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Category: Business Management

Business Management

Why the Neighborhood Grocery Store is an Early Target for New Residents

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Welcome Customers Grocery Store Our Town America

As new movers unpack boxes and get settled, one of their first chores will be visiting a neighborhood grocery store to fill the pantry and refrigerator to keep hunger at bay; Our Town America can direct them to your location over your competitors. ‘Grocery stores near me’ is one of the first things people type into the search engine when they get to their new home. The smell of a favorite recipe cooking on the stove helps make a new kitchen feel like a home. As any parent knows, an empty refrigerator can cause dissension in the ranks and lead to grouchy family members. Having a kitchen stocked with healthy snacks and drinks will help curb hunger and keep new community members energized as they tackle the chore of getting organized and settling into their new homes. Americans spend big money at their local grocery store each week, so creating a loyal following from new residents is essential for every neighborhood grocery store. The average American spends more than $4,600 on food at home each year, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet, there are more than 38,000 grocery stores in the United States. Finding a strategy to set your grocery store apart from the flock of competitors can be a challenge. The good news is Americans are devoting more time to meal preparation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. At the height of the pandemic in the spring, grocery store sales were up 32 percent versus the prior year. As restrictions on restaurants loosen and grocery store sales return to pre-pandemic levels, neighborhood grocery stores can continue to bolster sales by targeting new residents.  New Mover Marketing Helps Neighborhood Grocery Stores Gain New Customers Our Town America’s New Mover Marketing program can help you reach new local residents and welcome them to the neighborhood. We send new residents an exclusive welcome package with proven offers to introduce them to your business. The high-quality package includes thoughtful and personalized gift certificates directly to new residents’ doorstep. Our Town America gets lists of individuals who have filed some sort of address change in the past 30 days and filters out any duplicate names and addresses to create a direct mailing list that is about 95 percent accurate. Accurate lists increase your store’s return on investment and save valuable resources, such as time and money. As an added bonus, your lists can be sorted by demographic data to target specific customers.  Our New Mover Marketing program comes with the ability to track your return on investment directly on your smartphone. Our TruTrak®  app enables you to validate and scan redemptions. It will also provide you with demographic data to help fine-tune your marketing efforts. Make New Customers Loyal Shoppers New Mover Marketing can help introduce your grocery store to new residents, but it’s up to you to keep them coming back to your store. Our Town America has some tips to help you convert new residents to loyal shoppers. Employ knowledgeable and friendly staff. Let’s face it. Grocery shopping is a chore for most Americans. It’s just one more task to check off the daily to-do list. If your employees offer friendly and reliable service, they can help make the experience memorable for even the most harried customer. Atmosphere is key. If your grocery store plays good music, has pleasant lighting and is well organized, customers will enjoy their shopping experience. Make your grocery store’s atmosphere welcoming, and your customers will linger. Protect Your Customers. Today’s customers want to feel safe when they head out to the grocery store. Setting up sanitizing stations, requiring sick employees to stay home and having easy to navigate parking lots with plenty of grocery cart stalls is important.  Our Town America is here to not only help you reach new movers, but to make them loyal customers. For more information on how you can use New Mover Marketing and our new mover lists, visit ourtownamerica.com. 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. […]

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What’s the Best Way to Market to New Homeowners?

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Best Way to Market to New Homeowners

