Find out how one retailer gets a 9 to 15 percent return on her direct mail campaigns in the February issue of Floral Management.
There’s been an undeniable shift to all things digital in recent years, but “old fashioned” tactics, such as sending snail mail, still resonate with a lot of customers.
Julie Markert, owner of Catherine’s Gardens in Oak Forest, Illinois, can attest that print is not dead. About a year ago, she ordered postcards from the Society of American Florists, which she sends out with every design. Using Microsoft Word, she customizes the postcards with her shop’s information and an offer for 15 percent off the next order, along with a code for orders placed online.
The postcards have a remarkable return rate of about 9 percent (closer to 15 percent around holidays), Markert said. By comparison, the average ROI for direct mail campaigns is generally 0.5 to 2 percent, according to JWM Business Services.
“We have repeat customers will send flowers to themselves just to have at home,” Markert told Floral Management contributing editor Mary Westbrook. “They’ll come in and order three months’ at a time. They give the extra coupons they have to their neighbors who see the pieces and like them.”
In this month’s Floral Management, Westbrook shares some of Markert’s secrets for maximizing the postcards’ potential, such as using them as loyalty cards. Check out the story in the Hands On column. There you’ll also find:
- results from SAF’s 2015 Women’s Day survey
- tips to protect your name online
- a really big idea to catch commuters’ eyes
