Direct Mail Tips For Reaching Your Existing Customers

By Author: karen grahams
Total Articles: 42
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You may think of direct mail as a marketing technique reserved for drawing in new customers or for when you have a sale. But direct mail can be more than that - it can be a relationship builder.
You can use direct mail pieces to reach your existing customers - to thank them for their business, to remind them of a scheduled service (like an oil change or teeth cleaning) or to sell them products that complement something they already bought.

This is known as relationship marketing. Relationship marketing is a strategy for maintaining, growing and improving relationships with customers. This type of marketing is not a one-time deal - it's a long-term marketing strategy.

Luckily, you already know how to do it. The process for creating direct mail pieces to enhance your customer relationships are basically the same as creating them for potential customers. You just need to change your message.

Incentive messages
If you want to keep your customers, you should reward them for being loyal to you by sending them direct mail pieces with an incentive. This could be a discount coupon, a free item coupon ...
... or you could actually send them a free item without any prompting needed. This worked well for Hellmann's mayonnaise company. Hellmann's wanted to keep existing customers, so they mailed out vibrant color printing pieces that included a coupon and mayonnaise scraper. They sent these to their target audience: women aged 25-44 with children. Approximately 15 percent of coupons were redeemed, achieving a 50 percent larger response than initial targets.

Customer satisfaction messages
This is a courtesy check-in message. This is handled easiest with a postcard - something that is small, and can be scanned quickly. It doesn't have to be text heavy. Just a note to say that you would like to ensure your customers' satisfaction and provide a way for customers to give feedback. Include a customer service number and make sure your message clearly states that you are most worried about the customers' satisfaction.

We appreciate your business messages
This can be a simple postcard or letter to let them know that you value their business. People like being recognized, so recognize your existing customers by sending out a simple thank you. If the customer hasn't bought anything for a while, this could be just the ticket to remind them of your business and they'll be more likely to drop in and make a purchase.

Business to business messages
As a side note, even though business to consumer is the most common use of direct mail, there's no reason not to use direct mail to keep up with your business clients, too. For a business, you should use a postcard that can be quickly scanned since people are busy at work. Drop a line to ensure that they have no problems with your product.

You can also just say We appreciate your business and leave it at that. This makes them think of you at times when they probably aren't. Since business to business direct mail isn't that common, you'll stand out from their other suppliers.

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