As Americans abandon densely populated cities in droves to find work-life balance and be close to family, small businesses can capitalize on this trend by tapping into the new homeowner market. The spike in the number of companies allowing people to work remotely untethered people from their corporate offices and allowed them to throw a dart at the map to find their ideal hometown. More than 15.9 million Americans filed change of address requests with the United States Postal Service from February to July. The results indicate address changes were up four percent, versus the same period in 2019. Temporary relocations rose 27 percent, and permanent moves went up two percent.  New Homeowners Can Become Loyal Customers The surge in new movers (both homeowners and renters) provides a great opportunity for small businesses searching for strategies to add new customers. Our Town America is the leader in marketing to new residents. Our new mover marketing program puts your business in front of customers who have not yet formed loyalties with other businesses. We greet new movers with a welcome package full of hand-selected proven offers with industry-leading response rates to generate foot traffic to your business.  Where Are the New Homeowners? Current events sparked an exodus from some hot spots, but moving trends continued to follow predictable patterns. Traditionally, big cities often record high moving rates as people outgrow the hustle and bustle of city life, or it becomes cost-prohibitive. New York saw a 48 percent jump in people abandoning the city that never sleeps, compared with the same period the previous year. People also left Chicago and some larger California cities following the outbreak of the pandemic. The trend to move south and west continued in 2020 as people opted to relocate to Idaho, South Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Arizona.  Our Town America understands moving trends. We have more than 48 years of experience creating new mover mailings that will generate a return on investment for your small business. We compile accurate new mover mailing lists using technology and data experience. Our lists are current and contain mailing information for potential customers who recently moved to your community. Every month, Our Town America receives new movers lists from multiple sources which consists of individuals who have filed some sort of address change in the past 30 days. We take that information and filter out any duplicate names and addresses to create a direct mailing list that is about 95 percent accurate. As an added bonus, our lists are built to target your customer demographic. “Our Town America can help you capitalize on moving trends by focusing your marketing efforts on new movers – both new homeowners and renters,” said Michael Plummer Jr., Our Town America’s President and Chief Executive.  Top Reasons New Homeowners Relocate People make the decision to move for a variety of different reasons, mainly involving a new job or affordable housing. Understanding the motivation behind moving trends in your area can help when it comes to crafting a proven offer for our welcome package. For example, if people are moving because of a job loss, providing a generous proven offer to get them in the door is likely the way to go. With decades of experience and data, we are here to help you craft the perfect proven offer for your one-time housewarming gift.  Current events posed an additional reason for relocating in 2020. Nearly 59 percent of people who moved last year cited a desire to be closer to family. Nearly one in five people moved, or know someone who moved, due to the pandemic. In addition to wanting to be closer to family, those who moved because of COVID-19 did so due to concerns for personal and family health and wellbeing, ability to work remotely, or a lifestyle change or improvement of quality of life. We’re here to help you reach out to new homeowners in your area and turn them into new customers. For more information about new mover marketing and our new mover lists, visit www.ourtownamerica.com today. 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. […]

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Tips to Create a Small Business Marketing Plan

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Small Business Marketing Plan Our Town America Marketing

