Postcards Work!!!

Direct mail is the most powerful advertising medium available returning on average thirteen dollars for every dollar invested (Direct Marketing Association).  It is an essential tool for every business, association, and non-profit.  However, it can also be a waste of time and money if the campaign is not properly targeted and the proper direct mail package is not used.

Billions of dollars are spent each year on elaborate and expensive marketing campaigns.  You probably know this from examining your own mailbox.  However, much of this mail goes unopened.  It is instantly tagged “junk mail” and filed accordingly – in the trash bin.

How do you cut through this clutter and compete without breaking the bank?  Postcards are a powerful tool that can help you break-through to your best prospects.  They are fast, they are inexpensive, and when used properly, they are extremely effective!

Here are some simple tips to make postcards work for you.

Target the right audience.  The world’s best offer will produce zero results when directed to the wrong recipient.  Understand who your best customers are.  Understand what they have in common.  Then use this profile to identify your best prospects.

Get right to the point. Have a simple and powerful offer.  With just a glance, the recipient should be able tell if your offer is worth considering.  Proposals that cut straight to the chase are always appreciated.

Make contact simple. Be clear about the action you are requesting.  Do you want your customer to visit your store, navigate to your Web site or call immediately to set an appointment.  Ask for the response you want.

• Make sure your contact information really stands out.  Use colors, fonts, and placement to make sure that this information is impossible to overlook.
• Open many channels of communication.  Include your telephone number, Fax number, email address, Web site URL (as appropriate).  Different recipients often prefer different methods of making contact.  Allow your customers to reach you in the way that feels most comfortable for them.
• Reach out to your customer.  Follow-up calls to recipients can often double response rates.

Make it memorable. Creative postcards get past gatekeepers and reach their mark.  Great postcards also have staying power – sometimes they will end up on a refrigerator door or a bulletin board for years.

• Use a compelling headline that spells out the benefits you’re offering.
• Make the design look like something other than an ad.  Make your postcard interesting, scenic, funny, or touching.  Give your customers a reason to spend more time considering it.

-       Put some useful information on your postcard.  For example, if you are sending a Service Postcard, list 5 items you should routinely check on your vehicle every three months.  These types of postcards are saved.

-       Funny can work well – but make sure the joke isn’t on you.  There is no point in making recipients chuckle if they don’t notice your message.

• Use every inch of space effectively.  Distill your ideas to a core message and select a powerful image that supports it.
• Offer something of value for free (e.g. a free tire rotation or gift card).  These types of offers get immediate attention.  However, make sure that your giveaway is most valuable to those who are likely to be your customers.

When used correctly postcards can be the most powerful tool in your marketing toolbox.

Happy Selling!

Get Ready for 2010…It’s Going to be a Hell of a Ride

Jim Fitzpatrick, CEO

So here we are in Mid January of 2010 and we’re all wondering the same thing. What will this year bring  to the Retail  Automotive industry.

My suspicion is that it will bring a little more of the same things we saw throughout 2009. What should be  totally different is your perspective.

What do I mean? I mean we in the car business have to take stock of what we’re doing right and more importantly what we’re doing wrong.

As president of Force Marketing I am in dealerships all over the country meeting with dealers and managers at least 3 times a week. During my visits we roll out our agency’s marketing and advertising plans for the upcoming months and discuss concerns and issues that the dealership might have that would prevent it from reaching its targeted goals in volume and gross.

The question always comes up…so Jim how much do you think we need to spend to hit our objective next month?

My answer many times is ….until you repair the huge hole in the bottom of the “up bucket” don’t spend another  nickel. That’s right. Imagine your advertising guy telling you to stop spending money on advertising? Perhaps you’re feeling like many of my clients do…you’re saying to yourself ”so what’s the catch”???

Dealers , General Managers, Sales Managers, Floor Closers, and yes…Salespeople…WAKE UP AND TAKE CARE OF THE CALLS, CLICKS AND WALK-INS your dealership is CURRENTLY getting.

Pick up the phone!

Will Somebody Please Pick-up The  %#@&  PHONE!!!!

For all of our full-service and direct mail clients  Force Marketing provides 800 tracking numbers for all the advertising  mediums a dealer uses to reach out to its local market.  It’s called Force Phone Trac and its much like the well known 800 services provided by Who’s Calling or Call Brite.

As of this writing we have over twenty six hundred  800 numbers tracking AND recording PHONE-ups going in to dealerships all over the country.

This gives us a a very unique perspective of what’s taking place inside our client’s showrooms when , that call they (the dealer) paid so dearly for, finally comes in.

Hopefully you’re sitting down because what I’m about to share with you is not only shameful it’s downright sickening.

Over 18% of all calls going in to these dealerships go UN-ANSWERED!! That’s right I said UN-answered. Let me explain. The prospect calls the dealership after seeing an ad or visiting the dealers website. The phone receptionist usually takes the call on the first ring. Good so far, right? Here’s where it goes terribly wrong.

The prospect that is calling to learn more about your dealership is placed on hold waiting for a salesperson to answer and help with his questions. Here it is…18% of the time the call is either never picked up at all or is sent to someone’s voice mail.

If you think I’m making this stuff up…I suggest right after you read this blog you immediately try it at your dealership.

Have your friend call from a number your staff won’t recognize and see for yourself what happens when people interested in buying a car from you calls your dealership to give you the deal.

We’ve  gotta STOP THE BLEEDING!!!! That’s right , I said it, After all we’ve been thru in this business in the last 3 years, stores closing, brands shutting down, fortunes lost, families torn apart, long-term employees and friends suffering from the industry’s problems, …how dare we as managers act as if it all never happened and that , if we shut our eyes The Car Fairy will make it all go back to the way it once was… Lots of cars for lots of buyers.

This just in…there’s no such thing as Santa, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, and there is definitely  no such thing as “The Car Fairy”

Here’s my point….We must immediately adapt to this new environment and change the way in which we find our prospects, present  our products ,close our sales, and service our customers.

Folks,  if you don’t take drastic action NOW in the way  you run your stores you may find yourself without a store to run. There’s no sense spending additional dollars on advertising to try to get more customers to call if you’re not currently taking care of the ones that are trying to do business with you today.

You should also know …. At Force Marketing, our Account Managers  listen to every call that comes in to each of our full-service clients every day and here’s what we know…. Of the 82% of the calls that are answered, the sales person fails to set an appointment over 90% of the time.

FIX THE HOLE IN THE “UP BUCKET” First!

So now you know why  I tell some of my clients to stop spending more money on advertising until they get their staff trained on answering the phone on time and trained on setting appointments with every caller.

If this one element isn’t fixed NOW…The only thing increasing your ad budget will give you is greater frustration in the lack of your stores performance.

Here’s the Good News… just learning about a problem like this means your half way to correcting it.

Incidentally, in addition to Force Marketing being one of the Nation’s Best Full-Service Automotive Marketing Companies,  we can also help you with your Sales and Manager Training efforts  through our training divison called FORCE UNIVERSITY …Call us today for a free Force U. trial log -in and start getting 18% more sales opportunities!!

Working together, we can help you make 2010 a GREAT YEAR!!

I would love to hear from you…