Direct mail has got a bad reputation. Actually, direct mail has earned a bad reputation.

We’ve all seen companies use the same old tired dead-end techniques for mailer after mailer—month after month, year after year. They’re so busy churning out mailers to stop and ask, “Is this even working? Can we do better?”

Direct mail can work. And it can be better. It can catch us off guard and get our attention when it’s used creatively.

Pay attention, entrepreneurs and marketers. Direct mail can drive your business.

A non-traditional example

H20 Car Valeting regularly sends letters and postcards to their customers. This isn’t piquing your interest? It gets better.

The mailers are addressed to the car. They read something like this, “Dear Range Rover, we hope your owner appreciated how nice and shiny you looked after your visit last week.”

The customer keeps reading. After all, he loves his Range Rover enough to have it professionally cleaned by a top notch valeting service. He reads his car’s mail.

The purpose of the mailer is simple: to cross-sell owners to return again and again. They use a pull like: “Come back within the next two weeks and your owner will receive £10 off his next purchase.”

Even if you’re not in the business of valeting cars, you can learn a lot from H20. They’re a progressive company selling car valets for direct mail, for chrissake!

Competitive edge

H20 knows their customers can get their cars valeted anywhere (or leave them dirty!). But they’re willing to put in the effort to make sure people come to them – and it works.

Creativity sells

This service isn’t a necessity for consumers. It’s not like selling groceries. H20 knows they have to stay top of mind, hit buyers with what motivates them, and do it all creatively – hence the ‘Dear Range Rover…’ letter.

Keep making the sale

H20 captures information on customers and their vehicles. And . . . wait for it . . . they use this information! Customers receive “loyalty points” and free upgrades to encourage their repeat business.

What’s it all mean?

  • They use direct mail to stand out from the crowd and build customer loyalty.
  • They reach out proactively and incentivize their customers to come back more quickly than they otherwise would.
  • Do you get it? They make more money from their existing customer base. Brilliant!

So many businesses forget about existing customers and spend buckets of money trying to acquire new ones. Bonkers.

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