Don’t Give Up Too Soon on Direct Mail Marketing
Small businesses often give up too soon on their marketing tactics. It’s one of the most common mistakes business make, either because they don’t see the results they expect or they decide to put the budget elsewhere. But remember, it takes time and repetition in order to get through to an audience! Many funeral homes and crematories forget that fact when results fall short of expectations, particularly with direct mail.
The reality of direct mail marketing is that even one postcard or letter can result in a preplanning sale or future family funeral—even if the family doesn’t respond immediately to your mailing. The other reality is that direct mail is the one medium that people will keep for future reference. Emails get deleted in a flash, but your postcard or brochure may end up in a folder or tucked in with important papers for family to find at their time of need.
To review, here are three ways to stay on target with your direct mail marketing plan.
Make a plan. Plan your marketing goals for the whole year and start to think ahead to any upcoming anniversaries for your funeral home or crematory. Leverage any events or changes to help keep your direct mail messaging fresh. Plot out your messaging about cremation, preplanning and personalization in advance.
Carry out your plan. Send your mail and prepare to respond in a timely fashion to any surveys or business reply cards. Review results as they come in to stay on top of the responses. Take the time to respond to inquiries with exactly what the customer requests, whether it’s a funeral planning guide or a preplanning appointment.
Stick with the plan. Unless the results reflect zero responses, we recommend sticking with your plan for the year. If you mail in the spring, summer and fall, you may find one time of year tends to provide more responses than other times of year. These seasonal fluctuations are normal and shouldn’t deter you from continuing to mail.
FAC Marketing has decades of experience providing cost-effective and response-oriented direct mail exclusively to funeral homes. Consider us your partner in persistent direct mail marketing. Get your direct mail ideas together and contact us.
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