Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail

So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. An organized database is the first key to customer retention.

The next step is to put together a direct mail campaign to keep these customers thinking about you when they think about mortgages. It is often years between times when each customer needs a mortgage professional, and it takes far less than that for them to forget your name. As well as fighting time, you are fighting indifference. Customers who get great service are often reluctant to pass that information along, while customers who feel they have gotten poor service will tell everyone. Most of the time good customers need to be reminded of their experience. By following up with each customer on a regular basis you will not only stay in the front of their mind but you will also start to build a reputation as a solid and responsible business.

So how do you get started? Below are a couple of the most frequently asked questions when starting a campaign to keep in touch with past clients.

What Type of Direct Mail Piece Works Best?

There is a great debate amongst Mortgage Professionals about what type of direct mail will work best for getting new business. Many swear by letters for their appearance of professionalism, while others like the low cost and high visibility of postcards. Overall, both seem to work adequately for bringing in new business. You just need to find which works best for you personally.

For keeping in contact with past customers, however, the way to go is postcards. This is due to the fact that if your customers are not currently looking for a mortgage for themselves, they are far less likely to take the time to open a letter. That causes most of your "keep in touch" promo that is in envelopes to get thrown out before it ever gets read.

Since the goal is recognition and not direct action you only need to get them to read the message. Postcards have the message visible when mailed, which means that while your customers are deciding what to read and what to throw out, they are already being exposed to your message.

How Often Should I Send Promo?

You will want to mail a piece to your database every 30-60 days. Any longer than that and they may have already forgotten you when their friends are looking for a mortgage. Since you will want to send promo out often, you will need to keep your costs down. With postcards there are no envelope costs, no assembly costs and the postage is 30% less than letters. When using a mail house to send your postcards you can often get postage rates as low as 18¢ per piece.

What Should Be On My Brand Recognition Pieces?

There are some basic rules for the design of a brand recognition direct mail piece.

Rule #1: Keep color consistent.

Many times people fall into the trap of changing the look of their promo for the seasons or for the holidays. The thought is that people are thinking about Christmas or St. Patrick's Day so they will respond better to promo with those colors. The truth is exactly opposite. Their senses are so flooded by those images that they actually start to skip right over them. Pick a color for your company and stick with it. You will do much better in building recognition.

Rule #2: Make a logo and use it on every piece.

Having a clean, professional logo is best. It may be a little pricey to have designed but in the end it is well worth the money. Experienced designers can often charge up to $2000 for a corporate identity package including logo, letterhead and business cards. If you aren't looking to make that type of investment simply pick a type style for your company name and use it every time. Consistency is key because your logo is your main identification point.

Rule #3: Make it Informative.

Every piece should have something useful for your customers. Whether it is new information about the mortgage industry or even possible investment properties in their area, it can even be completely unrelated to the mortgage industry. A calendar or list of emergency numbers, even the old recipe card trick still works pretty well. Anything that is likely to be kept around will help to build recognition in the minds of your past customers.

The mortgage industry has experienced a huge amount of growth over the past few years. Unfortunately this growth cannot last forever. At some point it is going slow down and the only way to keep your income in the range that you have become accustomed to is to ensure that you retain as many past customers as you possibly can.

A direct mail campaign is the best way to do this, but remember, this type of program is a long term process. Don't get discouraged if you can't directly calculate the amount of money that you bring in right off the bat. What you are doing is burning your name into the minds of your customers. Eventually it will work out to you seeing less attrition and far more referrals.

Joe Niewierski, the VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became a published writer after graduating with a BA in Advertising from the University of South Florida. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she's sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at http://www.postcardmania.com

