Direct mail is an often overlooked but effective form of marketing. Many businesses can benefit from connecting with their clients through mail, particularly home service businesses.

In fact, customers find direct mail 43% less annoying than receiving marketing messages through the internet. Adding direct mailers to your marketing plan as a home services provider can connect you with your customers in a way they will actually welcome.

In this article, we’ll explain why direct mail matters and how you can use mailers to boost your business. Follow these tips to boost your response rate and ramp up your customer flow.

Why Direct Mail Still Matters

Americans love to get mail, with 56% stating they find joy in receiving mail. But direct mail is more than just a welcome alternative to endless emails. It seems that direct mail does elicit actions from recipients.

The USPS said that almost a quarter of those who received direct mail marketing communication went on to visit the sender’s physical location. This kind of communication is also easier for customers to process. Physical mail requires 21% less cognitive effort than internet-based marketing messaging.

Tips For Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

So, here we are in 2021, and direct mail marketing still exists. In fact, it is actively thriving.

Where does your home services business go from here? How do you go about boosting direct mail response rates for electrical, plumbing, HVAC or any other home services you offer? Incorporate the tips below to see a boost in your direct mail response rates.

Personalize Your Communication

Don’t fall into the trap of being too generic. To optimize your response rates, add a bit of personalization to your communication. You already have some data on the prospect. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to send your marketing materials to them in the first place. So put this data to work. With automated direct mail technology, you can add the name of the person you are reaching out to. You can also include details of previous interactions such as “welcome back” messages or offers linked to plumbing, electrical, carpet cleaning or other home services you have provided.

Add Color and Vibrancy

You need to make sure your messaging stands out from the crowd. Investing in a great physical mail design can go a long way in achieving this. Give your customers bright colors, smart designs and intelligent messaging. With the right service provider, you’ll still be able to achieve cheap direct mail. Meanwhile, the extra color and vibrancy will engage your audience. Deploying personalization and color together can help boost your response rate.

Focus On Your Service Area

A home services organization like yours varies from other businesses in that it is location-specific. This means you should limit your direct mail to prospects within your service area. Consider the specific needs of your local area — climate conditions and local events, for example — demonstrating your knowledge of the community.

Follow Up on Communications

Be sure to follow up on your communications. Develop a series of direct mail marketing messages and nurture your customers toward conversion.

While some audience members will be ready to convert immediately, others may need a bit of encouragement. Use customer data and automation to optimize this. For example, if a lead has already expressed an interest, you could remind them of your services and nurture them further.

On the other hand, if they have already converted in the past, you could offer support or a follow-up service to boost their full life-cycle value.

Bolster Your Brand

Tie your messaging into your brand. Use the same color schemes and visuals you use on your website. Be sure that your audience immediately recognizes who you are and what you offer. Use similar language in your web content and your physical mailouts to create brand harmony. All your communications should help to build brand loyalty and engagement. 

Strategize Your Offers

Be strategic when it comes to offers. Perhaps winter is on its way, and you want to offer winterization services and heating repair to help your customers get ready. Maybe you have a specific service to tie into an upcoming holiday or event, like a tie-in with Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. This kind of timely communication will energize your audience.

You can also build engagement and interest by releasing a series of marketing materials in the run-up to a product or service launch. This will give you a resource of qualified leads to draw upon when you complete the launch.

Final Thoughts

Your company provides vital services to your customers. But you still need to be able to get the word out there so that these customers know exactly what you offer.

Both online-based and direct mail marketing are important here. By combining the two, you can optimize your strategy. Follow these tips to start seeing an increase in your direct mailer response rates. Your customers and your team will thank you.

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