Business is great for a period oftime, so what do you do? You stop or slow down your advertising!
All of a sudden, you have a slowmonth, and you don’t understand the reason. Take a look at your advertising.Did it have consistency, or were there gaps where you were not advertising atall?
The danger of slowing down youradvertising means that normal attrition rates will eventually affect yourbusiness. You must continuously replace customers because they move from yourarea, take competitive offers, or leave for other reasons unknown or unrelatedto your business.
The most cost effective – andresults-driven – means of advertising for the tire dealer is direct-mailmarketing. It offers greater measured results, plus typically has a longershelf life, compared to other advertising formats. You can choose where and howto mail, and you also have unlimited ability to test prices and products withyour prospective audience.
Plus, research has shown thatconsumers have a strong preference to receive promotions and offers in theirmailboxes. A recent Pitney Bowes survey revealed that the majority of consumersprefer to receive unsolicited marketing information through regular mail.Seventy-five percent of respondents to the firm’s “2003 Household MailPreference Study” said they prefer regular mail for receiving new productannouncements or offers from companies, up from 73% in 2001. Seventy-sixpercent said they consider mail to be more secure than e-mail. To take thiseven further, 69% of consumers base their buying decisions on coupons or offersthey receive in the mail.
Determining an effectivedirect-mail campaign requires three key components: 1) the mailing list, 2) theoffer, and 3) a professional-looking design. Make sure you work with a companythat supplies USPS-certified lists, and make sure those lists are as up to dateas possible. Do some research and ask a few basic questions to make sure youradvertising dollars are not being wasted on outdated lists.
The offers must be appealing tothe mass audience that you are targeting. Let your customers and prospects knowabout everything you do.
I have a customer who iscelebrating 30 years in business, and we did a direct-mail piece highlightingall of the services his store provides. The feedback and response has beenoverwhelming. Some of his customers, who had been coming to him for years, hadno idea that he provided the some of the services he advertised.
The design is the least importantof the three but must still be appealing to the eye to attract the customer tothe mailer.
Customers have so many choicesthese days, and setting yourself apart from your competitors can often bechallenging. Advertising, in conjunction with great customer service, is agreat formula for growing your business consistently!
– By Angie Nielsen, CEO, MailAmerica Inc.
