Effective offers for a direct mail campaign

14 replies
I saw some great discussions about postcard direct mail in the past so I thought I would post that here.

I received some postcards at home for Handy.com and from Mosquito Joe.

The Handy postcard is actively pushing a 6 month cleaning program and their offer is that the first cleaning is only $19. The footnotes then vaguely explain that you are required to stay on for 6 months. I received this postcard many times leading me to believe that it has worked reasonably well for the company. I assume the $19 offer gets attention and at least gets people to look at the postcard.

Mosquito Joe offers a $39 trial offer for up to 0.5 acres. I know that their service works similar in that they generally come out every 3 weeks for effective mosquito control. In that sense it's not that different from Handy in that a customer generally needs their service on a recurring basis. Also my guess is that the postcard works to identify people who are interested in their service and then having a narrower lead pool to focus on once the trial service is completed. They mail this out nationally afaik so it has worked for them as well.

I run a pest control company. There are some similarities in our service offering but it's not an exact match. Our recurring service is quarterly, not monthly as the two examples above. However, like Handy I would be happy to start out with a very low price for the first treatment as long as people stay on for at least 6 months.

I am thinking to create a very similar postcard as theirs (handy and mjoe are somewhat similar) and then mail it out in a sequence of 3 times in about 3 months.

Does any one think that the mailing campaigns for these large national companies are not appropriate for a small fry like me?

Since I don't have the money to mail it out all over the country as the two companies above I would either focus on:
a) My small local area. Focus on the towns with high household income and high house-ownership.
b) My regional area. Send only to new homeowners.

As I see it, there are advantages / disadvantages to each:
a) I already have customers here. There might be some familiarity with my company and if it works the familiarity will increase. We will become more of a known entity. The disadvantages is that postcards will go out to people who lived here for some time and might not be open to a pest control plan. Their house is a know quantity and they might not want to invest in preventive services. They also might already receive services from a competitor
b) New homeowners are probably more likely to buy. They want to protect their investment and probably don't have a relationship with an existing firm. On the other hand, our customers will be all over the map.

That's it. I would be interested in feedback.

Thanks.
#campaign #direct #effective #mail #offers
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Well you have to think about what the OBJECTIVE is with the postcard.

    It's the first offer.

    You are thinking ahead, to the full treatment, full results.

    The prospect is not.

    The prospect is thinking about the fact that they have this awful problem, and who can they get to help them take care of it?

    So the Objective of the first offer, the postcard, is to get on their radar and begin the relationship.

    That's it.

    The postcard is a lead generation tool. Not a sales-getting tool. Understand this.

    The $19 or whatever is a qualification element. Not really a sale. It's to test who's serious about solving their problem.

    And when they do that, invite you out, pay the small fee, and see your people doing the work...only after that do you have the chance of making the sale.

    Don't jump too far ahead in the process.

    Every step in a new funnel is "broken" to begin with. The first step here is to get a postcard which consistently brings you qualified leads: people with the problem you solve, who are willing to shell out a few bucks to begin working on solving the problem.

    There are steps after that.

    Personally I think the "vague 6 month" reference is a good thing, because you're informing them this won't be an insta-fix with the first treatment.
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    • Profile picture of the author Orchard
      Hi Jason,

      Thanks for your response. I agree with you that the offer is a qualification element. However, I am not looking for people who "are serious about solving their problem" because by narrowing my pool to only people who have a problem we are significantly narrowing the total pool.

      The qualification element that I'm interested in is people who "are interested in preventive pest treatments" which I believe is a much bigger pool than just people who have a problem.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

        Hi Jason,

        Thanks for your response. I agree with you that the offer is a qualification element. However, I am not looking for people who "are serious about solving their problem" because by narrowing my pool to only people who have a problem we are significantly narrowing the total pool.

        The qualification element that I'm interested in is people who "are interested in preventive pest treatments" which I believe is a much bigger pool than just people who have a problem.
        Well hmm I have a pretty good track record in sales & marketing, and people have been paying for my help for many years now, but OK. Let's have a couple other people chime in...there are some with more experience with postcard marketing than myself.

        IMO, though, do you really want to send out your trucks to see prospects who really aren't committed to doing something about a problem?

