Can Direct Mail Help Your Landscape Business?

With the world going digital, it’s easy for businesses to overlook traditional marketing methods. Direct mail may be slower to reach customers than email, but it has many benefits. Encourage new and return traffic to your website by showing customers you care with direct mailers.  

Arborgold works with some of the best landscaping companies across North America, developing software specifically for businesses like yours. We understand that field businesses differ from office-based companies, and therefore, you require business software all your own. We offer a variety of tools and information within one easy-to-use platform. Organize recipients, draft direct mail through our templates, and send without skipping a beat, all with Arborgold.

Want to start a direct mail campaign but not sure where to start? Here are some ideas.  

Lawn Care Postcards

Postcards are fun, unique, and visual. They give your customer something an envelope doesn’t – easy access to your company’s content. This is beneficial to you because it means consumers are seeing your website, logo, and company details, whether they open an envelope or not.

Lawn care postcards are a great way to draw in new customers and encourage existing ones to try your service again. A key reason these direct mailers are so effective is their small area for content. Customers can easily consume your letter without feeling overwhelmed by long-form messages.

QR Codes

These small square bar codes first came to be in 1994 but didn’t become overly popular in North America until after 2010. Now, it’s common to find QR codes in restaurants, grocery coupons, and direct mail.

Your QR code, like the postcard idea, allows you to include a small, easy-to-read message on your correspondence, while the bar code allows customers to learn more about your company, claim exclusive offers, or discover new products and services. To use the QR code, customers hover their mobile device camera over the code until a popup appears, tapping the popup brings them to your website, blog, social media page, or whatever content you had hoped for them to consume.

Tiny URL to Website

Direct mail may also include a tiny URL. These short versions of your standard URL allow customers to access your site without trying to type long complicated text into the address bar. It also reduces text on your mailer, saving you money on print costs, and reducing the amount of reading your customers need to do.

Tiny URLs are great for tracking your campaign, counting visitors to your unique tiny URL, vs. your standard web address. This tells you how your mailers are doing financially, and whether they’ll be worth a second run.

Cost vs Reward

Direct mail has more monetary expenses attached to it than e-mail does. There is the printing and mailing of each individual piece of mail, along with the design and creation of tiny URLs or QR codes.

Direct mailers in the United States can cost from 30 cents to 10 dollars per mailer. So, you want to ensure you get the most for your money, and that the content in your mailer will lead to web traffic and ROI.

Direct mail can be quite rewarding if the campaign is successful. The issue is, tracking direct mail recipients is more complicated than e-mail. This is where QR codes and tiny URLs come in particularly handy. When these addresses are accessed, your CRM can provide insight as to the success of your campaign, both in terms of visitors and services purchased.

To make your mailer worth the effort, it’s a good idea to include some form of incentive. Whether it is a contest, an exclusive offer for new customers, or a coupon for all customers – you’re more likely to get a response if the customer has a reason to visit your website after they receive the mailer.

Types of Direct Mail

There are many forms of direct mail to consider as you begin planning your direct mail campaign. These include:

• Newsletter
• Postcard
• Coupon mailer
• Catalogue
• Brochure
• Card
• Self-mailer

The type of direct mail you choose will help consumers understand what to do with the message they receive. A catalog may offer an assorted selection of products and services for them to browse. These are great mailout options for locals who may not be as tech-savvy as others, while a postcard with a QR code and a brief description of your company is enough for most consumers to find their way to your site and begin using your services.

Your CRM Can Help

Having access to a custom CRM designed for field businesses will help you track customer information, manage mailouts, and ensure that you are sending all direct mail exactly where it needs to go. Your CRM will remind you of mailing days, alert you to issues with your mail schedule, and allow you to update your distribution list quickly and efficiently.

Best of all, your CRM ensures you don’t remail the same customers over and over. It will let you know when your last mail went out and when to send more based on your schedule preferences.

Take a Tour of Arborgold Today

Arborgold is a leader in landscaping software, providing the tools you need to be successful in any campaign you choose to pursue. Using our unique field business software, you can interact with your customers, follow the success of your latest campaign, update contact lists, and manage your team in real-time, including GPS tracking, maps, inventory, invoicing, and more. Take Arborgold with you on the go with mobile access. Take your business wherever you go, and stay on top of team activities, equipment, and projects without missing a beat.

Interested in learning more about landscaping and direct mail? Arborgold can help. Our bespoke field business software is designed for a wide range of businesses from landscaping to pest control, assisting with customer management, operations, communications, and more. We invite you to take a tour of Arborgold today.