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Direct Mail Postcards As Sales Support For Customer Retention
By Cynthia Fedor | January 5, 2009
Like most of us, I get a lot of direct mail in my mailbox. Most of the time I’m not impressed or moved to action by the pieces. Some may have minimal personalization on them—like my name—but overall they’re still pretty generic. They don’t mean anything to me, except maybe a lesson on what not to do when using direct mail for customer acquisition and/or retention.
A great example of the right way to use direct mail marketing for customer retention appeared in my 
mailbox the other day from a small clothing shop I had recently visited. This piece stopped me in my tracks, put a smile on my face and left me planning my next trip to the store. It was a handwritten postcard from the person that was helping me in the store. Tiara (that’s her name) wrote to tell me that she’d enjoyed shopping with me, hoped I was enjoying my new coat and black shirt, was sorry about the missing button on the shirt I wanted to buy and that she couldn’t wait to see me again. Oh yeah, and ‘bring this postcard with you next time you stop by to receive 25% off your purchase.’ Excellent!
This one little postcard did everything right to make me feel those happy thoughts about spending even more money in that store. Here’s what they did right:
• A personalized postcard arrived in my mailbox just days after my shopping experience, while it was still fresh in my mind. Communicating through a ‘personal note’ is one of eight ways to build a relationship with your customer according to Lesley Spencer Pyle in her article, “Keep Your Customers From Straying.” She writes:
“Write a note. Adding the personal touch of a thank you note to show customers your appreciation for their business is priceless. For the best impact, send it immediately after the event.”
• The direct mail postcard was personalized with specific content that mattered to me. And, they didn’t use that information to immediately push more products on me; the note expressed a simple thank you. To me, that is an effective use of past purchasing behavior to compel an action.
“To really utilize personalization, we’re really talking about relevant communication. The more relevant that communication, the better the response rate,” says Mike Walther in a recent Inside Direct Mail article about personalization.
This kind of personalization on postcards and other marketing material is easier and faster now than ever with services like variable data printing.
• A promotional offer was included on the card. Having some type of offer that is valuable to your customer (free whitepaper download, gift, coupon, etc.) on your direct mail piece increases the likelihood that another action will occur. In my case, you bet I’m going to take them up on the ‘25% off your next visit’ coupon.
• The postcard was a part of an overall great customer service experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in the store. Receiving the postcard extended that experience for me and made me feel that they really appreciated by business. In her article, “A Marketing Tool That’s Obvious, Overlooked and Cheap,” Pattie Simone urges businesses to:
“Hold on to current patrons through superb customer service.”
In other words, do more than the expected for your customers. Excellent customer service—before, during and after the sale—will keep customers coming back for more.
Do you have any more suggestions for customer retention? Let me know.
July 12th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
[...] Read my reaction to a personalized direct mail postcard that I received after a shopping experience. I can still remember it like yesterday… [...]