---

Google News Updated : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:51:33 GMT Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire - Washington Post Washington Post Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire Washington Post - 3 hours ago Dallas Cowboys' Mat McBriar (1) has his punt blocked by Arizona Cardinals' Sean Morey as Monty Beisel (52) looks on during overtime of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 in Glendale, Ariz. Blocked punt downs Dallas San Francisco Chronicle Backups Burst Through Line and Lift Cardinals in Overtime New York Times Sports Network - FOXSports.com - Houston Chronicle - Philadelphia Inquirer all 749 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:15:50 GMT Manatee dies before reaching rehab site - Boston Globe WHDH-TV Manatee dies before reaching rehab site Boston Globe - 4 hours ago By Emily Canal After a 27-hour trip to Florida, Dennis the manatee, rescued from the frigid waters of Cape Cod, died in Orlando yesterday as SeaWorld employees carted the mammal to a rehabilitation center. Video: Rescued Manatee Dies After Mass. Rescue AssociatedPress Manatee rescued off Cape Cod dies en route to Florida Sea World New York Daily News WFLA - eFluxMedia - Cape Cod Times - South Coast Today all 565 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:21:21 GMT UK government takes stake in three banks - CNN International Canada.com UK government takes stake in three banks CNN International - 32 minutes ago LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government on Monday said it would make a multi-billion investment in three of the country's major banks to help them through the "first financial crisis of the global age. In quotes: Bank bail-out reaction BBC News TEXT-Lloyds TSB terms for acquisition of HBOS Reuters guardian.co.uk - Wall Street Journal - Bloomberg - AFP all 1,923 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:18:47 GMT Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around - Washington Post Chicagoist Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around Washington Post - 2 hours ago Columbus Day will feel a lot more like Labor Day as temperatures climb to around 80 degrees. This unseasonably warm weather will continue for the next several days. Enjoy a warm, sunny Columbus Day Times Herald-Record Beautiful start to the work week The Star-Ledger - NJ.com The Capital Times - Journal and Courier - Richmond Times Dispatch - The Virginian-Pilot all 241 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:03:26 GMT European, Asian markets bounce back - The Associated Press Vancouver Sun European, Asian markets bounce back The Associated Press - 1 hour ago LONDON (AP) - European markets opened strongly Monday following Asia's lead in response to the widespread government efforts over the weekend to shore up the world's troubled financial system. The financial crisis A light at the end of the tunnel? Economist World stock markets welcome European bank rescue AFP MSN Money - New York Times - New Straits Times - Voice of America all 769 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:23:04 GMT 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered - TG Daily Product Reviews 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered TG Daily - 6 hours ago By Wolfgang Gruener Chicago (IL) - T-Mobile’s upcoming G1 may not be the best-looking iPhone rival, it may not have the most complete feature set and T-Mobile may have undersold the device at the recent launch event. Get ready for next-gen mobile InfoWorld HTC G1 Android Phone Racks up 1.5 Million Pre-orders eFluxMedia Brighthand - InformationWeek - ReadWriteWeb - ZDNet all 153 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:21:21 GMT Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win - FOXSports.com Washington Post Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win FOXSports.com - 4 hours ago by Ken Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX. LA revitalized at Moyer's expense MLB.com Kuroda's pitch serves its purpose for Dodgers USA Today New York Times - Los Angeles Times - Boston Globe - Philadelphia Daily News all 2,467 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:36 GMT RSS Datafeeds Amazon Associate Software

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

What IS the Difference Between Marketing and Sales?

There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing... Read More

Top 5 Kick Butt Marketing Requirements

Cinch your success with 8-second leaders! Step into the saddle... Read More

Tradeshow Booth Cures - Knick-Knack Knockouts

Okay, we were kidding about the smoke, but not about... Read More

Pay for Performance Pricing Models for Search Engine Optimization

I do think that it is entirely possible for an... Read More

3 Simple Selling Tactics

The following 3 simple selling tactics produce sales by responding... Read More

Quick and Instant Marketing Soup

Everything happens Quickly and Instantly on the Internet. In the... Read More

Image is Key to Your Marketing Success

In virtually any business first impressions are lasting impressions. Most... Read More

Advertising Your Private Practice: Beware of the Problems-Part 1

One of the biggest mistakes coaches, counselors and other healing... Read More

Assumption Based Marketing Vs. Fact Based Marketing

One of the most common mistakes in marketing is making... Read More

Five Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to... Read More

Measuring the Return on Your Direct Mail Investment

In direct mail lore, there's a rule stating that you... Read More

Earning the Right To Sell With Stats ? 10 Steps to Greatness

We could learn a thing or two from pro sports.Baseball... Read More

Mortgage Marketing - How to Find Your Niche

Ann Landers, Dr. Phil and Roger Ebert take pleasure in... Read More

Networking Basics Turn Yourself Into A Profit Making Giant

I would like to introduce you to one of my... Read More

Name the Top Cable Network

When Cable began as Community Antenna Television in 1948, all... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Trigger

In previous articles under "Meaning and Marketing", we have learned... Read More

Design, Design, Design

You need only one card, but make it noticeable. Make... Read More

Networking: The Cost of a Connection

"Networking is a waste of time," said JoAnne, owner of... Read More

People Pleasing Postcards

Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a... Read More

Make Out Marketing

What is the single biggest fear of teenagers, business owners... Read More

The Marketing Recipe: Money, Marketing and Me ? 3 Keys For Success

You have a great product or service? Now, how should... Read More

Marketing, Lead Generation, and Research: A 3-in-1 Solution

I Hate Cold CallsLong before I started my business, I... Read More

Walking Talking Advertisements

So you've made a sale. Great!Now what? You're not just... Read More

The Top Ten Ways to Get Beyond Networking And Generate Cash-Building Exposure

Gain the exposure you need to succeed with these ten... Read More

Marketing with Special Reports. 5 Ways to Develop Content Your Prospects Cant Wait to Read

So you've decided to start publishing an e-newsletter, or you'd... Read More