Creating a small business marketing plan can be a daunting task for new entrepreneurs. It is important to build a plan that will raise your brand awareness and help you reach your sales objectives. A successful marketing strategy will involve a robust online presence, direct mail advertising and a method for building your loyal customer base. Before you start crafting your first Instagram post or designing a direct mail marketing postcard, take time to develop a strategic small business marketing plan. Do Your Research. The first tip for creating a small business marketing plan that will generate results is to do your research. It’s important to identify your target market to ensure your plan reaches the correct demographic. Define your ideal customer by learning where they live, their traits and trends. Understanding the values, needs and concerns of your target market can help you personalize your marketing message to appeal to your customers. Understand the Competition. In addition to putting your ideal customer on paper, a part of your research should focus on the competition. Doing a deep dive on your competition will allow you to gain a competitive advantage. Learn what your competitors are doing well and where they’re falling short. Understanding your competition can help you develop a unique selling proposition that you can capitalize on with your marketing efforts. Decide on a Budget. While many businesses may be compelled to limit their marketing budget during this unique time as a way to cut costs, research reveals companies who invest in marketing during a recession bounce back faster than companies who opt to cut their ad spending. A good rule of thumb is to spend between 5 and 10 percent of your gross revenue on marketing.  Develop Your Message. The average attention span of an adult is only eight seconds, and new research from the Technical University of Denmark, indicates the abundance of information at our fingertips is narrowing our attention span further. Your marketing pitch needs to be short, sweet and to the point to capture the attention of your audience.  Determine How To Reach Your Target Market. Once you understand your target audience, it’s time to decide how to reach your customers. Even if you have a shoestring marketing budget, your plan needs to combine a number of different marketing techniques.  Direct Mail Marketing. Direct mail postcards are a low-cost solution for small businesses. Postcards are tangible and eye-catching with bright, beautiful colors. Every Door Direct Mail® Marketing will blanket specific ZIP codes with your message. Our Town America can send both saturation and targeted direct mail marketing postcards to your existing customer list – the choice is yours. With our company, direct mail results are easy to track and are known to generate results. Online Marketing. Social media advertising is another tool for advertising your small business – cost dependent upon your needs, market and demographic. Seven out of every ten Americans use Facebook, and 74 percent of users check it at least once per day, according to a study by Pew Research. You can also advertise through paid Google Ads. Since it can get pricey and over-saturated, it’s a good idea to supplement with direct mail to be sure your prospects are actually laying eyes on your ad. New Mover Marketing. Our Town America specializes in new mover marketing, which focuses on capturing new residents before they form loyalties to other businesses. We send new residents an upscale welcome package full of proven one-time-use offers with industry-leading response rates – only one from each industry. After the new family visits your business, Our Town America can send a follow-up thank you and/or additional offer to solidify them as loyal customers. These extra efforts don’t go unnoticed by customers, and your response rates will prove it!   Find Some Partners. There are numerous local businesses trying to reach customers on a limited budget. Network with local businesses in your community to help cross-promote your brands. Local businesses can band together to offer bundled promotions or reciprocal website links to advertise. Leverage Your Community. Small business owners are the backbone of any local community. Becoming an active member of your community is key to your business’ success. Join the local chamber of commerce and accept an offer to sponsor a 5K or one of the local sports teams and, if appropriate, set up a table at your local farmer’s market. Showing the community that you value their traditions and members will help build trust in your brand and bolster sales. Track Your Results. Tracking your marketing results will allow you to know what is working best for your business, and what could be tweaked. If email marketing is not measurably adding to your marketing efforts, it may be time to rethink the frequency of your emails or their content, for example. If a particular direct mail offer results in a spike in business, you may want to send it to a wider audience to further build foot traffic. Or, in the case of our new mover program, just continue on with the program — as we mail to a brand new audience of new movers every single month.  Our Town America understands the importance of tracking your return on investment, that’s why we created the TruTrak® mobile app. It allows you to track your return on investment, gather detailed demographic data of new customers, and validate and scan redemptions at point of sale. Businesses can also use the app to trigger a second mailing to customers.  If you’re ready to form a successful small business marketing plan, Our Town America is here to help. For more information about new mover marketing, visit www.ourtownamerica.com. 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. […]

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P.T.’s Grille Wins the Wilmington Small Business Award for Resilience

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
P.T.'s Grille Winner of Wilmington, NC Small Business Resilience Award by Our Town America

Spectrum News | Wilmington, NC – Aaron Hyatt has worked his way up in the P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille family from manager all the way to owner, but this past year has put his business to the test. The restaurant is one of the most popular in the Cape Fear area, but Hyatt is quick to note that doesn’t make them immune to the hardships everyone is facing. “There was a time when we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get meat, I think we all got scared then that we might have to shut down,” says Hyatt. That’s why Our Town America, a national marketing franchise that specializes in helping small and local businesses gain new customers, created the Small Business Resilience Award. Presented to just one business in each community, this annual award honors small businesses for overcoming the many triumphs of the previous calendar year. This year, however, holds extra merit due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the many challenges it brought. P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille was nominated, then won the popular vote with an overwhelming majority! Local community members were eager to vote for P.T.’s as they adapted to the pandemic and consistently maintained their quality of service, while ensuring customers and staff felt safe. Hyatt says the award makes him feel like everything he and his employees have been through has been worth it. “It’s an honor from the community that acknowledges the hard work of the past months and makes all those bad days feel worth it,” he says. “It shows that our hard work and adapting with this new work style hasn’t gone unnoticed, so it makes you feel good,” says Hyatt. Unfortunately, he says they’re not out of the woods yet though. Business is still down 15-20% each month and he expects it will take another six months at the minimum to recover. Hyatt says he’s fortunate that he’s been able to keep all of his employees during the pandemic, but without their regular customers he says they would all be looking for new jobs. Hyatt hopes that friendly faces, good burgers and proven service can help people take a break from everything going on in the world outside. Hyatt and local Our Town America owner, Bassam Safi, met with Spectrum News to discuss winning the Wilmington Small Business Resilience Award.  Click here for information on how to be nominated for the Our Town America Small Business Resilience Award.  Our Town America supports small businesses across the nation 365 days per year. If you’re a local Wilmington business looking to reach new or current customers, contact Bassam Safi at 910-352-5776‬. If your business is located outside of the Wilmington area, please contact our corporate office at 1-800-497-8360 to be connected with your local representative.       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. […]

