We’ll explain why it’s important to maintain a targeted and updated direct mailing list for your auto shop marketing.
Conceptualminds | May 11, 2022
Auto Repair Direct Mail List Management
Even the best designed print and direct mail collateral will flop if it lands on the wrong doorstep.
Household targeting matters.
One popular advertising model, the 40/40/20 rule, describes success as 20% creative execution, 40% offer, and 40% audience targeting.
When so much of your auto repair shop’s direct mail campaigns rides on your list, it’s in your best interest to manage it thoughtfully.
As veteran automotive direct mail marketers, this is what we do day-in and day out.
Direct Mail Marketing Costs and Data Cleanliness for Auto Repair
Roughly 14% of Americans move every year.
This means address lists can quickly become outdated. And an outdated list will increase your direct mail marketing costs.
Old lists mean undelivered mailers. Each missed household wastes ad spend, lowers performance, and lost car count growth.
Note that it’s normal to see a small number of undelivered mailers for any list—the average campaign contains around 4%. Still, it’s in your best interest to keep them minimal.
How long before lists start getting stale?
Because of that, we recommend cleaning address data every three months.
Data cleaning is detail-oriented work, however. You can save yourself the trouble of manually scanning untold entries.
The US postal service offers a service that lets you submit addresses for correction. The National Change of Address System (NCOA) will cross reference the names and addresses against USPS’ system, and update any moved households, on top of other data errors.
It’s relatively affordable, $50 for 10,000 addresses.
Print & Mail List Management for Existing Auto Repair Customers
In the ongoing search for the perfect audience of prospects, it’s easy to forget the value of those who got you here.
Customers have already given you their vote of confidence; you just need to refresh their memories occasionally. Their attention is fleeting, after all.
Finding relevant opportunities to reach out helps you build stronger relationships (and car counts).
Don’t Treat Your Auto Repair Customers Like Prospects
This is an important one.
Your customers are flooded by ads that treat them like anonymous pocketbooks.
You can cut through that disconnect by showing them that your existing relationship is valuable.
Old lists mean undelivered mailers. Each missed household wastes ad spend, lowers performance, and leaves behind valuable opportunities.
Personal touches and special offers go a long way. And avoid sending your customers mailers designed for your prospects.
Stave Off Customer Churn and Lower Direct Mail Marketing Costs
The customer-client relationship can be a difficult one to manage, to put it lightly.
Customers won’t tell you when they’ve churned, nor do they say on their way out that a touch more attention would have kept them loyal.
[Blockquote:
“Old lists mean undelivered mailers. Each missed household wastes ad spend, lowers performance, and leaves behind valuable opportunities.”]
You must do the talking for the both of you. Through direct mail marketing.
Educate them about your service menu, tell them about any deals, cross sell complementary services—and they’ll have no reason to shop around.
Not only will you see more sales, but your customers will also get more use from your services. This means they’re growing more confident in your competence with each service.
Print & Mail List Management for Auto Repair Prospects
Your prospect list can’t be beat. These are the car owners who already know you and have shown a willingness to interact.
And asking for contact information is free.
Your job: grow it, keep it clean.
Aggressively Collect Data for to Expand Your Auto Repair Marketing Database
House prospect lists are a double threat: lucrative and free.
Each additional prospect is another. Each collected entry is another (more) likely customer.
All you really need is a pen and paper, and a few good excuses to connect. You can, for instance:
- Exchange contact information for rewards with an in-shop tablet kiosk
- Reward customers who bring in referrals
- Collect details at local events
- Give discounts for subscribers
Be sure this information is recorded securely and consistently. Be sure to add it to your customer relationship management (CRM), if you have it.
Print and Mail List Management for Third-Party Leads
Third-party lead lists won’t outperform your hand-built collection.
In fact, the established relationship that makes so many households so amenable to your services needs to be built and nurtured.
[Blockquote:
“Educate them about your service menu, tell them about any deals, cross sell complementary services— and they’ll have no reason to shop around.”]
Still, they can provide significant ROI if targeted thoughtfully, and play a vital role in your ability to consistently grow car counts.
You’ll need a supply of new leads to replace those who never graduated from your last list.
Your Direct Mail Marketing Cost Efficiency Depends on Well-Sourced Data
Purchased lead lists vary in quality like red delicious apples.
It pays to know how to separate the mealier, fluff stuffed lists from the ripe, carefully-targeted ones.
If you’re considering such a vendor, ask them the following details to get a feel for how they source and clean their data.
How regularly does your data get cleansed?
Property data should be revised every thirty days to avoid inaccuracies.
How exactly do you do to keep data clean?
Which processes do they employ to clean their data? Or, are they simply scanning for duplicates and missing fields?
Which sources does your data come from?
Avoid ‘wholesale’ data, which can be two, three or seven months old. Look for data sourced from multiple official public and private sources.
Do you charge upfront fees for list access?
Many providers rent access to a list and charge additional fees for continued access.
Establish the impact fees might have on your budget before purchasing. You’ll need to know whether your ideal direct mail cadence could sink your ROI.
How granular is your targeting?
Compiled mailing lists can zero in on specific towns, zip codes, or even small radii around an address.
Filter further with demographic data like income level, home ownership, and marital status.
Be sure you have a firm idea of your target audience prior to talking, and make sure their capabilities meet your needs.
Consistency is the Cost of Print & Direct Mail Marketing Success
Managing direct mail marketing lists is a lot like managing relationships.
No one can tell exactly where your next customers are, or what they’re thinking.
But by keeping touch, checking in with their needs, and sending tempting offers, you can create substantial demand for your services.
Learn About Conceptual Minds
At Conceptual Minds, our team helps automotive businesses get the most from their marketing dollars with tried and tested methods backed up by regular testing and research.
We equip our clients with the tools and knowledge to eliminate the guesswork from their marketing efforts and get top ROI through our tailored services.
Ready to invest in direct mail marketing?
