Increase Repeat Business And Referrals With Direct
Mail
Joe Niewierski
So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last
few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and
hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact
information for them. An organized database is the first key to
customer retention.
The next step is to put together a direct mail campaign to keep
these customers thinking about you when they think about
mortgages. It is often years between times when each customer
needs a mortgage professional, and it takes far less than that
for them to forget your name. As well as fighting time, you are
fighting indifference. Customers who get great service are often
reluctant to pass that information along, while customers who
feel they have gotten poor service will tell everyone. Most of
the time good customers need to be reminded of their
experience. By following up with each customer on a regular
basis you will not only stay in the front of their mind but you
will also start to build a reputation as a solid and responsible
business.
So how do you get started? Below are a couple of the most
frequently asked questions when starting a campaign to keep in
touch with past clients.
What Type of Direct Mail Piece Works Best?
There is a great debate amongst Mortgage Professionals about
what type of direct mail will work best for getting new
business. Many swear by letters for their appearance of
professionalism, while others like the low cost and high
visibility of postcards. Overall, both seem to work adequately
for bringing in new business. You just need to find which works
best for you personally.
For keeping in contact with past customers, however, the way to
go is postcards. This is due to the fact that if your customers
are not currently looking for a mortgage for themselves, they
are far less likely to take the time to open a letter. That
causes most of your "keep in touch" promo that is in envelopes
to get thrown out before it ever gets read.
Since the goal is recognition and not direct action you only
need to get them to read the message. Postcards have the
message visible when mailed, which means that while your
customers are deciding what to read and what to throw out, they
are already being exposed to your message.
How Often Should I Send Promo?
You will want to mail a piece to your database every 30-60
days. Any longer than that and they may have already forgotten
you when their friends are looking for a mortgage. Since you
will want to send promo out often, you will need to keep your
costs down. With postcards there are no envelope costs, no
assembly costs and the postage is 30% less than letters. When
using a mail house to send your postcards you can often get
postage rates as low as 18¢ per piece.
What Should Be On My Brand Recognition Pieces?
There are some basic rules for the design of a brand
recognition direct mail piece.
Rule #1: Keep color consistent.
Many times people fall into the trap of changing the look of
their promo for the seasons or for the holidays. The thought is
that people are thinking about Christmas or St. Patrick's Day so
they will respond better to promo with those colors. The truth
is exactly opposite. Their senses are so flooded by those
images that they actually start to skip right over them. Pick a
color for your company and stick with it. You will do much
better in building recognition.
Rule #2: Make a logo and use it on every piece.
Having a clean, professional logo is best. It may be a little
pricey to have designed but in the end it is well worth the
money. Experienced designers can often charge up to $2000 for a
corporate identity package including logo, letterhead and
business cards. If you aren't looking to make that type of
investment simply pick a type style for your company name and
use it every time. Consistency is key because your logo is your
main identification point.
Rule #3: Make it Informative.
Every piece should have something useful for your customers.
Whether it is new information about the mortgage industry or
even possible investment properties in their area, it can even
be completely unrelated to the mortgage industry. A calendar or
list of emergency numbers, even the old recipe card trick still
works pretty well. Anything that is likely to be kept around
will help to build recognition in the minds of your past
customers.
The mortgage industry has experienced a huge amount of growth
over the past few years. Unfortunately this growth cannot last
forever. At some point it is going slow down and the only way
to keep your income in the range that you have become
accustomed to is to ensure that you retain as many past
customers as you possibly can.
A direct mail campaign is the best way to do this, but
remember, this type of program is a long term process. Don't
get discouraged if you can't directly calculate the amount of
money that you bring in right off the bat. What you are doing
is burning your name into the minds of your customers.
Eventually it will work out to you seeing less attrition and
far more referrals.
About The Author: Joe Niewierski, VP Marketing at
PostcardMania, became a published writer after graduating with
a BA in Advertising from USF. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania
in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the
company did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 persons.
For more free marketing advice, visit
http://www.postcardmania.com
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