Looking for New Customers? Try Old Ones!

Often, when marketers are looking to generate new business, they purchase a prospect list and send out a direct mail campaign. This can be a very effective strategy. However, there is an expense involved in purchasing, qualifying and cleaning up a new list.

There is another way to drum up new business. You can invigorate an old customer list instead!

This was the successful strategy of Quality Lawn Care, a small company that provides a variety of lawn care services. It wanted to bring in more revenue, but instead of purchasing a list, it resurrected relationships with former customers.

Working with its creative agency, Quality Lawn Care mailed 300 1:1 pieces to these inactive customers. The design featured a child on a well-landscaped lawn. A personalized message referred to services that recipients had used in the past and invited them to reconnect with the company through a special offer.

The mailer read as follows:

<<firstname>>

You’ve already taken advantage of our reliable <<services>>. We now offer an affordable <<additional service option>>. Our program includes <<number>> visits per year:

<<list of services>>

A successful lawn care program must start in early March. Call us now to schedule your appointment.

Quality Lawn Care

(000) 000-000

Don’t forget to call us about gutter cleaning and top soil delivery!

The results? The campaign generated a response rate of 14.6%. Among those responding, the close rate was 27%. The project immediately generated $5,700 in revenues, but with a lifetime value to the client of $52,000, the projected ROI was more than 8,000%! All without purchasing a new list.

Do you think this is just a fluke? Metro Nissan of Redlands launched a similar program and had a similar result. It dug into its database for customers who had not visited the store in a period of three to eighteen months. To each customer, it sent a personalized direct mailer with a personalized incentive to come back. The response rate was 5%. For customers who hadn’t been to the dealership in more than 12 months, ROI was 467%. For those who had not been to the dealership in nine months, ROI jumped to 655%. Total campaign investment? $4,500.

What are you doing with your inactive customer list?

*Please visit our friends at Great Reach Inc or follow them on Twitter @greatreach*