WDF - Direct Mail Advertising

[bad1129]

I've had some success using direct mail to boost my self serve business. I use a list of rental addresses only. While my postcard includes a coupon for WDF, this list is not really geared for that type of business. I am thinking for getting a list of home owners with children and mail to them to try to boost my WDF business. Has anyone tried this? If so, how large of a mailing did you do, what was the response rate and how much did your business increase? What did you use for a demographic when buying your list?

Thanks!

[DaveLevenson]

Every market is different, but at my store, the renters are mostly self-service customers. My WDF customers tend to be homeowners -- two-career couples who have no time to do their own laundry, but have money to pay us to do it.

Where in Central NJ? I'm in Morris County.

[bad1129]

Union County!

[SoooperDave]

Bad,
I've done alot of marketing over the years,....the vast majority of it has the appearance of shredding money and throwing it in a dark hole.
However, I did do some postcard direct mailing to only local rentals....and like your results, this worked for me as well.
And I haven't done it in awhile but am planning on starting it up again soon.
However, I no longer have an attendant to take these postcards.
I'm thinking of having the customer drop the postcard/coupon in a box and I'll somehow keep track of it and get some kind of reward back to the customer.
I assume you do this with an attended mat......anyone do a direct mailing reward type thing with an UNattended mat?

[eighty20]

I have had my Mat for 5 months and have done a Self-Wash Direct mail each month. 1000 each month only to MFDU's within 2 miles. Out of the 5000 mailed out, I have seen about 100 coupons comeback. (They expire 12/31/08). I dont have past records to show growth, but since I acquired the Mat, we have seen 30% growth, without raising prices.

I come from a marketing background, it is ALL about the campaign. Sending out once is better than nothing, BUT you will need to do it over and over again. (Think Pottery Barn catalogs). I recommend sending to the same customer 8-12 times a year. (You can do a NICE postcard every month for $200/month, includes everything).

Starting in February, Im am doing a WDF postcard. I will do one to each house within 2 miles, for 6 months in a row. I plan to see a 1%(60 coupons) take rate. If only 25% of those stay regular customers, at 60lbs a month. I will have added $765 each month.

I am in NJ as well. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[DaveLevenson]

John Wanamaker (the founder of the famous Philadelphia department store of the same name) is quoted as having said: "I know that half of what I spend on advertising is wasted. I don't know which half."

[SEFlaundry]

Eighty20,
who do you use for your postcards?

[eighty20]

Postcard Mania. If you say I referred you, I think you can get a $100 credit...
PM me for my info.

[nycwash]

Why dont you do one postcard, top portion for self serve discount and bottom for WDF and then mail to everyone in your area. Will save you headache of maintaining 2 mailing lists and ordering different postcards. Also, your customers can use whichever coupon is better for them.

[Run262]

As with any direct mail campaign, don't forget to include a strong call to action to ensure success. Tracking results will help you determine its success - average response rate for a direct mail campaign is .5% with 1 or 2% being excellent. Best of luck. <font color="black"> </font>