Snail Mail - is it worth it anymore?

[Alex Snyder]

I'm converting our entire dealer group to a new CRM, so I've been working a lot.  Couple that with my other responsibilities and I'm typically getting home around midnight.  At that time the last thing I think about doing is getting my snail mail because it is now more of a chore than an incentive.  It seems my mailbox has a tendency to become over-filled with credit card offers, introductions to new real estate agents, coupons for my grocery store, big catalogs for furniture and clothes I'll never buy.  I'd say over 95% of my mail is junk.  The other 5% is nothing but bills that I pay online anyway, so basically everything in my mailbox is trash.  I need to start carrying the garbage can out to the mailbox with me to just scoop it right where it is all going to end up.

Also, with a new CRM comes opportunity for new mail pieces.  I am obviously not a fan of snail mail.  Maybe it is me, maybe it is the younger generation I'm a part of, maybe I think trees are a good thing....whatever.  I also don't subscribe to the newspaper (is that a sin in this industry?) - click here to read what Seth Godin has to say about that.   I'm in a little bit of a debate with the older generation about how many letters we should be sending through our new CRM.  I agree with sending a few to people who have purchased vehicles from us and something on a birthday or anniversary, but to contribute to the regular 95% junk pile is something I am not in favor of.  I also want to keep in touch with our customers who prefer the traditional communication methods they're used to.

My real question is:   is snail mail dead? If an expected return on a mail campaign is 1-3%, does that mean you're annoying 97% of the people who receive that expensive piece of mail?  As the cost of mail, and paper, continues to climb where does the cost out-weigh the value?

 

[Mitch]

Alex, I'm on board with you about the mailbox being a total waste of time... but remember that we're still young punks in this world. Lots of people use snail mail as a means of conducting their daily lives. Suckers.

Direct mail still has presence, still has value... and while it's produced in a similar format to newspapers, the reason this industry is so gung-ho about escaping the papers is the astronomical expense and the lack of a guarantee that your message is even reaching anyone. Mail's expense is a lot more realistic, and I'd entertain the argument that 75 cents for something in your hand (which has to at least be looked at once before you throw it away) can hang with 0 cents for something digital that might not even make it to someone's inbox.

Of course, we will get there at some point, because having something on paper is just plain stupid when the alternative is a virtual document with near-zero materials expense, infinite color and size options, and unprecedented targeting and reporting capabilities.

What's holding the world back from moving to all-digital are the consumers who have yet to see the benefits of it, and the product pushers who refuse to move on for any number of reasons. Fortunately for the planet, those people will eventually come on-board or become marginalized... but for now, those consumers are potential sales.

 

[Wayne Anderson]

I believe snail mail can still be effective if its tied in with an Internet strategy.

I base this belief on the mere fact that people still pay attention to their mailboxes. As long as they are receiving bills, Amazon stuff, etc. in their mailboxes, they'll keep paying attention to it. Since people's attention is becoming a scarce resource, I need to be everywhere where I know they pay attention. A well-crafted multi-channel snail mail/website/email campaign can still generate a good response.

I suppose when the US Postal Service goes out of business, then snail mail will be dead.

 

[Audrey Knoth]

Alex, I don't think snail mail is dead, but I think it needs to be treated carefully. By that I mean that the days of blasting out all sorts of canned direct mail pieces are way past gone ... no question that stuff gets the direct heave into the trash. However, well-designed, well-written mail pieces used judiciously can work ... the key is doing this well and being judicious. If, for example, a dealership is having a special event, a nicely-done snail mail invitation can have an impact. What we're seeing, really, is that snail mail needs to be as personalized as e-mail ... we all know that what's making e-mail contact so successful is that it can be so targeted to the individual. The same approach needs to be taken with snail mail. The challenge is that it's all too easy to not put time and thought into this stuff and to throw a bunch of non-personalized standard-looking mailers out into an indifferent universe. And the result is ... indifference.

