Power Up Your Marketing Strategy with Electrician Direct Mail Postcards

Why direct mail still matters to electrical contractors

The growing popularity of direct mail seems evident when considering the following statistics from the USPS, Data & Marketing Association, and other direct mail analysts:

• 90% of direct mail gets opened, in contrast to only 20%-30% of emails.

• 17 seconds is the average lifespan of an email, compared to direct mail’s average lifespan of 17 days.

• 50% of people tried a new product, service, or establishment in the past six months after receiving mailers, coupons, or ads in the mail.

• 73% of American consumers say they prefer contact from brands via direct mail because they can read it whenever they want.

• 50.9% of recipients say they find postcards with coupons and pricing useful.

Historically speaking, Connery says, direct mail has up to a 30-day shelf life, which remains exceedingly longer than an email or digital ad, which may hold your attention for a maximum of five seconds.

"I look at the shelf life of a direct mail campaign as being able to reinsert itself multiple times in its lifespan, whereas a digital platform piece may live in your sphere for a day," Connery says.

Postcard marketing campaigns: A powerful marketing tool

• Strategically engage new customers.

• Offer coupons, incentives, and promotions to get noticed more.

Direct mail's potential for living a little longer in the hands of consumers gives business owners a definitive edge over email marketing, says Marne Reed, Chief Evangelist at PFL, a marketing technology company based in Montana.

Why? Because our attention spans are super short, she says, pointing to a recent HubSpot survey that found marketing and sales emails increased by 123% during the pandemic, while response rates decreased by 33%.

Direct mail postcards bypass junk email filters and go straight into the hands of the homeowners you're trying to reach. Even if a customer leaves the postcard on the counter or in a drawer, they may be reminded of your company at a later date.

Electrical contractors typically use postcards to send customers coupons, promotions, or mail pieces to remind them of their electrical maintenance needs. But for your electrician promotional postcard campaign to work effectively, it must be strategic.

"It just has to be done in a smart way," Connery stresses. "Resources are thinned out, costs are high, and that's why I really feel direct mail has to be strategic. It can't be used to cast these big wide nets, otherwise it might fall flat."

Before creating and sending a direct mail campaign, Connery says electricians, plumbers, HVAC, and other home services providers must first know three critical pieces of information.

"Understanding who you're marketing to, why you're marketing to them, and what action you want them to take to do business with you," she says.  "Everything is strategic and you have to be really clear with your intent."

While postcards remain a highly effective marketing tool, other direct mail formats might include electrician flyers, self-mailer brochures, or letters in envelopes. Connery describes postcards as more visual, with the customer seeing an eye-catching offer without opening anything, while letters come across as important content and professional.

Electrician direct mail gives customers a reason to act

• Target a specific audience with a relevant message.

• Tell the customer what you want them to do to create value.

Not only must a direct mail campaign identify a specific audience and include a personal, relevant message to be effective, it also must tell the recipient what you want them to do and make it easy for them to take that action.

"Audience segmentation is really important, and you have to clearly define your call to action. This is something that most people don't do," Connery says. 

Are you following up with specific electrical customers who have unsold estimates, or others in certain neighborhoods you haven't heard from in awhile? Are you trying to educate about electrical safety and offering discounts for an electrical hazard inspection? Are you offering new services, such as testing electrical loads for smart home technology?

Decide the demographics you want to target for your electrical postcards, what you want to tell them (or offer), and make it easy for them to respond. Follow these 4 tips:

1. Target your audience.

To develop a targeted mailing list, first segment your audience. 

Segmentation refers to "bucketing" your prospects or customers into specific areas, and understanding who they are, where they live, and what electrical services they need, Connery explains. This could include:

• Thanking new customers for their business and giving them a discount on their next electrical service.

• Sending a re-engagement offer to past customers to spark renewed interest in your local business.

• Asking customers to follow up on open estimates for electrical services.

• Reminding current customers to renew their expiring service agreements or memberships.

Engaging customers in a helpful way, without pestering them, helps to generate a bigger pool of loyal, repeat customers.

