Direct mail marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing. According a 1921 business primer, “Effective Direct Advertising”, the world’s first example of direct “mail” was a piece of papyrus distributed to residents of an Egyptian town around 1000 B.C. The papyrus contained a written plea from a landowner for the return of his runaway servant. […]
Grab the Consumer’s AttentionDirect mail marketing pros and local business owners will tell you that crafting a mail piece that doesn’t get thrown away is the greatest challenge they face. According to 41pounds.com, a group that measures such things, Americans receive 41 pounds of direct marketing mail each year. Not only that, but 44 percent of it ends up in the trash without being read. […]
You know who your favorite customers are, right? You’re probably thinking of one of them right now… the ones that order the same thing each time they come into your business, or they come in on the same day every week, or even every day of the week! These are the customers you get to know the best, as you build a relationship that extends beyond the transaction. Have you ever had one of those great regular customers disappear? Suddenly, they stop coming in every Friday and sitting at the same table. What happened to them? Chances are, they moved. You did everything right to keep that customer, but unfortunately, they’re a lost customer anyway. 19% percent of the population moves every year. With our society being as mobile as it is, these new movers represent both a potential downside and an upside for you. It is true you can lose great customers due to a move, and will need to replace them to keep from losing business. But, you also have an opportunity to earn a new loyal customer who recently moved into your area and needs your services. That’s where New Mover Marketing comes in. Turning New Movers Into New Customers Targeting this small, but very potent, market of new movers, you have an opportunity to get to these people before your competitors do. If you can create an opportunity leading them to your door, you can turn them into a regular customer, right? In order to find these new movers, it’s important to work with a New Mover Marketing company that allows only one business of each category in their package (one car wash, one pizza place, etc.). With the market becoming more competitive each year, exclusive rights in your local Welcome Package will give you a key competitive advantage. Our Town America is the nation’s leading New Mover Direct Mail Marketing company and can bring new movers to you by sending them a Welcome Package filled with FREE housewarming gifts from the local businesses in your area. While most direct mail programs attempt to get current customers to come back again, current customers usually have pre-established purchasing patterns and don’t necessarily need a coupon or discount to come visit your business. A marketing strategy with focus It’s important to note that some direct mail programs mail to tens of thousands of homes, and will mail to the same home more than once. Unfortunately, this results in you only being able to offer a watered-down coupon which, over time, can create “coupon-dependent” customers who only come in for discounted offers. Typically, these types of customers are not as loyal. With Our Town America, you will only be targeting people who have never been through your business doors before, as they just moved to the area. By mailing to these new customers one time only, you can provide a much more generous gift. When compared to the typical coupon mailed to existing customers, a generous offer mailed to new movers will create a higher rate of response. Treating these valuable new movers like royalty will turn them into regular customers, and will help grow your business for years to come! John GuerraJohn is a guest blogger for Our Town America and previously worked in national sales at our Clearwater, FL corporate headquarters. www.ourtownamerica.com […]
Halloween has passed and the holiday season is in full swing. While there are many opportunities to promote your business this holiday season, one of the more unconventional ways is through the Small Business Saturday event hosted the Saturday after Thanksgiving (it falls on November 26th this year). While Black Friday is a day for big-box retail stores to thrive and Cyber Monday is focused on online retailers, Small Business Saturday, which made its debut in 2010, encourages consumers to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local. The U.S. Small Business Association reported that 28 million small businesses account for 54% of U.S. sales. So, small businesses actually mean BIG business to our economy, as they help shape communities throughout the country. The fourth annual Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and American Express, reported that 55% of U.S. consumers are aware of Small Business Saturday. Even more exciting is that 83% of U.S. consumers said that Small Business Saturday encourages them to Shop Small year-round1. Last year, over 95 million consumers shopped at local businesses on Small Business Saturday, spending over $16.2 billion dollars2. This year, Small Business owners are hoping to see that number rise. With so many small local merchants struggling to compete against bigger businesses year-round, the hope is that this annual event will gain momentum and can help accelerate Q4 sales through the holiday season. There are numerous ways for small businesses to promote their business through this event, as well as through the holiday season. Below are a few suggestions: Become an American Express