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How to Build a Direct Mailing List that Converts

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
How to Build a Direct Mailing List That Converts Our Town America

An accurate direct mailing list is very important if you want to effectively market your company to both potential and current customers. In the age where digital advertising is very prevalent, studies show direct mail can give your company a distinct and meaningful competitive advantage. In 2019, the U.S. Postal Service teamed up with Temple University to prove this. The study found that printed ads, like direct mail postcards or letters, are the best way to create an emotional connection with a customer. There are various options available for business owners who are looking for an accurate and effective direct mailing list, and they each offer different things.  The first, and cheapest, is to build a list yourself. This is done manually by plugging in the address of your business and choosing area routes, streets, and blocks to target. Putting together this type of direct mailing list is challenging and time consuming, and you also have to consider additional costs involved from start to finish including design, print and postage. The most common way of acquiring an accurate direct mailing list is to purchase one from a company that specializes in them. These companies use data to create lists that can target different ages, purchase preferences and even professions. Figuring out the right target audience for your specific business is often a challenge. However, targeting people who have recently moved to a new home is a great way to narrow down your direct mailing list. This method gets your business in front of people who are looking for their new go-to stores, restaurants, hair salons, dentists, etc. near their new homes – a critical target audience for any business hoping to create loyal, long term relationships with customers Our Town America uses a new mover mailing list backed by decades of data that saves businesses time and money. Our associated new mover program takes the guess work out of direct mail and reaches those people who are new to town before they establish a connection with any of your competitors. Our Town America’s new mover direct mail lists are incredibly accurate, making the process more efficient and cost effective. For example, each month, Our Town America gets lists of every individual who has filed some sort of address change in the past 30 days. Our Town America then takes that list and filters out any duplicate names and addresses creating a direct mailing list that is about 95 percent accurate. While mailing lists are never perfect, Our Town America works to make sure its new mover mailing list is as precise as possible, eliminating wasteful spending. Our Town America doesn’t stop once the list is complete. The new mover program includes designing, printing, and shipping each direct mail piece. This amounts to a stress-free process for any busy business owner who doesn’t have the time to stick labels and stamps on hundreds of postcards, or the expertise to design those postcards. Direct mailing lists can be an excellent way for a business of any size to attract new customers and build brand loyalty. Our Town America’s direct mail marketing program is THE all-inclusive program that gets results for businesses while saving valuable time and money. Are you ready to stop wasting time and money on self-starter direct mail marketing campaigns so you have more time to spend on running your business and building meaningful relationships?   We’re here to help at Our Town America.  For more information, visit ourtownamerica.com today. 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. […]

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Gain New Customers Amidst the Pandemic by Marketing to this Audience

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Gain New Customers by Marketing to this Audience

