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Use Direct Marketing as tool to generate new customers

By Katie Grasso, Courier Post, October 13, 2005

Like most business owners, Joyce Walker is looking for ways to generate new leads and reach out to current customers.

Walker is the owner, with her husband, of Multifacet Industrial Supply Co. in Cherry Hill and she understands that developing a strategy to reach certain customers is crucial.

"I need to know what to expect - what my results are going to be."

Business owners like Walker are turning to direct marketing to help them obtain name and brand recognition with new customers.

"You can use mail for existing customers - to enhance customer loyalty," said Valerie Schlitt at a recent seminar at Sir Speedy Printing Center in Cherry Hill. "It is also often used now as an awareness tactic."

Schlitt is the owner of her own firm that provides marketing tools to businesses.

There are advantages to using direct mail, such as providing more information than in a normal print advertisement and using demographics to target a certain audience.

"It's also measurable and you can easily start and stop direct mailings," she said. "It's a focused way of reaching an audience."

First, it is important to get the right list of people. Buying a list off the Internet can give nonexistent addresses, so Schlitt recommends going to a database such as InfoUSA or ReferenceUSA, which can be accessed at a public library, or a chamber of commerce.

Next think about the language of the mail. Is it directed toward CEOs or consumers? The language should be appropriate for the intended audience, Schlitt said. The envelope can also enhance the probability the recipient will open the mailer, instead of tossing it in the trash. Use a different color or sized envelope to grab the reader's attention, Schlitt recommends.

Once you have one direct mailer out to your targeted list, keep mailing until they become familiar with you and your brand. This process is called drip mailing, and Schlitt recommends mailing between six to 15 times no longer than 10 days apart.

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