Neighborhood Champion Run ads with in-store promotions to drive visits on November 26th Reach prospects via email marketing with promotions for November 26th Run a special promotion on your monthly new mover gift certificate If your business is located in a mall or shopping area, station an employee outside to give away free samples of your product or service to people passing by Join forces with other small business owners in your area and in your local new mover package and hold a weekend “sidewalk sale” Give shoppers the luxury of getting a free foot or shoulder rub if they buy something on November 26th Provide entertainment. Hire musicians to play in your store/restaurant, or outside of it to attract customers in. Something small business owners should consider is that Millennials are actually the #1 group planning to shop at small businesses on Small Business Saturday3. As many people know, Millennials seek uniqueness and individuality. In order to successfully reach this audience, small business owners should emphasize what makes their store distinct. Aside from the obvious warm welcome and great customer service that is needed to keep any customer happy, rare, one-of-a-kind products and gifts should be put on display for this age group. Personalized gifts and products featuring inspirational messages are extremely popular amongst Millennials. So, small business owners are urged to meet these criteria in order to boost Small Business Saturday sales. To become an Our Town America sponsor, please complete a Contact Form, or sign up online with our New Movers on Demand portal! 1Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey; 2Business Wire; 3SalesFuel Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]
Let’s face it, every business has a slow season. Businesses located in vacation destinations are a more extreme example. Most try their very best to make the most of their yearly revenue during the in-season months, and sometimes struggle during the off-season to generate revenue at all. This can generate quite a bit of stress on the business owner. Especially for small businesses. But it doesn’t have to be so bad. There are few things that you can start to include in your marketing plan that just may help you increase your revenue during the off-season. When looking for ways to connect with new customers, you’ve probably heard many times that you need to “Be Creative”, “Pay Attention” to their needs and “Create Excitement” around your small business. Sounds like a full time job all by itself, doesn’t it? Well, it’s actually not as tough as it may seem. Direct mail can help you make those connections and, in most cases, is a very easy turnkey option that helps generate great results. Let’s take a look at a few ideas to help you get started. Your existing customer base is an excellent resource for generating revenue during your slow season: Referral Campaigns – These can help bring in additional revenue by targeting the friends and family of your current customer base. Creating a Direct Mail Postcard campaign that offers incentives to refer others, such as friends and family, is actually accomplishing two very key tasks at once. First, you’re rewarding your existing customer base and showing them that you value their business. Second, you’re bringing in new faces that will give you potential access to a brand new set of customers! Everyone Wants a Great Deal – In order to reach customers that you haven’t seen in a while, or that have not responded to your previous offers, you need to get creative. Offer something really great, a chance to enter a drawing for FREE merchandise such as an iPad, movie tickets, etc. Direct Mail works very well for this type of campaign and can really help get these customers back through your doors. Events – During your off-season you can always generate excitement about your business by hosting various events. For example, you could create a direct mail campaign announcing that you are having a special “Local Residents Only” shopping day and extend discounts beyond what you would offer your seasonal customers. Direct mail is a huge help for these types of campaigns because it will allow you to target a very specific demographic, which will generate a better response. Now that you have some ideas on how you should be targeting your existing customer base, what about bringing in new faces, beyond just friends and family? Finding and targeting people that are new to the area and are actively searching to replace the services for businesses just like yours is where direct mail really goes to work for your business. When people move, they have to replace the businesses they use to frequent, such as their family dentist, hair salon, grocery store, auto mechanic, dry cleaners and even their favorite places to eat. By using direct mail to target these new movers, you’re reaching out to a very important niche market. Getting the new mover through your doors first gives you, as a business owner, an advantage over your competition. Doing this will help your business establish a more stable revenue stream for the future, turning the new faces in town into loyal customers for years to come! Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]
Any business that wants to grow has two ways of doing this: 1) by growing your customer base, or 2)by increasing your average sale. To grow your customer base, you must reach out to new potential customers and engage them in your brand. Today, there are more marketing options than ever before such as digital marketing, email marketing, social media and direct mail. […]
