Attracting customers is the goal of any home service business. But what separates the best home service businesses from the rest is their ability to attract repeat clientele. Considering how beneficial a commitment to increasing repeat business is, you need all the resources available that are capable of helping you prevent your customers from booking service appointments with your competitors. And one of the most effective resources for that is automated direct mail campaigns. Here are a few reasons why:

You Can Use Direct Mail Automation to Simplify the Booking Process

One of the reasons why you may not be booking as many service appointments as you could be. A lengthy, cumbersome booking process is among one of the main reasons  people are booking with competitors instead of you. Including a custom URL or QR code, leading to a landing page where recipients can book service appointments helps accomplish multiple goals. The first is allowing you to track how many appointments your campaign is responsible for. 

Adding QR codes or unique URLs and landing pages can also help you ease the booking process. That’s because taking out a smartphone and snapping a quick flick of a QR code is easier for most people than calling a number, staying on hold and scheduling a date. And a unique URL with a dedicated landing page for booking appointments is likely going to be easier to remember than a regular website. Simplifying the booking process helps to build goodwill with new customers, too. 

By Allowing You to Easily Connect With Past Clientele

While attracting new customers is important, you can’t neglect the customers that already know how effective your services are. Staying in touch with past clientele is a must for turning one time customers into lifelong customers. A few ways automated direct mail can help you remain connected with previous clients include:

• Triggered Sends

  As great as mailing your audience at the perfect time sounds, doing so isn’t in the cards for those managing the marketing efforts of home service businesses. That’s where automation comes into play. Leveraging event-based direct mail campaigns allows you to automatically send mail to audiences once certain actions are taken or a set amount of time has passed.

• Real Time Mail Tracking

  The ability to track the exact location of your mailers within the mail stream can play a pivotal role in fine-tuning your multi-channel marketing strategy. Having access to the status of your direct mail piece can help you decide when to execute accompanying email or social media campaigns. Without real-time mail tracking, you may wind up mistiming your additional communication attempts, rendering them useless.

• Gauge Customer Satisfaction

  Reaching out to customers after you’ve performed a service visit accomplishes multiple goals. First it allows you to show to your audience that you care deeply about improving the work you do for customers. And that could be exactly what it takes to begin a long-lasting relationship with certain clients. Additionally, asking for customer feedback allows you to share how happy you make current customers with leads who may be considering your services.

Direct Mail Automation Allows You to Personalize Your Outreach

Since your competitors might be sending direct mail of the “one-size-fits-all” variety, personalization presents a big opportunity for you to stand out. There are a few different ways automated direct mail can help you stand out from the competition, too. A few ways you can leverage personalization to earn more repeat business include:

• Send Discounts for Next Service Appointments to Dormant Customers

  For most home service businesses, clients typically book service appointments on an annual basis. If you have customers that you haven’t heard from in a while, you can use direct mail automation to nudge them with a discount. A reminder postcard, along with an incentive could be just what it takes to get them to schedule another service appointment with you.

• Automate Follow-Up Mailers Centered Around Specific Services

  Sometimes a general, broad message is capable of having the impact you need it to. But providing a message related to the service you provided could be what it takes to get recipients thinking about booking future service visits. And with variable data printing, the process of referencing specific services couldn’t be easier.

• Educate Recipients About the Importance of Relevant Services

  There are lots of members of your audience that may be unaware of the importance of the services you provide. Let’s say for instance that you provide air duct cleaning services, and making sure that they remain clean can help homeowners combat allergy-like symptoms. If that’s the case, sharing that information on a mailer could be exactly what it takes to get recipients to schedule a service appointment.

Direct Mail Makes it Easier for Clientele to Contact You in Case of Emergency

In today’s digital-first landscape, you can’t overestimate the value of providing recipients with a tangible item does wonders when it comes to keeping customers for the long haul. There are a few reasons why that’s the case. Ultimately, sending direct mail allows your audience to receive your message on their terms. And that ability enables recipients to reach out whenever your services are needed most. Let’s say for instance that you’re a plumber, and you sent a mailer to someone that just had a pipe burst in their basement.

In this case, most homeowners would likely call the number on the postcard they recently received, instead of going online and searching for one. By sending mailers with your services, and emergency phone number, you could be the go-to-guy (or girl) for the job. And there’s no better way to gain a customer for life like performing great repair work in a pinch. 

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You don’t have to embark on your next automated direct mail campaign alone. The knowledgeable, reputable team at Direct Mail Manager is more than willing to answer any questions you have about direct mail automation during a complimentary demo. To begin mailing, sign up for an account and upload your first list today!