        If I advertise my restaurant, retail store, oil change service or whatever, I want people not just to window shop, but to come in and BUY.
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      • Profile picture of the author animal44
        Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

        The qualification element that I'm interested in is people who "are interested in preventive pest treatments" which I believe is a much bigger pool than just people who have a problem.
        May well be the case (bigger pool), but will they pay for prevention...?

        People buy what they want, not necessarily what they need.
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        • Profile picture of the author Orchard
          Certainly some of them will which is why you have pest control companies. It's also the idea for the postcard. The one's who are interested in prevention can reply to the offer, the one's who aren't interested in prevention can save the postcard until the day where they have a direct need.
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          • Profile picture of the author animal44
            Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

            Certainly some of them will which is why you have pest control companies. It's also the idea for the postcard. The one's who are interested in prevention can reply to the offer, the one's who aren't interested in prevention can save the postcard until the day where they have a direct need.
            Take a look at your existing customer base. I'd hazard a guess most are "cure" rather than "prevention". People call pest control because the cockroaches are crawling out of the woodwork, not because of "potential" of cockroach invasion.

            "prevention" always requires education, and a postcard is too small to educate.

            The postcard needs to have a scary heading (termites ate my house because I didn't take "prevention" offer) which then sends them to to a website which makes the case or supplies a report or a video making the case and selling them "prevention".

            Only way to settle is to test "cure" offer against "prevention" offer. My money's on "cure".
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

        Hi Jason,

        Thanks for your response. I agree with you that the offer is a qualification element. However, I am not looking for people who "are serious about solving their problem" because by narrowing my pool to only people who have a problem we are significantly narrowing the total pool.

        The qualification element that I'm interested in is people who "are interested in preventive pest treatments" which I believe is a much bigger pool than just people who have a problem.

        Im going to be pretty straight forward here..you are way off base with this thinking WAY OFF BASE. Im going to ask you an equally off based question... do you have a plumber come to your home to do a monthly / quarterly inspection because you want to prevent a problem before it happens?

        We all know the answer to that.. no you dont.

        Here is the SPIN on what it is you are trying to quantify... By targetting those WITH an issue.. they are far greater at rolling into clients that will keep you to prevent it from occuring again.


        A pretty simple growth hacking model looks something like this:
        • Growth hack customer onboarding and retention
        Acquisition
        Activation
        Retention
        Referral
        Revenue

        So basically you have to aquisition a potential client ( identify and qualify a potential client ) Next you activate them.. you sell them your good or service. Now that you have them you want to keep them ( Retention ) And then thru that retention you want to foster your clients speaking to thier peers and refer your good or service. THIS is how you build a client base and revenue.

        With ALL things.. you want to be able to identify a problem. Your good or service needs to ANSWER that problem. Preventing is NOT answering. PREVENTION comes later in the process at RETENTION. Do you have mesquitos? we will have you mesquito free in 48 hours vs scared you might get mesquitos? we will ensure you dont get none. WHO is more likely to pick up the phone?

        Best of luck man!
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  • Profile picture of the author Trice
    benchmark is nice really nice
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  • Profile picture of the author Orchard
    ok you guys are all right.

    So what percentage of a potential list that you can mail to will have an issue?
    How do you pick a list to maximize people who do have an issue?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

      ok you guys are all right.

      So what percentage of a potential list that you can mail to will have an issue?
      How do you pick a list to maximize people who do have an issue?
      > Geography (EDDM and the post office can help you target right down to the side of the street you want, in the neighborhood best suited for your purposes)

      > Demographics (obviously has a lot of overlap with the geographic element--plus age, kind of car they drive, occupations...all stuff you can cover in the ad copy)

      > Psychographics (what do they believe to be true? What attitudes and experiences have they had which you can make use of?)

      > Match-up with ideal customers you have already (who has bought from you before, that you really enjoyed working with and rewarded you the most for solving their problem?)

      Then you sample test, a small sample not a huge dump of an investment.

      As I said initially your first goal is to generate a predictable response. People sticking up their hands and saying, "Yup, that's me! Come on over!" That's Traffic in your case.

      Once you've accomplished that consistently THEN you get to work on Conversion...making the actual sale.

      The moment you understand your target market, I recommend hiring ewenmack (a user here) for helping you with the offer & copy. I could do it but he's better for your case. Do a search on his posts and look for the examples he's provided in the past...but hire him, don't try to create some kind of Frankenstein Monster copy from his examples--that won't work.