New Mover Marketing offers small businesses a targeted marketing strategy guaranteed to produce new customers during this unprecedented time. A survey of 450 marketing gurus following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States revealed 42 percent of participants deemed budget cuts a significant challenge, according to LinkedIn and Vision Critical, a customer insights provider. At least 76 percent of respondents were forced to shift marketing priorities, and 34 percent were working to change their target audience. If these grim advertising statistics hit home, you are not alone. Small business owners across the country are coping with the realities of operating in a pandemic economy. This year prompted them to adapt their business models and learn to stay afloat with less — decreased operating hours, capacity limits, employee shortages and lower sales. While small businesses slowly recover, and the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter, it’s important to make smart and effective advertising choices (especially if you’re operating with a smaller marketing budget). Our Town America believes it’s an ideal time to consider expanding your loyal customer base by using personalized welcome packages to target new residents with our new movers list. “Small businesses are struggling to make ends meet during this unique season. Implementing a successful new mover marketing program will help your business grow by providing a personalized connection to customers before they establish loyalties to other businesses. It’s a hassle-free marketing tactic guaranteed to generate results,” said Michael Plummer Jr., president and chief executive of Our Town America, the nation’s premier new mover marketing company. Our Town America has been helping introduce new customers to local businesses for 49 years. The company specializes in providing businesses with accurate, new mover marketing lists and is a one-stop-shop for small businesses searching for a way to showcase their customer service to new customers. If you’re still on the fence about giving new mover marketing a try, here are the reasons why you should opt to launch a new mover campaign with a company that has a long history of results. Our Town America is the right choice for your small business. New Movers Need New Go-to Local Businesses. New movers are an excellent target market for small business owners because they have not yet had a chance to establish loyalties with other businesses. From the day the moving truck pulls up in front of their new house, they need to find their new favorite pizza place, grocery store, and coffee shop. New movers will also need to find a reliable dentist, hairstylist and a nearby gym to work off the pepperoni pizza and cafe mochas. With no established loyalties, it’s the perfect time for businesses to step up and provide stellar service to encourage the new mover to put them on their shortlist. How New Movers Benefit Local Businesses. New residents are big spenders. Research indicates new movers spend money in their new community to help make their house a home. Whether it’s the perfect end table from that adorable consignment shop down the road, or a full fridge of groceries from a lovely, local market, new movers – both homeowners and renters – are willing to open their wallets. New homeowners spend more than $10,000 on furniture, appliances, and home repairs during the first year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. New Mover Marketing is an Upscale Option. Our Town America helps you target new movers by sending new residents a personalized welcome package with hand-selected, proven offers. The company uses an up-to-date new resident mailers list, relying on new mover intelligence from nationally recognized suppliers. Suppliers identify individuals and families who recently filed some form of address change. After receiving the lists from suppliers, Our Town America combs it to prevent redundancies and remove duplicate addresses. Ultimately, the final list used to reach the new movers in your area is arguably the most accurate in the country, which saves your business time and money by avoiding wasted coverage and additional postage and printing costs.  Delivers Trackable Return on Investment. Businesses can be confident their new mover marketing program is generating results. Our Town America offers easy solutions to track return on investment and gather detailed demographic data of new customers from their smartphone. The company’s proprietary mobile app also provides businesses the option of including a second mailing to give customers an incentive to return, or to remind them about your business with a simple ‘thank you’. The second mailing helps increase your chances of turning them into loyal customers. In addition, all annual partnered businesses enjoy category exclusivity in the welcome package for their business type, which means your business competitors cannot welcome new movers as well. If you’re confident in the service experience your business provides, Our Town America can help you get new customers through your doors. For more information about new mover marketing, visit www.ourtownamerica.com today. 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. […]

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Direct Mail Marketing Options: Saturation Postcards, Targeted Postcards, New Mover Marketing

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Direct Mail Marketing Postcards

