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We have monthly mailers that we mail out to all of our current customers. It definitely helps but some months it's not enough either. That being said, I think the reason for that is, at least in my case, is because I'm not too consistent with sending out the monthly mailers. A lot of people really do like them and if I were to do it consistently every month, I think it would be a much better response. However, I have never lost money sending them out. Meaning, they always at least bring someone in who will pay for the whole campaign.

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We use Mudlick targeted mailing if we know a slow time is coming. For those surprise times when nobody show up, we use e-mail blasts through Kukui.

How successful has this been? Every time I get a bunch of ads in the mail I just toss them, hard for me to believe this works. How much do they charge you and how do they bill? Per house or a region?

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How successful has this been? Every time I get a bunch of ads in the mail I just toss them, hard for me to believe this works. How much do they charge you and how do they bill? Per house or a region?

 

 

Per mail piece. Direct Mail response rate is 0.25% - 0.50% so out of 1000 mailers if you get 2.5-5 people to respond you are in good shape. Of those you still have to convert. At best if you have a really compelling mail piece you might get 1-3% response rate. Response rate is always low on direct mail pieces but you have to think bigger picture which is brand awareness.

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I've personally had really good success with direct mailers. Better than online even. I didn't use mudlick though. I've considered trying them out, but honestly, I can see how their ads blend in with everyone else. Very bland.

 

I use a guy from California who does phenomenal on my mailers. I've gotten tons of compliments them and it's brought in a majority of my customers.

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Thanks for the good words, Matt! If anybody else wants to know how to do postcard mailings that really kick butt, please contact me. I've been doing Matt's for two years and he's growing. Postcards (done properly) work very, very effectively and the ROI is excellent. There are too many "marketing" companies out there selling postcards that have no clue.

 

You can reach me at [email protected] or call me at 800-536-3030. To see samples, go to www.imageoneads.com and look at Postcard Designs under the portfolio tab. My name's Robert.

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I can and will vouch for Robert's postcard effectiveness. Not only do they work in bringing customers into our shop, but the customers are very impressed with them.

 

It took Robert a while to convince me, but he is well worth every penny. I had a customer this week bring in a card we mailed out almost a year ago. That should tell you how much his cards get people's attention.

 

Not everyone may experience the results I did, but I can confidently say that his artwork and strategy will maximize your return.

 

As for his honesty, Robert has actually advised me at times to wait on mail-outs to time seasons and holidays just right. Finding a marketing person who will tell you 'Hold on to your money right now, we'll get better results in a month or so' is extremely rare these days.

 

FWIW, Robert has not told me I will get any sort of spiff or discount for referrals or my testimonial.

Edited by mmotley
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Great thank you for the testimonal.

 

On another note we run Yelp! ads and have landed a good amount of clients through it. Over 1,000 views a month more off the ads and we probably get a phone call 20% of the time. Check our Yelp! page out...

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/brakes-to-go-mobile-brake-repair-austin-2?sort_by=date_desc

Edited by Jonathan Ganther
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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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