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Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail

So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few
years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you
have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. An
organized database is the first key to customer retention.

The next step is to put together a direct mail campaign to keep these
customers thinking about you when they think about mortgages. It is
often years between times when each customer needs a mortgage
professional, and it takes far less than that for them to forget your
name. As well as fighting time, you are fighting indifference. Customers
who get great service are often reluctant to pass that information
along, while customers who feel they have gotten poor service will tell
everyone. Most of the time good customers need to be reminded of their
experience. By following up with each customer on a regular basis you
will not only stay in the front of their mind but you will also start to
build a reputation as a solid and responsible business.

So how do you get started? Below are a couple of the most frequently
asked questions when starting a campaign to keep in touch with past
clients.

What Type of Direct Mail Piece Works Best?

There is a great debate amongst Mortgage Professionals about what type
of direct mail will work best for getting new business. Many swear by
letters for their appearance of professionalism, while others like the
low cost and high visibility of postcards. Overall, both seem to work
adequately for bringing in new business. You just need to find which
works best for you personally.

For keeping in contact with past customers, however, the way to go is
postcards. This is due to the fact that if your customers are not
currently looking for a mortgage for themselves, they are far less
likely to take the time to open a letter. That causes most of your "keep
in touch" promo that is in envelopes to get thrown out before it ever
gets read.

Since the goal is recognition and not direct action you only need to get
them to read the message. Postcards have the message visible when
mailed, which means that while your customers are deciding what to read
and what to throw out, they are already being exposed to your message.

How Often Should I Send Promo?

You will want to mail a piece to your database every 30-60 days. Any
longer than that and they may have already forgotten you when their
friends are looking for a mortgage. Since you will want to send promo
out often, you will need to keep your costs down. With postcards there
are no envelope costs, no assembly costs and the postage is 30% less
than letters. When using a mail house to send your postcards you can
often get postage rates as low as 18¢ per

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piece.

What Should Be On My Brand Recognition Pieces?

There are some basic rules for the design of a brand recognition direct
mail piece.

Rule #1: Keep color consistent.

Many times people fall into the trap of changing the look of their promo
for the seasons or for the holidays. The thought is that people are
thinking about Christmas or St. Patrick's Day so they will respond
better to promo with those colors. The truth is exactly opposite. Their
senses are so flooded by those images that they actually start to skip
right over them. Pick a color for your company and stick with it. You
will do much better in building recognition.

Rule #2: Make a logo and use it on every piece.

Having a clean, professional logo is best. It may be a little pricey to
have designed but in the end it is well worth the money. Experienced
designers can often charge up to $2000 for a corporate identity package
including logo, letterhead and business cards. If you aren't looking to make that type of investment simply pick a type style for your company
name and use it every time. Consistency is key because your logo is your main identification point.

Rule #3: Make it Informative.

Every piece should have something useful for your customers. Whether it
is new information about the mortgage industry or even possible
investment properties in their area, it can even be completely unrelated
to the mortgage industry. A calendar or list of emergency numbers, even
the old recipe card trick still works pretty well. Anything that is
likely to be kept around will help to build recognition in the minds of
your past customers.

The mortgage industry has experienced a huge amount of growth over the
past few years. Unfortunately this growth cannot last forever. At some
point it is going slow down and the only way to keep your income in the
range that you have become accustomed to is to ensure that you retain as
many past customers as you possibly can.

A direct mail campaign is the best way to do this, but remember, this
type of program is a long term process. Don't get discouraged if you
can't directly calculate the amount of money that you bring in right off
the bat. What you are doing is burning your name into the minds of your
customers. Eventually it will work out to you seeing less attrition and
far more referrals.


About the Author

Joe Niewierski, VP of Marketing & Promotion at PostcardMania, became published after graduating with a BA in Advertising from USF. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.postcardmania.com.