Choosing the best platform to make the most of a tight marketing budget during uncertain times can be daunting for small business owners. Despite the increasing dependence on social media, one-click purchasing and online recommendations, direct mail marketing remains one of the most effective tools for boosting sales and developing loyal customers. Direct mail is said to be easier to understand and more memorable than digital media. It requires 21 percent less cognitive effort to process, and elicits a much higher brand recall, according to a study conducted by Canada Post Corp. Direct mail is also more likely to drive behavior than digital media, the study revealed. At least 70 percent of consumers say direct mail is more personal than online interactions, and 39 percent of consumers try a business for the first time because of direct mail, reported Fundera, a financial resource for small businesses. There are more than 30.7 million small businesses in the United States, according to the U.S. Small Business Association’s most recent report released in 2019. Small businesses created 1.8 million net jobs in 2016 and employed 59.9 million people. Our Town America offers a number of direct mail solutions to help small businesses promote customer loyalty, add new patrons and appeal to new area residents. But maybe you need some direction to figure out which type of direct mail program is best for your business needs. Easy & Affordable Method to Reach Community Members without a Mailing List Every Door Direct Mail® is a complete neighborhood mailer designed to reach every home and address in the selected ZIP codes without relying on a mailing list. EDDM® is a cost-effective saturation marketing method that allows you to filter by age, income and household size. Our Town America’s full-service EDDM® program includes printing, service preparation, postage and delivery. As people have been staying closer to home these days, EDDM® is a great way for local businesses to draw customers by delivering them a message directly to their home. Generate Customer Loyalty by Reaching out to Chosen Mailing List Targeted Postcards help celebrate existing customers by aligning with their motivations and goals. It’s a great method for businesses to send birthday specials, highlight new location openings and offer holiday specials. Targeted Postcards help form a connection between the customer and the business, building brand loyalty. During slow economic times, some customers rely on the brands they already trust, according to Harvard Business Review. It is important for businesses to reward their devoted customers with special offers or a simple holiday greeting or reminder of an upcoming sale. Our Town America uses your mailing lists to send Targeted Postcards. Make New Residents Feel at Home Moving to a new home during a time when social distancing guidelines are enforced can make it difficult to turn a new house into a home, but New Mover Marketing helps businesses make a great first impression on new residents by welcoming them to the area. It also gives residents the opportunity to support local businesses. “People are very loyal to their veterinarians. For us to grow just from people changing veterinarians would be a very slow growth,” said Dr. Sherry Weaver, owner of Animal Hospital of Towne Lake in Woodstock, Georgia. “Really, we’re much smarter specifically advertising to the people who are just moving in.” Our Town America’s New Mover Welcome Packages are filled with hand-selected proven offers. The 48-year-old company prides itself on offering the most accurate new resident mailing list in the country. Each Welcome Package contains only one business in each industry to ensure exclusivity. Our Town America also provides businesses with access to a proprietary mobile app that records redemptions, triggers an optional follow-up postcard and efficiently tracks return on investment. No matter the particular direct mail marketing method you choose, Our Town America will provide your business with an affordable solution to draw customers in. Learn more about how we can help your business grow today. 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. […]

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Which type of Direct Mail Campaign is right for my Business?

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Traditional Direct Mail vs. New Mover Marketing

