F309129967%2F1203#ixzz1YoPeF8ae

New Direct Mail Event Marketing Case Study for Don Jackson Auto Group!

Strategic Marketing, Inc. has released another Direct Mail Marketing Case Study. Please visit the following link to view the study: http://www.strategicmarketing.com/About/CaseStudies/DonJacksonAutoGroup.aspx.