| Direct Mail Experts

Targeting New Residents with Direct Mail Advertising

SocialMedia — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:07:11 +0000

Although having loyal long-standing customers is an asset to any company, every business needs to have new customers in order to survive. One great way to ensure new business is to target people who are just moving into the area. Anyone who is headed to a new city is going to need to find those basic services that everyone needs and often don’t know where to begin. That’s where direct mail advertising can be an asset to both the consumer and the business sending out the advertising.

With specific marketing fliers sent under a “new neighbors program,” new potential customers can be kindly welcomed to the area and offered promotions specifically targeted to new customers. For example, a dentist’s office could offer a deal on a cleaning to a new resident that it would not offer to current customers. Because the new resident will need a new dentist and may not have any idea who to call, this can bring in the kind of business that will then turn into a repeat customer. It is the company’s chance to win over someone who could be a valued customer for years to come.

By using a service through a direct mailing company, it is possible to obtain lists of new people who have moved into your business’s area so that you can offer them promotions shortly after they have settled into their new home. It is important to access these potential customers fairly quickly after they have arrived in town, before they develop relationships with rival companies. There is a small window of opportunity right after they move in, when people are feeling lost and in need of direction on where to go to get all the basic services that they need.

Some companies are content to simply have their name in a phone book or in an online directory, hoping that new residents will choose them. However, this attitude is not the best way to forage for new business, and it is only with a direct mail advertising campaign that companies can ensure their business name will be out there for new residents to latch on to. Working with a direct mailing company is certainly the way to go.

Direct Mailing is More Than Just Mailing Flyers

SocialMedia — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:43:03 +0000

Some companies have no idea what the best way is to go about advertising their business. Most small companies can’t afford expensive television or radio time and have to resort to paper flyers to get the word out about their business, promotions, and other relevant information. However, just distributing marketing flyers or even posting them on message boards is not going to bring in the optimum amount of business that a direct mail company can because it isn’t necessarily reaching people who will want to use that company.

Most companies, however, do not have the knowledge or resources to understand how to send targeted direct mail. Business owners are focused on keeping their businesses afloat with the day-to-day operations of the company and don’t have time to figure out which way to focus their advertising efforts. This can lead to a mass mailing campaign, where a certain number of addresses are randomly selected and the mailers are sent out. That’s an expensive gamble when the addresses chosen are not the target audience for the company.

The best way to use marketing flyers is targeted direct mail advertising. By working with a direct mail company, a business can get information about new residents in the area to target, then create mailers that are specifically targeted to a certain population, such as families with children or seniors.

In fact, the cards sent to these potential customers can be modified to specifically reflect that targeted demographic. For example, the theme of your next ad could offer a deal for those over 65, then send it out to a smaller group on your list. That means your company can send mailers just to people who would value their services, but the advertising can be changed based on the target audience.

Running a business can be a life-consuming endeavor, but without the aid of direct mailing, all that hard work may be wasted because the right customers will never become aware of the business and will never walk through the door.

Getting New Business: Is Shared Mail the Way to Go?

SocialMedia — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:35:13 +0000

Even companies that have been in business for decades need new customers to use their services or they are doomed to fail. With turnover due to customers moving out of the area or otherwise no longer needed the services of the business, new consumers need to know about your company right now.

There are many ways to go about getting new customers, such as television advertisements or viral marketing campaigns. However, these methods can be quite costly and are out of the question for small businesses. Even sending mailings can make it too costly for a business struggling to survive. For those companies, the concept of shared mail through a direct mailing company may be the best option.

Shared mail is not a new concept, but the term may not be well known. The idea is a simple one: put your direct mail advertising card or flyer with other companies’ advertising efforts in one mailing. These advertisements from the direct mail company arrive at the customers’ homes in one single mailing, and the customer can then look through all the ads and offers at one time. Customers may be more likely to flip through a packet of information like this than to read a singular mailing because the overall size and scope of the shared mail is more likely to draw attention.