New Mover Direct Mail Marketing offers small businesses a cost-effective option for expanding their customer base and, in many cases, generates better response rates than blanketing your community with direct mail ads. So, why is that? Customers tout customer service and value as some of the top influencers for making their shopping decisions, according to Invesp, an online marketing resource. But before you can woo them with your exceptional customer service and uneatable products, you have to first get them through your door. Bolstering sales by adding new customers can be an expensive, uphill battle for small businesses and, typically, it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. To further thwart small business advertising efforts, only 36 percent of Americans say they love trying new brands and products, Nielsen reports. Therefore, catching the attention of new customers before they establish loyalties to your competitors is crucial. Our Town America offers a unique twist on traditional direct mail advertising. “We welcome new residents to the community with housewarming offers to local businesses. Moving is stressful, so receiving these offers provides a welcome solution for new movers,” says Michael Plummer Jr., president of Our Town America. By targeting residents new to the area, Our Town America not only enables your business to reach impressionable new movers, but also makes it possible to keep your marketing costs low. Better yet, the U.S. Data Corporation found that 39 percent of consumers try a new business for the first time as a result of receiving a direct mail piece. So, it’s no wonder why many small businesses utilize direct mail marketing. Traditional Direct Mail Marketing However, while businesses can mail to an abundance of recipients, most standard direct mailers require postage fees, are not targeted to a specific demographic, and the results are not trackable. Many times, recipients of repeat direct mailers become immune after seeing the same piece multiple times – especially if they have pre-established habits to competitors. In these cases, it’s unlikely they will choose the “new” business over the one they have loyalty to – which is a recipe for a low response rate. The average response rate for traditional direct mailing lists (not targeted to new movers) was only 4.9 percent last year, according to Fundera, a small business resource. This is one big differentiator between traditional direct mail and New Mover Marketing. New Mover Marketing As mentioned earlier, New Mover Marketing is a cost-effective alternative to blanketing a community with direct mail advertisements and, because of the targeted approach, recipients are actually in need of the tailored one-time use offers. In fact, your business is put in front of a brand-new audience each month – made possible by a thoroughly scrubbed new resident mailing list compiled from multiple reliable sources, such as utility connections, deed transactions, etc. More than 10 percent of the U.S. population, or 32 million people, moved in 2018, according to Moving.com, an online resource. Our Town America’s welcome package reaches these new movers shortly after their move or change of address — before they’ve formed loyalties to other businesses. The program also allows you to lock out your competition in your chosen ZIP codes – meaning you are the only business in your industry in those welcome packages! The company, which opened its doors in 1972, sends residents an enticing, personalized package that compels the new mover to look inside. Each month, Our Town America prints more than 1 million personalized gift certificates and welcomes over half a million new movers across the country to their new communities by introducing them to local businesses. “We spent $20,000 for a direct mailing. The mailing only brought in 20 to 30 people,” said Brian Scott, owner of Village Wines and Spirits. “Why are we going to spend that type of money on a [traditional] direct mailing when we could spend less money, give them something for free, and have more people show up? We can give them decent customer service, and they will come back.” Our Town America’s proven offers are digitally trackable so you can view your response rate. With the TruTrak™ mobile app, businesses can track their return on investment, gather detailed demographic data of new customers, and trigger a follow-up mailing offering a secondary gift or simply thanking the new mover for their first visit. If you’re ready to save money and increase your customer base with a new mover marketing program, visit Our Town America to learn more. 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. […]

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Trackable Marketing via Direct Mail Barcode

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Trackable Marketing via Direct Mail Barcode

