Furniture retailer’s DM attracts prospects to store
A furniture store had invested in traditional marketing for years. The market was stable and growth had to be sought by increasing the market share at the expense of competitors. But how could this be achieved?
Special treatment for home movers
When the situations in which people buy furniture and the frequency of purchases were examined, it was discovered that one of the most important buying situations was when people move home. A new home naturally makes you want to decorate and dream about new interior solutions. A decision was made to capitalise on this discovery – after first testing it.
An advantage of direct marketing is that there’s the opportunity to test various approaches. You can – and should – test the concept, target groups, the offer as well as your sales pitch. Persistent testing will help you find the best methods for reaching your goals. Plus you can often create cost-savings by reducing the mailing volume, for example.
Information about people who had made a recent move was obtained from the Population Information System on the basis of change-of-address notifications, and the addresses were extracted at two-week intervals. Direct mail items were sent to the new homes, offering a discount on furniture and decorative items purchased during the campaign. It was also promised that the customers would receive a surprise gift against a bonus card.
From a campaign into a continuous process
The campaign used a barcode as a tracking tool that was read at the store when the discount was used. The response generated by the campaign and the financial success exceeded all expectations. The number of customers who made a purchase and the average profit margin per purchase exceeded the targets set by over 50 per cent.
The best outcome is, however, that the campaign can be continued. Direct mail sent to people who have recently moved home has developed into a systematic and continuous direct marketing method that is much more cost-efficient than traditional newspaper advertising and catalogues delivered to homes.