"The buying journey begins by making potential customers aware of your company, gets solidified by providing a service and thanking them for the business, and continues by following up and turning them into repeat customers," Sam Yarborough, PFL's Director of Partnerships, explains in a ServiceTitan direct mail automation webinar.

2. Define your message.

To get your message across, keep it brief and to the point.

"What do you want them to do? What do you want them to know?" Connery explains. "On a postcard, we don't want to sit there and read a thesis. It has to be clear, concise, and short."

Whereas plumbing or HVAC service lends itself to consistent maintenance and membership reminders, electrical service can be a bit trickier to nail down. But every customer needs electricity to power their homes, so look for creative ways to sell your essential services. 

Make your message clear and to the point. Even if homeowners give your postcard a cursory glance, they can grasp your message within seconds.

3. Make it catchy.

Good postcard designs feature high-quality images, easy-to-read fonts, and engaging graphic designs that enhance your message.

You might try other mailing services like the USPS EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail), or you can save time with ServiceTitan Marketing Pro Direct Mail, an add-on feature that gives you access to full-color postcard templates that you can customize and make your own. 

After uploading a Marketing Pro direct mail template, just add your company name, logo or slogan, and pricing offers. Once you’ve added the targeted customers' mailing addresses, send your professional-looking postcards quickly and easily.

4. Give a clear call to action.

When a customer looks at your postcard, they need to know what you want them to do, and they need a sense of urgency for doing it now. 

A call to action refers to short, active phrases like, "Call today" or "Renew now." It communicates exactly what action you want the customer to take. Providers must choose the right timing and a relevant message before communicating with customers.

"You have to clearly define your call-to-action," Connery says. "If you tell them what you want them to do, give them multiple ways to do it, and give them an incentive, they will most likely act on it."

How ServiceTitan streamlines electrician direct mail marketing

• Easily build audience lists.

• Automate direct mail campaigns. 

ServiceTitan's all-in-one functionality makes it simple to segment audience lists from your existing customer data, whether that’s maintenance reminders, unsold estimates, expiring memberships, or aging equipment.

Because ServiceTitan allows you to hyper-target your audience and automate your direct mail campaigns, you can send one postcard or thousands, right away. Automated postcard design, printing, and mailing eliminates the hassle of manually pulling information from multiple systems, locating a print vendor, and transporting multiple pieces of data back and forth.

Direct mail templates, regularly updated with new designs and messaging, can be a source of inspiration for new campaigns, too.

“Templates give me some great ideas that I can leverage—seasonality, playing off the holidays, spring specials—and images to go along with each trade,” says Chloe Davis, Chief Marketing Officer at Express Plumbing, Heating & Air in Idaho. 

ServiceTitan gives marketers the ability to easily create and send out the right message to the right customer at the right time, making your company’s message relevant and effective.

Power up electrician marketing strategies

• Measure direct mail campaign success.

• Combine direct mail and digital for greater results.

After you've launched your direct mail campaign, measure its impact. ServiceTitan Marketing Pro allows your electrical business to match revenue and booked jobs with each direct mail campaign, so you can see what works and what doesn't.

Electrical contractors can track the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns by assigning unique phone numbers, coupon codes, or website landing pages.

Statistics show direct mail offers a 29% return on investment, and for greater results, consider direct mail as part of your larger electrician marketing plan. When digital and direct mail combine, marketers see 40% conversion rates and 60% increased ROI, according to the Association of National Advertisers.

A multi-channel approach establishes brand recognition and develops trust. The goal? Potential customers will remember you, and call you first when they need help with their electrical service needs.

"Direct mail, as a holistic thing, is definitely not dead, but it's morphing in how it's being utilized," Connery says. "These days, it's very strategic. The audience for direct mail is very tight and homed in on who it is we want to target, and with what message. And what does the physical piece look like? Is it a postcard, a multi-fold, or a letter and envelope? And what's the purpose of it? 

"I think more purpose-driven direct mail is where we're going," she says.