Bulk Marketing Mailer Advice Needed

[SteveT]

Need some advice - PLEASE. I need to increase my marketing efforts for my 6+1. I have a new express tunnel opening up in a month or so that is about 1 mile away. I need to step up my marketing. I was considering a post card type bulk mail campaign to 500 homes within a 2 mile radius. Any advice would be APPRECIATED. Thanks.

 

[Waxman]

Do some guerrilla marketing instead; give away free carwashes. Use Veterans Day as your first event and give free washes to all US veterans all day. You will build business and create customer loyalty.

There are several threads here about the ineffective nature of bulk mailings. I remember Bud Abraham giving stats on his mailer w/coupon and the dismal rate of return when he built his tunnel.

If you get creative you will succeed. Try charity carwashing in conjunction with a few local causes and let them market the wash with you.

 

[Red Baron]

Our mfg has done oodles of postcard mailers. The industry standard to shoot for is 2% response but our experience in the last year is that the response rate has slipped considerably. That could be because of the economy, or because of oversaturation to our target market (roofers), or because I'm doing a lousy job of designing the postcards. Or, all 3.

I use Info USA Power Business CD to generate the lists, which I can target by street, or zip, or city, or state, or business type (SIC code).

I have a 1 year contract with Info USA which I will not renew when it expires in December, because our mfg is soon to be sold. So, I have about 9,000 inquiries that I need to use by December or they become useless to me. When you buy a mailing list for your area it will cost you 8-10 cents for each address. I'll generate a list for you for 4 cents...I need to dump 9,000 of these!

A few postcard hints:
* Don't put too much info on them. Just use an attention-getter to drive their eyeballs to your website or to your wash.
* Don't use more than 2 font styles.
* Be positive - don't knock your competitor who has the brushes that scratch paint. lol

Also, they say to print these words near the addressee: Here Is The Info You Asked For. That helps get the postcard beyond the receptionist (I don't use that because it's a tad deceptive, imo, but that's your call).

 

[Earl Weiss]

Instead of just targeting households, you can target businesses. If households average 2 ars per, how many employees per business drive by your place? I used the local chamber of commerce list which they already had in label format and sent multiple free wash coupons asking that they spread the get aquainted goodwill and share them with employees and customers. I had a 30 day expiration so a greedy person could only use so many themselves. Also target the post office How many letter carriers drive to work. Schools, for their teachers and employees, Fire department etc. For public employees like teachers, library, fire fighters etc. you can call it a community rewards wash and perhaps get some PR Buzz.

Geez, maybe I should write a book.

 

[Red Baron]

Earl, this is interesting to me. Marketing to business vs 2 residences. Our mfg company markets strictly b2b, because obviously you'd have to mine through a lot of homeowners to find one who wants a roofing spray rig. But, I'd think it would be the opposite for car washes - I could be wrong.

Just from my own experience, when I'm at work my mind is on work, not washing my pickup, and I leaf through/toss mailers faster than my TechKo folder. When I get home and I'm more relaxed, reading the paper and the mail, I find that I'm more likely to actually read a mailer, IF it is well-done and catches my eye. Often I only look at them to glean good marketing ideas from those with much bigger marketing budgets, but if it gets read I'm much more likely to be a customer.

Now if you're looking for fleet accounts for a car wash I could see direct marketing to businesses, but I'm having a hard time seeing how a postcard sent to a company with 50 employees, gets seen by more than just the receptionist.

Again, I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just trying to understand it.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I don't send them a postcard. They get a letter with seperate Free wash coupons. (If I mail it. If I stop in I ask to see the head of personnel, and ask how many employees , teachers, firefighters, postal workers there are and give them the coupons to put with the pay envelopes. )

If I send the letter, I simply explain that they can do something good for their employees at no cost to them by seeing that they get a coupon.

So far I have been turned down twice . Once by Home Depot which is 150 Yards across the parking lot from me, and by the police and inspectors from one municipality who have an ethics ordinance to deal with.

 

[Red Baron]

That makes sense. We have "mostly" switched from postcards to personal letters due to lack of response from postcards, but the letters sure take a lot longer. My office is set up with color laser printer, paper folder, and cutter so that I can do everything in-house - which is fast when doing a 5-1/2" x 8" postcards, but tri-folding and stuffing envelopes is a time-consuming not-fun job when sending letters. But you're exactly right, the response from personal letters is much better than with a postcard.