Three Ways Aviation Professionals can Use a Retargeting or Recapture campaign to sell more stuff!

We’ll talk about:

  • Low Tech retargeting!  No tech skills needed!
  • Example Retargeted Campaign  – Swipe & Deploy
  • Our Favorite Web Retargeting Tools – Which are worth the money? (We compare Adroll and Perfect Audience with the pros and cons of each.)

We answer great questions from participants as well!

Note – I am actually using the Valentine’s Day Recapture direct mail campaign outlined in this video – results reported below.

Recapture Campaign – Results

So, I promised to report to the group on our Valentine’s Day Recapture Campaign, thought this might be helpful to those of you who also struggle with sales calls.
  • The List – 20 Past Customers.
  • The Offer – 1000 Free Postcards with a Qualifying Purchase before February 28.
  • The Presentation – Direct mail package with offer, company information, DVD of testimonials, product sheets, and Ghiradelli squares delivered just before Valentines Day
     

February 7- Sent Packages

Sent Valentine’s day packages to 20 “lost’ customers we haven’t worked with in over a year.
 

February 15 -Early Responses

  • Received one referral from a person who received a package (Coincidence? I don’t THINK so!)
  • Got a call from another package recipient who asked a technical question, then asked us for a recommendation on how to fix a problem with his website. Analysis and recommendations in progress. . . .

February 16 -Sales Calls, Round 1

  • aviation direct mail - returned package

    Made calls to the 20 package recipients to set up consultation appointments.  Left 15 voicemail + email messages

  • Talked with 3 human beings, 2 completely unreachable/unfindable.
  • 5 bounced emails, people apparently no longer working where they were when they were clients.
  • One found via LinkedIn, sent a message.
  • Eliminated 5 companies/contacts from the list because they have merged, been acquired, or our contact is no longer there.
  • Received 2 responses with requests to set up a consultation.

March 1 – Emails and More Sales Calls, Round 2

  • 2 packages were returned (bad address, unable to forward) – No problem, John and I ate the chocolates!
  • One more referral
  • 1 deal being actively negotiated
  • One indicated that his customer set has consolidated so he’s happy with three customers who provide him as much business as he needs, no need to market. (But we had a lovely conversation about the industry and he provided a nice testimonial from years ago when we worked together.)
Still negotiating/considering (have a date on the calendar within the next 30 days  to follow up) 1
Provided a referral 2
(Completely unsolicited, out of the blue)  Testimonial 1
“Thanks for the chocolates/info, not interested right now but let’s keep in touch” 11
Bad address, bad phone number, acquired/disappeared/went out of business/our contact no longer with the company 5
Total 20

Conclusion, Lessons Learned & Next Steps

Spent-

  • Total of about $300 (including printing, postage, materials, candy, etc.)
  • Total of about 15 hours over three weeks, including about 8 hours mail prep (John) and about 75 phone dials with tons of frustrating phone tag, telephones and trees.  (Paula)

Earned –

  • One deal in active negotiation (I’m guessing a 60% probability of closing within 90 days and  transaction amount of $6,000- $10,000.)
  • Two referrals of unknown value (I’m guessing a 40% probability of closing within 90 days with a transaction amount of $279- $6,000)
  • Insight into what people want (more done-for-you services, need to simplify the language we use to sell our SEO services)
  • Renewed relationships and advice from 15 qualified contacts (Priceless!)

Lessons Learned

  • Definitely worth repeating.
  • While everyone remembered and appreciated the package and emails, only two out of 20 responded to them before I reached out to them by telephone. (Very disappointing to those of us who dislike making sales calls on the phone.)
  • One person even mentioned he received the mailed package, flipped through the folder and was impressed with the quality of printing but didn’t read any of it! (Ate the chocolates, though!)
  • Therefore, we will NEVER devote resources to mailings without also doing the phone calls!
  • Two people I talked to claimed to have ADD. (Attention Deficit Disorder) and asked me to repeat the offer several times. (Note – these are VERY INTELLIGENT, C-level or management-level people with a high level of responsibility at small to medium-sized companies. My guess is they don’t actually have ADD, they’re just way too busy to pay attention to advertising and don’t want to be rude.)
  • Therefore, it’s very important to have a simple, easy-to-explain and understand offer and at least this number of steps (direct mail + 3 emails + at least one phone call within a three week period) to get anything to sink in.

Next Steps

  • The campaign is a keeper.  Even without instant gratification of a positive ROI this month, (the Holy Grail of Marketing) we’ve realized enough intrinsic and potential value to do it again.  We’re planning to use a similar list in October (Halloween promo) and February (Valentines promo) with a similar mail package, email schedule, and telephone call effort.
  • Might be worth adding a line to one of the phone or email outlines requesting testimonials. “You worked with us two years ago, we wanted to ask you what you remembered most about that experience.”   (And if they provide a positive response) “Do you mind if we use what you wrote in our marketing materials?”
  • Need a simpler, lower-cost offer if we’re using such a short timeline.  (Our average transaction time is 8 months, and our average transaction size is larger than the average executive can put on his credit card without approval.)

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AMHF 0010 – Budgeting and Holiday Campaigns

AMHF 002 – Why Bother with Marketing Campaigns?

ABCI’s Marketing Funnel By the Numbers – Direct Marketing Campaign Examples

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