Our Town America employs innovative technology designed to appeal to partnered businesses, new movers and franchisees to track advertising sales, drive business and ensure customer satisfaction. The nation’s leading New Mover Marketing company helps businesses attract new residents with an exclusive Welcome Package upon arrival to their new home. Filled with hand-selected proven offers, the Our Town America Welcome Package is known to produce industry-leading response rates. Nearly 31 million people moved in the United States in 2019, according to United States Census data, and Our Town America has been helping those people adjust to their new surroundings since 1972 by introducing them to area businesses. Of course, this also helps communities flourish, so it’s a win for everyone. While Our Town America is built off of traditional direct mail, the company has evolved with technology over the past five decades. Several mobile apps and tracking tools have been released throughout this time to provide partnered businesses with data and a reliable marketing strategy, new movers with great deals, and franchisees with the resources needed to drive results. “We were actually the very first New Mover Marketing company to offer trackable marketing and barcodes,” said Brittany Johnson, Marketing Executive at Our Town America. “We’re also able to help businesses target specific demographics and we can mail to actual neighborhoods – not just ZIP codes. We’ve got this down to a science,” Johnson says. Below is a quick overview of each mobile app, but be sure to reach out to an Our Town America representative if you have a question about a capability not mentioned; chances are.. we’ve got an app for that! Innovative App for Partnered Businesses Our Town America’s TruTrak® app allows partnered businesses to track their return on investment, gather detailed demographic data of new customers and trigger the second ‘follow-up’ mailing from their smartphone. TruTrak® instantly updates to reflect redemptions when businesses scan new mover gift certificates. It compares the trackable marketing certificates scanned to the number of mailings sent to determine an offer’s success rate, allowing businesses to see their return on investment in real-time. The app helps businesses form loyal relationships with new customers by providing the option to send a second mailer while the business is still fresh on their mind. An App to Assist Franchisees in Rolling out the Red CarpetOur Town America’s franchisees have the option to use the proprietary Sales Companion™ app to assist them in signing up new partnered businesses. It provides a built-in calculator that breaks down the cost of the customer acquisition program. Sales Companion™ also provides a detailed look at return on investment and demonstrates how one loyal customer literally pays for the program trackable marketing annually. In addition, Sales Companion™ gives franchisees the ability to show real-world success stories from businesses who use Our Town America to market their business by allowing them to pull up recent press and news articles on the spot. Businesses Can Cater to New Customers with this AppOur Town America helps alleviate some of the stress new residents feel when they change residences by offering the option to use their third mobile app, Our Town Deals™, in addition to paper gift certificates (or instead of – depending on the sponsor). Unpacking can be a headache, so having a free pizza delivery at their fingertips provides a welcome relief to a hungry new mover. “Direct mail isn’t going anywhere, but supplying the option to redeem trackable marketing gift certificates on your phone is a great complement to an already terrific program,” Johnson said. The mobile app benefits sponsors by giving them the option to push out deal notifications, extending the life of the program by offering ongoing specials for the new mover. The smartphone technology has the option of providing reminders to customers leading up to the expiration of a gift, effectively decreasing the response time and increasing the response rates for our sponsors. The app engages customers by giving them the opportunity to participate in surveys to give sponsors valuable feedback. It also allows sponsors to provide personalized touches down the road to fuel repeat business. Our Town America created their mobile apps with a goal in mind – make life easier for everybody involved. Whether you’re a new mover, a business owner or an Our Town America franchisee, we’ve got you covered. People are creatures of habit, so Our Town America encourages businesses to reach out to new movers before a competitor snags them first. And, because Our Town America offers category exclusivity to sponsors – meaning only one business of a kind in each Welcome Package, it’s important for businesses to claim their category. Automotive shops, dental offices, grocery stores, hair salons/ barbershops, pet care and restaurants are just some of the industries sought out by new residents. Learn more about how Our Town America can help your business gain new loyal, long-term customers today. 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. […]

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Nominate a Business for the Small Business Resilience Award

Written by Brittany N. Johnson
Small Business Resilience Award 2020 Our Town America

Fox 17 News | Grand Rapids, MI – The consequences of the pandemic have been absolutely heartbreaking for local small businesses. Several family-owned restaurants, shops and salons now have signs reading “Closed Permanently” on their doors. And so many other small business owners are watching this and worrying about which doors will close next. That’s why Our Town America created the Small Business Resilience Award. Community members throughout the nation can nominate a neighborhood business that they believe deserves this distinction. There can only be one winner in each listed community, but a nomination is something to be proud of as well as it’s a symbol of hard work during one of the toughest times in the nation’s history. Larry Neal, the Regional Developer for Our Town America’s Michigan franchises, met with Fox 17 to discuss the award & more!   Who to nominate? A restaurant that’s re-invented itself to offer a take-out friendly menu or built an area to provide outdoor seating A shop that’s kept all of its employees on the payroll despite being closed for part of the year. A salon owner who’s gone above and beyond to make customers feel safe. Etc. You get the picture! We want to find businesses that have truly beaten the odds to stay open! To vote for/nominate a business, simply click the red button below. It only takes a minute, but can go a long way. Local small businesses are struggling; this is a chance to put a smile on the face of an owner who has shown resilience through a rough year! Voting ends on November 29th – the day after Small Business Saturday. Our Town America supports small businesses across the nation 365 days per year. If you’re a local Michigan business looking to reach new or current customers, reach out to Larry Neal at ‭248-672-6046. If your business is located outside of MI, please call our corporate office at 1-800-497-8360 to get connected with your local representative.     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. […]

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