Direct Mail Marketing

[soonermajic]

has anybody ever done this< & if so, thoughts...? I am thinkin g about mailing out nice Post cards, to 10,000 nearby residents, for $4,200.
But I don't just wanna waste that money. I am also buying a billboard for $2,000 for a year.

any other good ideas? We just opened THIS WEEK.

 

[MsR]

Find a way to partner with the athletic department at your local high school. Much good will gained there.

 

[MudMoney]

I did post cards in the past and not much response . I found grand opening is better with free car washes and tied in with coke cola or pepsi for giveaway. set hours for event and have staff on hand to demo to any new users. Also be patient with seniors and offer to wash their car to speed the process up. I have other ideas that worked but this is just an overview. Good Luck !

 

[Roz]

We tried postcards and ads in the local free discount magazine. Not worth the money and we had a way to track impact with a discount code.

We have been considering a nearby billboard as that seems to be a better idea to spur an immediate wash buy. $2K for one year sounds like a good deal. Most in our area are that cost for one month!

 

[soonermajic]

Dang, ok, I thought I had a great idea...

 

[MudMoney]

I agree billboards work ,had 8 x 16 sign 1 mile from wash upon entering city limits. Other billboard was 60 miles away. I went to the work to get them permitted by the state in my name.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Best Promo I did was get the local Chamber of commerce labelized mailing list of 600 businesses. I was able to print a letter asking that they share the enclosed coupons for a free wash (Coupon was good for 2 months) with employees and customers. I was able to enclose 6 coupons and the letter for minimum postage and paid my daughter 10 cents an envelope to label, stuff and stamp them. Also visited every local place with a large parking lot and stopped in and asked for Human resources and asked if I could give then a coupon for each employee. This included schools, health clubs library, post office etc. Gave out about 18,0000 coupons and about 3000 were redeemed.

 

[HeyVern]

I handed out free wash passes everywhere I went for the first couple months. Left them with the tip for waitresses, gave them to cashiers at check out, gave the bank manager enough for every bank employee.

 

[Waxman]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT_1OLLg9md6zLXdtbLyAQo7DYwdxBnUZUGpA&s

I rented this when i got my new razor installed. Best marketing money I ever spent! $1500 per month. Program several different messages. It was so successful that I now rent it every Thanksgiving until just after New Year's in order to promote my detail shop gift certificates and I also put messages on there about the touch free car wash.

Eric H told me to do it; guy's a genius.

 

[lighthousecarwash]

I did direct mailer with a code for a free car wash after I renovated a location back in 2015. We sent thousands out in the surrounding areas and had a 1% redemption rate for the free car wash. My new location that was renovated this year, we did a grand opening and washed 100 cars in the automatics in 5 hours and handed out free BBQ/drinks while they were in line for the free car wash. Everyone loved it. There is no replacement for the face to face interactions and people know that you are a local business just trying to make a living like everyone else.

Thanks,
Lighthouse

 

[Eric H]

Eric H told me to do it; guy's a genius.

WRONG! I told you about the sign then told you NOT to do it after I found out the cost. You’re the genius that ignored my poor advice.
Turns out it was a great idea.

 

[ScoobyKlu]

Direct mail marketing can be a solid strategy, especially for local businesses. Mailing postcards to nearby residents is a great way to introduce your business to the community. Just make sure your postcards are eye-catching, and your message is clear.