While some companies may be hesitant to join in with other businesses and want the attention focused solely on them, this is often the wrong way to go. Although there may be some concern that your advertisement will be lost in the shuffle of all the other companies’ ads, this can easily be remedied by having a good design concept and offering specials or coupons. People’s eyes are often drawn to coupons, because everyone loves saving money, especially these days.

Another benefit of shared mail is that there is a far less chance that your direct mail will be lost somehow before reaching the customer. Sometimes an advertisement on a postcard may go unnoticed, stuck to the back of another piece of mail or simply too small to catch one’s eye. These issues will not occur, however, with shared mail where the sheer size of the group of advertisements will be easily visible to all and will be an effective direct mail advertising campaign.

MudlickMail has updated Pay Per Click advertising(a blog)

SocialMedia — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:41:36 +0000

Source: workshop.search-autoparts.com

What Types of Advertising Channels Best Suits Your Business?

SocialMedia — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:25:02 +0000

Unfortunately, the statement ‘if you build it, they will come’ has not applied to the business world for quite some time. Even if you have a superior product or service, if the customer can’t find you, he or she simply won’t buy. For that reason, marketing becomes one of the most fundamental building blocks of lasting success.

The good news is that advertising channels have multiplied substantially over the past few years. Today, you have a wide variety of choices when it comes to reaching out to your potential customer base. Choosing the right one depends on your ability to determine where you target buyers are, how they are best reached, and how to fit that within your budget.

Direct Mail

When the message needs to reach a specific audience, in a specific region, and the company doesn’t want to cut the content short, direct mail can be the best format. In this way, there is no need to pay to reach out to those who are unlikely to buy the product or service and there is no direct competition within the source.

The message on advertising direct mail can be written however the marketing manager sees fit without concern regarding length requirements. Plus, the cost of advertising direct mail can be adjusted simply by altering the number of potential customers to be reached at one time. Though there were once concerns about long lead times for printing and mailing, with improved technology over the past decade, that has been alleviated.

Newspapers and Magazines

Hardcopy advertising remains a strong player today, despite the rapid growth of E-marketing concepts. The reason for this is that newspapers and magazines reach such a large number of potential customers. Due to geographical and content specifics, they also make it possible to target specific subsections of the population, depending on what you have to sell. For example, auto repair company advertisement would generally be most impactful on a local level and for the sub-population who does the most commuting. Automotive magazines and local newspapers might, therefore, be worthwhile advertising venues. Of course, there are some disadvantages to marketing a product or service in this way. The ad space can be quite costly, especially in popular publications and your ad must face direct competition with others printed alongside it.

Yellow Pages

This term was once thought to encompass the aptly colored section of the phone book. While that is still the case, there are also online Yellow Pages, which are rapidly growing in popularity. Both varieties offer a unique way to advertise based on location. Additionally, in the web-based arena, you can also place advertisements based on what the person is searching for. Another advantage of choosing this venue, as compared to something like direct mailing, is that it is very non-intrusive. A person sees the ad, but isn’t burdened with it. Furthermore, Yellow Pages ads tend to be one of the least expensive options for reaching such a large customer base. However, marketing flyers do not face the competing ads and Yellow Pages ads can appear clustered and risk overwhelming the potential client.

Radio and Television

Two of the most successful means of reaching customers, these forums continue to receive a lot of attention from companies trying to be heard. This is because they reach so many views, allow ads to be narrowly targeted to specific audiences (who is most likely to be up during that hour, watching/listening to that particular program in the specified region?). Unfortunately, the message is temporary, DVR systems allow viewers to fast forward through commercials on television, and the cost is often too high for the marketing budget to manage.

Launching Shared Mail

SocialMedia — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:41:15 +0000

Exciting times for us at Mudlick! We’re launching a new service for our existing customers and new users that will help expand your customer bases.

