NFIB

Reaching Customers Directly
03/ 28/ 2002

by Rachel Adelson

Using Web-based support, Squires has cut his time to get out a mailing from more than two weeks to about eight days—crucial in a volatile economy.

New products scaled and priced for small business apply the Internet's reach, precision and 24/7 accessibility to direct marketing. Says HVAC contractor Dave Squires: "You can react better and you can target better."

Squires, VP of Vincent's Heating & Air in Port Huron, Mich., found Internet speed and control critical when the local economy faltered early this year. He used MAILnet Services for his annual direct-mail campaign, starting with 10,000 rather than the usual 40,000 flyers. When response wasn't strong, he tested a postcard with a new offer and got a gratifying 10 percent response. "Printing cost a little more up front because of the short run," he says, "but I saved $7,500 by avoiding printing 30,000 more [of the original] letters, plus another $5,000 to $6,000 for postage. Besides, why would you want to stick to a letter that's not working?" Using Web-based support, Squires has cut his time to get out a mailing from more than two weeks to about eight days—crucial in a volatile economy.

The Internet brings together all the pieces of a direct mail campaign. For example, MAILnet Services of Nashville, Tenn., lets customers, "through their browser, upload their list or buy one online, pick a 'creative' or send [copy] to us, and choose whether they want to send things out by e-mail, direct mail, fax or a combination," says Don Leyrer, president and CEO. At any time, custom-fitting campaigns to the market means, "you can fill your pipeline, but fill it in a controlled growth environment," Leyrer says.

Online marketing support can be fairly comprehensive. For example, ThinkDirectMail Web-based software from ThinkDirectMarketing Inc. of Stamford, Conn., includes a planning and budgeting module, and the company gives customers a free CD-ROM with well-known contact management, label-making and publishing software. Businesses can also get their mailing lists from ThinkDirectMarketing, with annual subscriptions that range from $195 for up to 50,000 addresses sorted geographically, to $395 for up to 20,000 names sorted demographically, the latter more desirable when businesses, "realize they want to target people," says CEO Dean Eaker, "by income, house size and so on, especially with the radius search that we offer."

To update lists, MAILnet Services offers http://www.listcleanup.com for $25 and up, with no minimum order size. MAILnet checks, in less than a day, with a national change-of-address database, "so you're not mailing to someone who's not there," says Leyrer. "You get better postage rates."

Considering Internet marketing support? Check a provider's credentials, size, experience, references and ability to meet your needs. Eaker suggests checking the company's partnership programs, its data sources and the product's ease of use. A company should provide individual attention through customer service or its sales department. To gauge campaign success, Squires says, "Compare the response versus what [the campaign] cost you."

One clarification: Internet support of multi-channel direct marketing is not the same as e-mail marketing or broadcast SPAM. "Most Internet-enabled direct marketing goes the usual route, says Eaker: "It's not junk, it's not snail, it's terrestrial mail."

Where to Find These Services
http://www.mailnetexpress.com
http://www.thinkdirectmarketing.com
http://www.listcleanup.com

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This article originally appeared in the May/June 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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