When we live in a community for a period, we form loyalties to local businesses. We use the same hair salon, same dry cleaners, same dentist, same auto repair shop, etc. Most married couples only have about 5 or 6 restaurants they go to regularly. And when they visit one of those restaurants, they usually order something off the menu they’ve ordered many times before. We’re creatures of habit. […]
PMQ Magazine (Jan 2015) – While traditional marketing and advertising will always have its place, sending targeted and personalized direct mail pieces to a brand-new audience each and every month is a unique and irreplaceable marketing strategy. Distinct from traditional marketing methods, new mover direct mail marketing with Our Town America allows businesses to reach consumers in an intimate fashion at an opportune time. Timing is Everything The Our Town America community Welcome Package arrives in the mailbox of new mover families while they’re actively seeking new go-to businesses in their new neighborhoods. Perceived as a community sponsorship package rather than everyday marketing, the Our Town America package gets opened and acted upon. In fact, 90% of respondents in Our Town America’s 2014 New Mover Survey said housewarming gifts would help them feel more comfortable and settled in their new home. Our Town America’s Welcome Package includes gift certificates with free offers from participating local businesses in the community—for example, a pizza shop, a dentist office, a hardware store, etc. Each one is personalized by name, includes a map directing the new mover to the business (since he/she is new to the area), and is tracked on the spot by a 2D barcode using the Our Town America TruTrak® application (available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play). This pinpoint tracking enables the business to track the response of the program and triggers a second mailing. The Extra Mile Each step of the Our Town America program provides various opportunities for businesses to develop long-term relationships with their new customers. The second mailing, the Thank You Postcard, hits the mailbox of the new-mover family after their initial visit, further solidifying the business-to-consumer relationship. In the aforementioned survey, 100% of new movers said it’s likely they’ll re-visit a business that welcomes them to the community. The Thank You Postcard is full-color, oversized and attention-grabbing. This postcard allows the business to personally thank the new-mover family for visiting, invites them back a second time, and is customizable, providing the business the option of extending a second offer to the family. Thousands of businesses across the nation rely on the Our Town America program to expand their customer base and increase revenue. Most businesses experience double-digit response rates and heightened brand awareness. With direct mail volume down—resulting in a less cluttered mailbox—now is your chance to stand out as the reputable business in your community. What are you waiting for? Read article on PMQ.com. By Brittany N. Johnson Source: Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]
TCOB Show (Nov 2014) – Our Town America franchise owner, Sondra Conk, joins Donna Powell of the Taking Care of Business Show to discuss new mover marketing with Our Town America. Listen in as Sondra and Donna talk about the Our Town America program and the success it’s brought business owners in both the Sarasota/Manatee area as well as nationwide. Listen to full podcast here Source: Spreaker Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]
PRWeb (Nov. 2014) – For the past four years, November 29th has been recognized nationally as a celebratory day for consumers and small businesses alike to support local, small businesses within the community; however, for Our Town America, the nation’s premiere new mover direct mail marketing franchise, Small Business Saturday takes places all 365 days of the year. Our Town America has been in support of small businesses for 42 years by connecting local, small businesses with new residents in town by mailing housewarming gifts in a premium community Welcome Package. Rather than filling a passport with stamps to obtain a one-day discount or giveaway gift, the Our Town America new mover direct mail marketing program rewards consumers who take advantage of visiting participating small businesses with follow-up gifts and long-term relationships with the best small businesses in town. Well over 3,000 businesses around the country currently use the Our Town America program to increase their customer base each and every month. These businesses depend on the program to create powerful results – many experiencing double digit response rates. In a 2014 survey of new movers, 95% of respondents said they would visit a business that welcomed them to the community and 90% of these respondents said housewarming gifts would make them feel more comfortable and settled in their home. When a part of the Our Town America program, both consumers and small businesses feel a sense of community each and every day. In support of small businesses across the country, Our Town America is offering 1 FREE MONTH to all new annual sponsor businesses who sign up the week of Small Business Saturday. For businesses interested in new mover marketing, contact Our Town America directly. Read on PRWeb. Source: PRWeb Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]
If you refer a business who partners with our new mover marketing program, we'll send you a $50 Visa gift card!
We only need a little info! If our database can validate and qualify your move, you will receive your welcome package in approximately 2-6 weeks!