Shared Mail is our new low-cost, print media program that allows retail store owners to package their promotional efforts with other top advertisers in their areas in a package aimed directly at your target customers. No matter if your business is in auto repair, dental services or financial services, you can benefit from using Mudlick’s Shared Mail approach.

By using demographics, purchasing potential and lifestyle/behavioral patterns, advertisers are assured of precision targeting. This type of data-driven marketing identifies high value customers and their look-alikes at the sub-zip code level, helping store owners leverage our expansive database to select only those households most likely to respond.

Research has shown that shared mail can be an effective way for advertisers to reach key audiences. A 2009 survey by TNS Global Market Research found that nearly 40% of consumers make one or more purchases from the weekly shared mail packages they receive. Seeing the savings generated by multiple coupon offers is a powerful inducement to buy.

The benefits are numerous. Store owners can use Mudlick Mail’s research prowess to target consumers by age, ethnicity, purchasing power, population density, shopping patterns and even brand loyalty. Once pinpointed, Mudlick will help store owners create impactful advertising messages that drive your promotional dollars further in reaching your desired demographic.

Mudlick Mail has been offering uniquely targeted direct mail campaigns since 2008 and now counts more than 500 clients in the United States. Some shop owners have increased their sales by as much as 40 percent by using Mudlick Mail’s comprehensive campaigns, which include market analysis, design services, printing, labeling and postage all in one package.

We’re excited about this new program and want to invite you and others reading here to get involved. Make the right move, use Shared Mail and improve your overall advertising ROI.

Advantages of Direct Marketing

SocialMedia — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:03:15 +0000

There are many varieties of direct marketing that are used today. They can include internet-based initiatives, such as a direct e-mailing, but also involve several traditional forms, such as advertising direct mail and telemarketing. There are many advantages of using this sort of approach when reaching out to a potential customer base.

Narrowing the Target Audience

Perhaps the most noted benefit of direct mail is the ability to target only those individuals who are most likely to buy the product or service being sold. Where are you located? How far are people willing to travel for what you have to offer? What generation, sex, or ethnicity is most likely to want or need it? Does your typical customer have specific interests or hobbies? With these and similar questions answered, you can narrow down a potential market to find only those with the most potential as customers and send a marketing flyer directly to them with direct marketing.

Getting the Biggest Bang For Your Buck

While some forms of advertising limit the number of words you have, or the amount of time you have to get your message across, direct mail does not. Your message can be as long as necessary, so you can assure that the potential client gets everything he or she needs from you advertisement. Being able to narrow the target audience also means that the cost to advertise can be controlled, where other marketing venues will charge a flat rate regardless of how big your target market may be.

Refining Your Initiatives

Another great thing about direct marketing is that you have an exact number of individuals reached. Instead of relying on viewership approximations, you can figure exact ratios, such as conversion rates. If the turn-around after the advertisement wasn’t what you had hoped, you can refine your tactic and try again. In fact, advertising direct mail can be used for multiple purposes because you have such ease of management. You can test new markets, get a feel for how customers respond to new products or services, use small runs to get a good feel for your most promising market before a big launch, and even gauge your pricing.

Is Your Company Brand Being Talked About?

SocialMedia — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:14:03 +0000

A recent study of social media trends tracked the conversations occurring in social network settings about the top car manufacturers. It was found that the total number of times that these leading brands were mentioned over the six-month period topped the two million mark. That is a lot of talk about a very specific industry and should serve as a reminder to those competing in some facet that brand recognition is a very integral component in building success.

The automotive industry remains the leader; maintaining an online presence that far exceeds any other industry. In order to compete in a market that is so heavily impacted by the comments and conversations of the potential customer base, it is important to consider how you are helping or hindering your company’s potential for improved brand recognition. There are a few ways that you can improve your status in online conversation and also during water cooler-type chats.

Direct Marketing

Likely the most effective way to spread the news about your existence, the product or service you have to offer, and any specials you may be running is through direct marketing. One of the most common forms of this is direct mailing. This allows a company to customize a message in as many or as few words as seen fit and send only to those people most likely to becomes customers. The effectiveness of your advertising direct mail will greatly impact the way that the market views your company and your product.

