Most business people would like more business, right? Ideally we would like it when we need it and not when we have too much already. This desire is the perfect reason to start a direct mail program at your business. Direct mail/marketing gives you control of what services you want to offer, to whom, and when you want to offer them. Right now we are going to focus on two important parts of a direct mail campaign, mailing lists and strategy for existing customers.
Creating the mailing list out of your existing customers
The cheapest and easiest place to get the names to send your direct mail advertisements to is from your existing customer list. If you don't think you have one, just look inside your file cabinets. Start to build those names into a database by creating a simple MicroSoft Excel or Access file, two common programs that make mailing easy. Include things like names, address and phone number, and then details like type of roof, age, etc.
Creating a strategy
Now that you have a list, you need a game plan. My company name was my brand, so my plan was always to keep the name of my company in front of the customers face. To make the direct mail program easy to manage I always started with the calendar. For example, in early March we would send a postcard to our existing customers with flat roofs with a message on the damage the freeze-thaw cycles of winter could and the wisdom of a low-cost inspection by one of our professionally trained technicians. Our goal was to set up as many appointments as we could before the weather turned wet and we were too busy to do preventative maintenance work. We offered a special price for early response to the mailer and followed up with a phone call. We could do this because they are our customers and we have a relationship. We designed the mailer to simply convey our message and if it was a message that we would repeat every year, like pre-season maintenance, we sent the exact same design mailer on the same week(s) every year. It taught our customers to look for us. After the first year or two of mailers they learned to expect them and our phone calls. There is a principle here: "Frequent communication creates relationships with your customers". It wasn't long before we needed to create a position specific to this marketing task.
As for the marketing piece, notice how everything flowed together: We answered the question(s): When (the end of winter but before spring), Who (existing customers with flat roofs), What (pre- wet season roof inspections), developed a "Hook" (a special price), developed the relationship (phone call), and increased our brand value (they were looking for our company). We duplicated this scenario every fall before things start to freeze up. Like we did, you will have just created a strategy to contact your existing customers twice per year! Good job!
If your list is too small or you are just starting out, we will talk next month on how to utilize a purchased mailing list. Until then, keep roofing!
Chris Margarites has been climbing on roofs since 1975. He has served as a repair technician, a service manager, and a partner of a contracting firm. He later started EternaBond with an idea to create a product that would make a roofing technician's job easier, the customer's repair more permanent, and the company profitable. Margarites can be reached at (888) 336-2663.
