expresscopy.com > Direct Mail Case Studies > Cheryl Shier
Building a Real Estate Brand Through Direct Mail
Case Study: Cheryl Shier of Samson Properties
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Customer: Cheryl Shier Company: Samson Properties Industry: Real Estate |
The Challenge: Cheryl's home territory is the highly competitive, affluent DC suburb of Alexandria, VA. So, she needs a marketing campaign that is professional and polished, one that will establish a "brand" that clearly stands out from other area agents.
The Campaign: "I use the mailers to market my services to potential home sellers and also 1st time homebuyers. Consistency is important, so I do mailers to home sellers just about every month. I usually send out anywhere from 2,000-3,000 mailers. The mailers in combination with other types of marketing keep my name in front of potential clients."
The Design: Like many expresscopy.com customers, Cheryl makes use of both our online designs and the ability to upload her own. "I started out using the predesigned cards, making modifications of my own using your system. I have just recently started uploading designs from my graphics designer."
The List: "My primary customer base is in Alexandria Virginia with a focus in western Alexandria and Springfield just outside Washington DC. I use the targeted mailing lists to farm a particular community called Kingstowne in Alexandria which has over 5500 homes. The repetitive mailers combined with other marketing has been key to building my business."
The Results: Cheryl keeps careful track of which new clients have received direct mail pieces, but she also understands that, when it comes to ROI, direct conversions are only part of the story. "I track where my business comes from each year. I estimate that about a third of my business comes from the mailers. It also provides the 'branding' I want to do in my farm area."
Why expresscopy.com? "I have been using Expresscopy for over 4 years. I consider your services to be an integral part of my business and my success. The fact that the product is so easy to use is wonderful - I can create a mailer, upload a mailing listing and send it off 1st class mail within 1-2 days. Now that I have a system down, I can literally upload my mailer and listings and have an order completed in a manner of minutes. This saves me from having to hire someone to assist me with my marketing. I have priced out several other services, and for the quality and price, expresscopy.com can't be beat."
Learn from Cheryl:
Many agents, in an effort to cut costs, trim their lists down to 100-200 names and/or limit the number of mailings they send per month. Then, they come back frustrated that their direct mail efforts aren't generating more new clients. On the other hand, Cheryl is sending 2000-3000 mailings every month, in addition to her other marketing efforts. Seems like a lot, doesn't it? But, Cheryl knows that a good direct mail campaign needs to be consistent and persistent: publicize each and every new listing and sale, offer a variety of different messages like local market reports or client testimonials, and don't be shy with holiday greetings and other "keep-in-touch" cards. She also knows that it's important to be constantly expanding her sphere of influence: people do move away, they find other realtors, or they find their dream home and never move again, so it's vital to include fresh prospecting as part of your marketing strategy through Targeted Mailing Lists.