Frequency

How often you send direct marketing is very important. While filling mailboxes with your marketing flyers too often can turn people away, doing so too infrequently will do nothing for building brand recognition.

Targeting Your Audience

When selling a related product or service, it is going to do you little good to advertise to a population that has no use for your product or service. Knowing your target market is important. What ages, sex, ethnicity, social group, or other segment of the population is most likely to want or need what you have to offer? By limiting the audience to receive your direct mail, you will cut your associated costs and also better ensure that the ads have a positive impact. Choosing the right target market means that you are increasing the odds that the add gets talked about. The more it is seen and talked about by that audience, the better your brand recognition becomes.

Knowing What you Do Best

Part of writing a meaningful advertisement is knowing how you stand out from the crowd. What gives you an edge in your industry? How will that translate to the customer? Can you offer something that the others can’t? Do you have experiences that they don’t? Do you offer better pricing on the same goods or services? That one thing that you do better than anyone else becomes that tagline that is most likely to draw in new customers and will be the reason that your company is talked about online and in the real world. Brand recognition relies on your ability to express that in advertising direct mail and elsewhere.

Four 2012 Success Strategies

SocialMedia — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:31:06 +0000

With the New Year upon us, it is a great time to evaluate your business and determine what you want to achieve in 2012. Here are a few strategies for future success.

Develop a budget: Writing a budget gives you the opportunity to review the past year and see where your successes and failures were on a monthly basis. The budget process also sheds light on your expenses and helps you figure out where you can make cuts and where you might need to invest more.
Set goals: Whether you want to drive sales or improve customer service, writing down your goals will help you commit to achieving them and increase your chances of success. Once you establish your goals, think about the steps you’ll need to take to meet them.
Pledge to say yes: The automotive repair business is a crowded arena, but becoming a shop that says yes to customers will help separate you from the competition.
Advertise: The reality is you can’t afford NOT to advertise. I think direct mail is the best advertising method because it allows me to reach the highest-caliber customers located closest to my shops.

Read the full blog post on Motor Age.

Knowing Your True Target Market

SocialMedia — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:31:48 +0000

Can the product or service you sell appeal to all customers regardless of age, sex, or ethnicity? If you answered yes, then you are already doomed to corporate failure. The truth of the matter is that leading companies to not reach their impressive ranks by trying to please everyone. Even with their multi-million dollar marketing budgets, they realize that it would be futile to try to afford targeting that large of a market. Besides, there isn’t a product in existence that can appeal to everyone. So, why would you spend your company’s hard earned cash trying to reach out to people who are unlikely to want or need your services?

Learning to narrow a target market is a difficult task for many new (and even some long-term) entrepreneurs. Initially, it might seem that limiting the number of potential customers would be a bad move. However, the trick is to narrow your audience to include only those who are most likely to buy from you. That way money spent on direct mail, for instance, is more likely to see positive returns.

The best way to hone in on those few who are going to appreciate you most is to recognize your strengths and portray them above all else. For your next advertising direct mail run, let the tagline be the one thing that you do better than your competition. More importantly understand how that thing that you specialize in will be received by the people receiving your marketing flyer. Who is going to be won over by the sentence, the word, or the number that sets you apart from the crowd? Imagine the face of the person most drawn in. Is it a man or woman, adult or child, black, white or Hispanic? What was that person doing before checking the mail; where is he or she headed afterward; where is home? What does that person do for fun? Learning to describe that individual, who is so impacted by the statement in your direct marketing is the first and most essential step to narrowing your target market.

Once you have answered those questions, the trick becomes finding ways to reach those individuals specifically. Certainly you can continue with direct mailings, but where will you build your list of recipients from and how will you continue to appeal to them? These are the questions to be answered as your company continues to grow. Answering them correctly can help to secure your place in the market for years to come.