[jamesn162]

I am very curious about direct mailings. I spend about 10k a year on yellow pages ads in my working area but i have heard a little bit of direct mailings. I am asking all of you professionals out there if you guys know anything about them. pretty much do they work?

[Stonehenge]

I did a bit of direct mail last year and was extremely disappointed in it. Out of 3,000 postcards I got 3 calls. Landed 2.

A tenth of a percent isn't too greatr a response rate. But I discovered from Chuck McKay's article about frequency of message, so this year I'm casting a broader net and going to throw the net a few times.

Hopefully a big storm will come through and we'll be the Bubba Gump of landscaping.

[johnkeegan]

How do you get ahold of a "preferred" mailing list in an area? I thought someone said it's a matter of cross-referencing zip code listings and census bureau income info. Is it simple enough to do or wise to just outsource the task to an "expert?"

[4seasons]

When I did a direct mail with my christmas lights, I targeted $150,000yr and above. We only sent out 500 and got 5 calls, landed 2. They more than payed for themselves. We also put doorhangers on mailboxes (in ritzy neighborhoods). Put out 200 maybe? Got lots of calls but only landed one. One reason is I started too late.
My christmas supplier handled the post cards for us. People love the idea of holiday lighting, but just don't realize the cost involved w/ a nice product.

[mrusk]

Direct mail can work very good.

You need to have a good list. Buy a list. Infousa.com has good rates. Really sit down and think about who your ideal client is.

You need to have a good postcard, brochure etc. designed. Do not cheap out on the design. Pay a professional!

You want to come up with something that is more then just a pretty picture with your services listed.

Repetion is key. Don't mailing 10k once. Mail 2500 4 times.

Direct mail is a science.

I am mailing to 5,000 people this spring. I am first hitting them with a letter, then a trifold, then a postcard, then most likely another letter.

I think i am going to mail every 3 weeks. My friend owns a mailing company so i get a smoking deal on it

Matt

[jamesn162]

wow guys thats great. i already have a great brochure and postcard now i just need to buy a mailing list. i am going to give it a try becasue i am worried about my yellow pages producing alot of customers. thanks alot to everyone that replied.

[Stonehenge]

We bought our first mailing list, and were not very happy with it. The price was good, but the quality was not. With just about every company you choose how you want the data sorted (specific zip codes, property values, one even claims to be able to get you a list based on their hobbies - kinda sketchy), so in theory you should get a good list.

In a 5,000 address list, ours had 300 duplicate addresses. Considering this is all data sorted by computer, that's pretty unforgiveable. Another 300 or so came back as undeliverable. With that I questioned whether the ones that made their destination were really my target.

So this winter I built my own list. We're in a small market, so it wasn't too tough. The way I cellected the list? A laptop and a truck. Drive, baby. Drive.

[jamesn162]

thats a great idea i mean after all sounds like those lists you pay for are garbage. so im going to go around and make my own list thanks alot stonehedge!

[Dale Wiley]

We do a lot of direct mail to our sports field targets.

This is a finite and clearly defined market, and our mailings are about 250 each time, 4 times per year. Cost is about
$ 700 per mailing.

We usually average about 6 calls the following week, and 3 to 4 the week after that.

We set 6 appointments, and I have sold about 60K in work since the mailer went out about 3 weeks ago.

I have 2 more site visits today from that mailing.

By far, our web sites have generated more response and work than any other source.

Opitimaztion of our home pages is resulting in page 1 goggle and yahoo hits, with the ranking in the first 10 on that page 1. These are very well qualified lead and we have closed 100% of them at above our target margins.

[jamesn162]

thanks alot im am def going to try direct mailing.
just how i go about getting my mailing list is up for debate in my head.

[GLAN]

I think mrusk has the right idea


repetition.


Interesting thing is I buy a listing of addresses of new homes purchased. I get a new list every month. Some months are only 20, some 60. Company is called NewPros.

My reasoning here was to target new people coming into town, or OK the few that relocate in town. I didn't see any worth in mailing to 20 year residents..........when they see my trucks all over town all year, every year...........and the adds we run.

NewPros in the beginning told me to follow up with the contacts no less than 1 more mailing.

Does it work?

I have no idea..............been buying the lists for 2 years and done nothing with them..........part of the problem with being a 1 man circus performer

For the first time..........I have 37 letters going out in tomorrows mail.........so we'll see.

All in all.........repitition has to work..........it works for me when I am in need of contractor work at the house

[jamesn162]

Do you have to have s solicitng permit for direct mailing?

[Turtle]

What Stonehenge said about making your own list. In our county we can go to our county property appraisal office website and query subdivision names then everyone in that subdivision is listed then I can just copy and paste. Right there is also the value of the home and taxes etc.

Great way to target an area.

[agla]

It seems like mass mailing is like throwing a net out into the ocean with everybody else. This is a diverse industry, so I suppose it matters exactly what you are trying to sell, but it seems like many of you are doing the kind of work that some of your clients have some similar circumstances more than income or zip code.

Most design work that I get involved in comes very soon after the purchase of a property, yet much more during the construction or reconstruction of a property. That is a pretty specific market. It may not be the same circumstances that fit your market, but I would guess that if you really think about it, certain parts of your business probably has a good percentage of some unique circumstances that you could look to target.

The design/build that I do a lot of work for does do a lot of work, but not on a lot of jobs. Their reputation within certain circles makes it so that marketing is not something they do much of. The work come to them and it takes only a few jobs to fill the years schedule. But, if they had unlimited capacity to take on more work, I would definitely be frequenting planning board, zoning board, and conservation commission meetings to see who is permitting what. Names of owners, even those who have not closed yet, and the nature of the projects will give you pretty good insight to who might be needing our services. If you can make contact early, maybe get involved with some of the permitting process when applicable, you could be owning the job before the lot gets cleared.

That is a pretty specific example that only fits one small segment, but I'm sure that more people decide to add a patio or retaining wall, or planting in response to something else that they are doing or as a result of some circumstance much more than because someone sent an offer in the mail or hung something on their knob .... I meant door knob.

Keep your eye out for pool permit applications, permits for additions, property transactions. It is better to mail 10 letters to these people than 3,000 to people who made 200k last year.

Marketing something like mowing could work well with a big net since there are all kinds of demographics that use this type of service since you might not be looking for a specific type or size of fish as long as you catch 'em. I think the hard part is that so many people are fishing the same water that all the bait looks the same sometimes.

I have no real (or reel, if we like the fish metaphor) experience in marketing. These are just based on observation.

Look for things that need to get done to create the circumstances that seem to be present when you get jobs. Then try to tap information sources that can give you a heads up. Those might be regulatory boards, real estate transactions, permits pulled, or design professionals further up the pipeline like architects, engineers, sewer installers, or land surveyors. If you can find a way to help any of those design professionals so that you can interact with them frequently, you could find yourself getting good leads very early on in a project.

Just something to think about at a time of year when money is tight and you have time on your hands.

[Jake Wolf]

Does anyone do mailings to their existing customers? Something like newsletters, coupons, offers for referrals? How about targeting people on your customer's block by letting you know you're already in the neighborhood weekly.