 

[esietsma]

Hey Alex,

We just redid our daily run for our CRM, which is essentially the same thing and I wiped out all printed letters for customers with an email address. The only people who will get letters are those with no email and since our email capture is between 70-80% depending on the dealership, that is less than 30% of the customers. And once they are sold, this percentage drops drastically.

What I know from my own experience is I only check my mail once every few days, at which point, I have a packed full box of pennysavers, valupaks, catalogs from hammacher schlemmer (you buy something once and they hound you for life) and the list goes on.

I sort the mail into junk - anything without a handwritten address and most all catalogs/rags and then "important" mail. Important mail DOES include "coupons' that are in the form of the big DM pieces bc they stand out and I can magnet them to fridge until ready to use. If I have to open an envelope - fuggedaboutit.

 

[Wayne Anderson]

If you consider only 2-3% of the population is actively in the market to purchase a vehicle in a given month, a 2 - 3% response rate for an untargetted mailer is about right.

If you target people who have driven the same veh for 4-5 years, I'm certain the response will be higher. Fortunately, the best source to find this kind of data is in our own databases.

 

[andwrig]

We are beginning to limit snail mail to customers without email addresses. As for sales campaigns, why is a 2% return acceptable for snail mail but email campaigns and newsletters costing a fraction of snail mail generate higher returns. I think its a case of holding on to old habits. Its the same with newspaper advertising. Newspaper advertising still accounts for a large portion of dealer advertising even though circulations and readership levels are plummeting. And the newspapers have the audacity to raise their rates! The post office has the same problem with postage increases. I'm with you Alex. I think snail mail is a waste. I read Godin's post the other day and I couldn't agree more.

 

[Eric Miltsch (blog)]

I don't think I'd ever suggest a snail mail campaign to sell a vehicle, parts or service.

However, I would strongly recommend it to build and/or strengthen a relationship.

A client of mine mentioned he enjoyed reading to his young daughter at bedtime. So, I took a page from Jeffery Gitomer and sent my client a children's book & had the author personally sign it for them.

Mail something personal and unexpected to a customer & you'll never lose them...

Hand-written thank you notes and birthday cards are always a nice touch too - but at least make sure you include their name...otherwise it just comes off phony.

 

[Alex Jefferson]

Alex, you raise a very interesting question and I'm with you. But like Mitch said, "remember that we're still young punks in this world". Sometimes this makes it a little tougher to be objective. However, when I think back over the last 2 years there may have been 1 out of a gazzillion pieces of mail that got my attention enough to even consider the offer. The other question is how do we know how effective our CRM's are at getting through spam filters? Are there CRM's tools out there that know when we get through? If so, I would like to hear about it. Also, one company approached me about reverse electronic lead generation where if you have a phone number and address they can get a "valid" email 30% of the time. 10,000 clients means 3,000 emails not bad if that's true and I can find their information.

 

[Mitch]

One of the points most of us seem to agree on here is that direct mail does work, but it depends on what you're sending. That basically puts it in line with most advertising scenarios: the people are there, you just have to get their attention. But i think it's important to keep in mind that first part - the people ARE there. This is unlike newspapers, where no matter what your message is, the people are no longer there (at least, relative to the expense of it), which is why it is becoming an advertising failure.

Remember also that everyone's store and everyone's geo are different; I say that all the time but it's necessary to keep in mind. Jeff can probably attest to the fact that Benz customers will line up 30 deep for something as stupid as a "free mug" promotion, ironically getting you better results than if you tried it at a domestic dealer, since Benz customers are more likely to have flexible work schedules or not have a job at all (trophy wives) and thus have the time on their hands to swing down to your store for the offer. Maybe selling cars over direct mail doesn't work for your area... maybe Service mailers are effective with your customer base because they already love your Service department... but you won't usually get these answers listening to dealers who operate across the country from you. Trial and error is half the fun of marketing after all... don't you think?