Labor Day: September 2, 2013 – Labor Day was created by America’s labor unions in September of 1882 in order to celebrate and honor the contributions of American workers. Ever since then it has been known as a great day of festivities, relaxation, and – of course! – the day off from work.
Labor Day also makes a great day to mail; honor your customers by providing them with special Labor Day promotions. That’s what George, who owns a health club, did. George normally sees a large boost in business from April through July, but as summer was coming to an end he noticed a substantial decrease in new prospects and clients. In order to motivate more people to come in and check out his health club he decided to run a Labor Day special. He sent out a 6.25″ x 11″ mailer that included a coupon and two before-and-after photos of his clients.
George believes that health and fitness is important for all people so he used Click2Mail’s Every Door Direct Mail service to send his mailers out to every household within 10 miles of his club. The promotion ran from August 29th – September 4th and over the week he sold 40 new memberships, added 12 people onto existing memberships and signed 23 people up for one-on-one personal training lessons or group classes. Each customer who used the coupon was asked to complete a survey. The results showed George that most people were very inspired by the before-and-after photos. George plans on sending out different types of monthly mailers to motivate even more people to come in, get fit, and live healthfully!
National Grandparents Day: September 8, 2013 – Grandparents spoil us, they guide us, and they love us unconditionally. National Grandparents Day is a day to show them how much we love and appreciate them.
Consider how Kara took advantage of Grandparents Day: Kara owns a family-style Italian restaurant and loves giving her patrons a great deal. She often runs deals on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and other major holidays, but realized that Grandparents Day doesn’t get very much notice. She wanted to give this day some deserved attention.
So Kara purchased a mailing list to target households with seniors and/or children. She sent out a promotional 5″ x 8″ postcard with a 20% off coupon for anyone who dined with a grandparent over the Grandparents Day weekend. She tested her success by cataloging how many coupons were used and tracking how business compared to the same weekend in the previous three years. Kara had a great turnout and saw an increase of more than 5% from the previous year and 12% from the first year. She is currently working on more creative ways to promote her restaurant through direct mail marketing.
Patriot Day: September 11, 2013 – Patriot Day commemorates the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Like other holidays commemorating tragic historical events, it’s important to take care when thinking of mailing around this holiday.
That’s what Mark did. Mark is a Veteran and owns a sporting goods store. In an effort to make a difference and help others affected by 9/11, he founded and runs a charity for people who have survived tragedies (especially those having to do with the aftermath of 9/11). 10% of all proceeds from his sporting goods store goes into the charity and on certain holidays, including Patriot Day, he donates 30% of his proceeds.
Normally Mark relies on his regular customers, a small ad in the newspaper, and flyers to spread the word about these special events. This year he decided to go bigger by sending out a promotional 8.5″ x 12″ flat postcard using Click2Mail’s EDDM service to every house within 20 miles of his store. The postcard advertised the event and also offered each customer with purchases above a certain amount a free item. He noticed a huge difference in in-store traffic from previous years and the books couldn’t deny it either. He had twice as many sales as the year he started running the promotions, and about 15% more than the previous event. In just one day he was able to raise over $7,000 for his charity and gained new customers as well.
First Day of Fall: September 22, 2013 – What’s a better way to welcome fall than with a great promotion? Celebrate cooler weather, new fashion trends, changing leaves, and the fact that the winter holidays are only 3 months away!
That’s what Gloria, who owns a small market in the heart of a rural town, did. She closes down for a good part of the summer and reopens every year on the first day of fall. Last year she saw fewer customers during her first week open than she had previous years. This year, she wanted to get the word out before her grand reopening so that she could resume normal business sooner.
Gloria used the Look Alike/Cloning list service to compile a mailing list of her ideal customers. She sent out a 5″ x 8″ postcard one month prior to opening and a similar 4.25″ x 6″ postcard that included a coupon 10 days prior to opening. She had more customers during the first week open than she had ever had before and many people expressed how much they appreciated the advance notice and reminder.
January though December, there are plenty of ways that a direct mail campaign can influence your marketing success. For more information on mailing throughout the year, visit our website at Click2Mail.com or visit https://click2mail.com/contact-us-support for your free copy of the Annual Mailing Calendar.
