Keeping up with Clients with Direct Mail during Economic Storms

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Could your company be that stability and offer that ray of sunshine?

Keeping up with Clients with Direct Mail during Economic Storms

At times like these, there are leaders and companies who choose to cut back. Often, the first thing to be scrutinized and cut is the advertising budget.

What could be the impact of that decision?

Right now, your clients are also trying to balance their changed lives with new financial realities. In a time of upheaval, people like a little assurance of stability. They want to hear something good, they want to be reminded of hope.

Could your company be that stability and offer that ray of sunshine? How do you let your clients know that you are in business to stay in business and will continue to be even after this tough economic turn?

Maintaining a relationship with a client by using direct mail as a tool shows that you are there for them and with them “through good times and bad” and helps your organization leave a specific impression that pays off in huge dividends.

Think about the advantages of direct mail. Getting a piece of well designed, beautifully written mail from your company right in their homes can build your brand and build client confidence in your company. Especially in uncertain times.

Choosing for your organization to go into ‘message blackout/silence’ mode by cutting advertising budgets is, in effect, cutting off conversations with your clients. You have worked so hard to create a relationship with them, why would you want to do that? Think of it this way; you’ve been happily married for 20 years and one random day you come home to an empty house. No note. No indication of why that relationship is over. Could your company do that to your customers?

Be wise with your direct mail messages.
Make sure what you have to say in your direct mail offers value to your clients. With forethought and great writing, you can show that you and your company are in this crisis with your clients. Examples? If you are in lending, let clients know that interest-only repayment plans can be set up. If you’re sending out an e-newsletter include tips on local swap meets, free offers from other retailers or auctions that are coming up in the area where your clients work and live Don’t ever assume that your client’s “already know” about special offers or repayment plans. They’ve got more and more on their minds. Offer help, offer value and your clients will remember you for it.

Use the right mailing lists to target the right customers.
Your company may have invested in research to get to know your clients habits, buying trends and preferences. Revisit that research and work with a reputable direct mail company to choose mailing lists. You can also go back and check in with your own instincts and that of your sales team. What have they heard recently? Of all the things that your clients are wrestling with, what’s the biggest of the concerns? How can your company provide a solution? Now, you’ve got the message you want to send, choose the lists that will get that message to the clients and potential clients most ready to hear it.

Use this opportunity to build a new customer base!
In tough times, the tough get going. Think about starting new client relationships and deepening existing client relationships by bringing people together for a community event. Carefully choose a new mailing list, mix in your own customer list and promote your upcoming clothing drive and giveaway or food drive. It’s a great way to show how much you care about the people in your community and in doing that, show potential clients you’re the company to do business with because you care. (There is also so much potential to leverage an event like this to receive unpaid media mentions in local papers, on television and radio.)

You can’t maintain relationships without communication and direct mail helps you keep those conversations with your clients going. Beyond a line item on your balance sheet, think of your advertising budget as your client-to-company conversation budget. How important are those conversations to you?

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