With so much emphasis on Internet Marketing these days, it’s easy to get the impression that traditional strategies like direct mail and print advertising are obsolete.
This is simply not true.
In fact, these strategies are now working better than ever before… and this is fantastic news for your business.
Let me explain…
A few decades ago, direct mail was a very popular way to generate new leads for a business.
This meant that almost everyone was using it. There was a lot of competition to get attention, which reduced response rates and pushed up costs.
But today, things have changed.
Many businesses are using online methods only.
This means potential leads do not receive as much direct mail, which in turn significantly increases the chances that your letter will be opened, read and responded to.
Even better for you, the carpet cleaners that still use direct mail, are not using it correctly for a number of reasons.
First, they are unaware of what kind of direct mail gets results. They use outdated or ineffective strategies like short flyers that generate a poor response.
I’ll discuss flyers in another lesson. However, for now, just note that to be effective direct mail must include the following information, which will rarely fit on a small flyer…
- An irresistible offer – what do people get if they buy from you?
- A great headline – what can you say at the top of the letter to get attention?
- An exciting introduction – how can you start your letter in a way that gets the reader excited?
- A list of benefits – what does your service do for the prospect?
- A call to action – how can the person contact you?
- A deadline – your letter must include some way to get the prospect to act now.
Second, many businesses send their direct mail to the wrong people. Even the best direct mail letter in the world won’t work if the reader doesn’t need your service.
For example:
If you send an offer for carpet cleaning to a suburb full of run-down houses with junk tossed in their front yard, you WILL probably get zero response. That’s because there’s a high chance that people who don’t take care of their homes, don’t want carpet cleaning.
Many carpet cleaners I talk to have made this mistake. In fact, it is so common that avoiding it is the focus of today’s task.
TODAY’S TASK: Get Clear On Your Direct Mail Audience
- Imagine your ideal client. This person should want your service and be able to afford it. What does their home look like?
- Think about where your ideal client lives. Look at a map of your area and write down the suburbs where you think your ideal client lives. Are you willing to travel a little further to service more affluent areas with residents who have the cash and the inclination to keep their carpets pristine clean?
- Keep a list of these suburbs. Use it as a reference when you plan a direct mail campaign. Test and measure: if your budget accommodates for distributing direct mail to one suburb at a time, plan out a 6-12 month direct mail strategy targeting 1 suburb per print run. Review the results of each suburb over this period – if one area generated significantly more enquiries or sales than the others, keep note of this and send another direct mail campaign to this suburb in 6-12 months time.