      There are maybe a dozen people on this forum who know what they're doing and he's one of 'em. Most of them can be found in this Offline subforum.

      Ah screw it, I'll do the search myself ;-)

      We've had some good discussions...first post in this thread:

      https://www.warriorforum.com/offline...one-place.html
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    • Profile picture of the author animal44
      Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

      How do you pick a list to maximize people who do have an issue?
      How about your past customers? If they've had an issue, then chances are their neighbours may also have an issue. Won't cost you anything to ask for a referral.

      Also pass out "I'm in the neighbourhood" postcards when you're doing a job, with an time limited inspection offer.

      Here's a couple of sample emails/letters asking for referrals from Dan the Man. (I think they could be improved, but they're all I could find in a short time)

      Subject: I need your help

      Hi [Client Name],

      I'm so glad you're happy with the [service]. I'm extremely passionate at what i do, so knowing your happy makes my day.

      Actually. it's because of this that l was wondering if I could ask your help with something...

      It's my goal to help as many [insert target market] as much as possible to [insert transformation you provide].

      So I was wondering if you knew of any other [insert target market] that could use my help?

      I know how people hate being "cold called." so if anyone comes to mind, do you think you could send my website their way with a few kind words and ask them to contact me?

      I would be extremely grateful.

      And. of course, your friends would get the royal treatment. :-)

      Also. as a more concrete way of saying thanks. I would like to give you 3 [insert gift, special, etc.] for every person that ends up hiring me.

      Anyways, thank you in advance. l'm glad you're so happy. and I cannot wait until we [insert how you'll work together again].

      Sincerely.
      [Insert your name]
      SUBJECT: I need your help

      Dear Valued Client,

      I'm looking for motivated clients just like you. I figured the best place to start looking is people within your circle of influence who could benefit from my services.

      Here's how you can help.

      Simply fill out the referral form below and I'll forward your friend(s) a copy of [insert freebie].

      I'll also offer them the opportunity to become a valued client just like you.

      (insert link to referral form)

      And. if they end up becoming a client, I'll happily send you a [insert free gift] as a "thank you" for your help.

      Thank you for your business, and I look forward to serving you further.

      Sincerely,
      [insert name]
      Personally I don't like offering free gifts up front. I prefer to surprise them with a gift after the fact.
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      • Profile picture of the author Orchard
        Thank you very much. This is very helpful. If you have an example of the referenced referral form please send along.
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        • Profile picture of the author animal44
          Originally Posted by Orchard View Post

          If you have an example of the referenced referral form please send along.
          It's just a normal sales letter/contact form where you lay out your offer. Needs to be keyed to the referrer so you know who to give the reward...
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Everything Jason said and just a bit more...

    Your business is not much unlike a lawn care guy or a fertilizer company. The bottom line to profit is not in the number of jobs, but the proximity of the jobs. If you goto https://store.randmcnally.com/wall-maps.html and buy a wall map of your location, and physically put the map on the wall and start placing pushpins in the location of each of your active customers in one color, and past / lost customers in another color, you will KNOW where you need to focus your efforts.

    In doing this little exercise you will also without question see clients you probably should not have. What? you say... Think about this for a moment, you have a client that is 30 minutes out of the way.. that's 1 hour travel time and say your or your guys are there for an hour that's 2 hours for one job. Put 2 guys in a truck, and now we are talking 4 hours lost. do that once a day every day for the 5 days a week you work... you are pissing away 20 hours of labor a week.. 80 hours a month and damn near 1000 hours a year.. all for 5 clients.

    That's something in the order of 10 to $15,000 a year if not more for only 5 clients.. I will bet there is money lost there for sure.

    The KEY to a business such as yours is start tightening those boundaries of operation and letting loose of the clients that are in all actually costing you money. Taking this concept in some cases to an extreme can create less work at greater overall profit.

    You have been in business I am guessing a few years if not more.. use the map to guide you into what areas you need to focus on, where the added mailer advertising can be a catalyst for referral ( IE one neighbor asking the other.. I got this card from company X, they do work for you right? )

    Geography, and Demographics, and Psychographics are absolute great data sets to have... but the BEST piece of data is location of your current and past clients ( real time geographic data ) Spend more time thinking about what message you want to convey vs who you should target,, the map data will physically present itself that information for you.
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