Vol. 6 No. 4

Thebco grows over 30% with new DM plan initiated by A.M.

Thebco has been in the window replacement business for over 25 years. Steve Bobeck, president of the family run business could see they were beginning to lose ground to the competition.

Bobeck was using direct mail to generate sales leads. But leads were too few and he wasn’t generating enough new business. "There were too many peaks and valleys to keep my two salesmen working efficiently," he said. .

Christine Huber from A.M. helped Steve Bobeck develop a new direct mail marketing plan for Thebco.

He was using an Illinois firm that produced a national generic low-cost selfmailer. Thebco was getting a .002% response on a million pieces mailed per year.

Bobeck called Marty Ochs, president of A.M. Mailing Services, LLC, to discuss his problem. Ochs told him, "if I was getting a .002 percent response, I wouldn’t use direct mail!" Bobeck was stunned. Here was a printing and mailing professional, telling him not to use direct mail. Ochs explained his concerns with the current program. He put together a team to analyze the problems and develop a new direct marketing plan.

1. The current 11x17 selfmailer was too big, too confusing and was trying to sell too much. They wanted a new mailpiece to get the lead not the sale. It would emphasize Thebco’s history of serving Madison with quality and service.
2. Thebco’s mailing list was saturated in the Madison area. By using the A.M. drop shipment program Thebco could save money on postage.
3. A.M. suggested that Thebco split up the mailing lists and drop mail weekly to specific zip codes. This would spread out the in home delivery dates. It would eliminate all the mail hitting at once and provide the sales force with steady leads that had not become stale.

Thebco selfmailers were redesigned into a series of simpler 8.25x5.25 postcards. They emphasized Thebco’s hometown image and longevity in the area. They stressed quality service and strong customer relationships. The postcards did less selling and focused on getting leads by phone, website or walk-ins. They offered 35% savings – on home energy bills – rather than discounts on their windows, siding and doors. They reminded homeowners of the rising fuel costs and teased them with low interest rates.

Christine Huber, CSR from A.M., helped Bobeck set up a planned direct mail program. Mailings would be sent in smaller quantities and more frequently. Bobeck could turn the mailing on or off to control the flow of leads. She helped him compile a targeted mailing list. His best prospect is a homeowner who lives in a house built prior to 1985, with a household income of 45,000+ a year. Christine combined these demographics and then aimed for specific geographic areas within his market.

They developed a 12- week plan. Christine split the list into 3 segments. A segment of the mailing list would drop every week at the Madison Post Office. Each prospect would receive a new postcard every 3 weeks. Sales leads and do-not-mail requests were suppressed from the program weekly.

The results were a steady flow of leads that were manageable for the two Thebco salesmen. Response rates went up dramatically.

Frequency and the steady flow of mailings kept the phone ringing. One homeowner called after having received the fourth Thebco postcard and said, "all right you wore me out – come out and give me an estimate on new windows."

Bobeck plans to increase his direct mail for 2004. He wants to hire a third salesman and will need to generate 50% more leads to keep all three busy and happy. Because his new direct mail plan provides measurable results, he is confident he can grow his business by mailing more.

“People need to check their ego’s at the door and scrutinize their marketing," says Bobeck. "Don’t be afraid to change. Marty and Christine challenged my way of thinking and brought new ideas to the table. Direct mail is helping me to set Thebco apart from the home improvement industry."