Who’s reading your mail?

I’d like to introduce you to a member of my family. Her name is Chooch, and she’s 14 years old. She doesn’t work, does not have a driver’s license or a Social Security number, and as far as I know, has no credit file.

Let me start out by explaining something. My home phone number is listed in Directory Assistance under Chooch’s name. If you haven’t figured it out by now, Chooch is my border collie. That’s right…my dog! I do this so, when someone calls my home during dinner and asks to speak to Chooch, I know it’s a telemarketer. So far, Chooch has gotten calls for magazines, insurance and political contributions.

But recently, something new has started to happen. Chooch has been pre-approved for credit cards, real estate auctions and most importantly, she started to receive mailers from auto dealers!

One of the credit mailers Chooch recieved!

So, who’s reading your mail? Do you really know who your mail campaign goes to? Direct mail is not cheap, as we all know, and unless your piece is being opened and read by real consumers who need an auto loan, how effective can it be? In order to maximize the effectiveness of your advertising dollars in today’s market, you need to be sure that your marketing efforts are precise. After all, advertising dollars are limited, and, just like you teach your sales people, you have to sell value in order to sell your product.

Offering easy credit to customer with good credit is like trying to sell a compact to a family with six kids. It might work, but in reality, it’s going to be a hard sell. Make sure that the mailer you buy maximizes its impact on customers who truly need your credit offer. Using blind, targeted mail, with a genuine offer of credit, produces customers who want your help, not the gift or gimmick it offers. After all, how many gifts did your last mailer give out versus the number of cars it sold?