How to Get New Customers in a Target Market: Trying EDDM Postcards

So, what is EDDM? If you’re a contractor or home service pro, you might be missing out on one of the easiest ways to get new customers in your ideal market. And no—it’s not some complicated digital marketing tactic. It’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) from the United States Postal Service.

But here’s the thing—most people do it wrong. Let’s talk about how to use EDDM the right way as part of a complete marketing strategy so that you can minimize your costs and maximize your local customers in the right neighborhoods.

For over 20 years, Footbridge Media has helped home service businesses generate more leads and grow.

One of the most underutilized ways to get those leads from new customers in your ideal market: EDDM.

But not just any EDDM campaign—one that works with digital marketing to create a powerful local customer acquisition system.

What is EDDM & Why Should You Care?

EDDM is short for Every Door Direct Mail.

It’s a program by the United States Postal Service. It lets you send postcards to every home in a chosen area—without needing a mailing list. That part is very important. Before, you had to rely on your own mailing lists or purchase lists.

With EDDM, you can literally pick and choose the specific, high-value neighborhoods where you would love to get more leads. That’s what makes it perfect for contractors and home service providers.

You can pick those places with the income levels, info you may now about the ages of buildings in specific communities, or the types of properties that make the most sense for your business.

A common thing that a lot of contractors and home service pros will tell us is, “We only want high-end leads” or “we only do high-end work.”

If you use EDDM to target specific neighborhoods that have specific median incomes, that’s one of the ways you can get exposed to more “high-end” potential customers.

EDDM postcards for home service companies work because people still check their mail. They still have a mailbox that they have to go to and empty out. So, if you can capture their attention, this will give you unique access to people and get your business name and logo directly into their hands. That gives you a level of exposure that digital marketing alone cannot replicate.

The Mistake Businesses Make When They Consider EDDM

The most common mistake that businesses make when it comes to trying EDDM is that they do it once and then quit. They try one mailing in one neighborhood, and if they don’t see instant results, they abandon the idea.

That’s like making your first Facebook post and then quitting social media because it didn’t go viral.

How To Make EDDM Actually Work For Your Business

Just like most of your marketing and advertising efforts now, EDDM is about creating campaigns and multi-touch marketing opportunities.

Frequency: Multi-Touch Campaigns

That means you need frequency. One mailer won’t cut it.

You need a multi-week campaign to get real results. How often do you see the same TV commercial, hear the same radio or podcast ad, or scroll and see the same Facebook ads?

Repeated exposure is part of the marketing effort.

Send multiple EDDM postcards, over time, to the same area, with some consistent branding but unique messages.

A Clear And Enticing Offer

You need to make your offer clear. Your message can’t just be “call us” if you need something.

Give a strong reason why someone should contact you. You need to get them to move.

That could be because you have some insight that would be helpful to them, like you have a warning about upcoming potential problems with their property because of changes in the weather or because of the age of their property.

It could be because you have a unique savings offer for their neighborhood only - a specific service with a specific, attractive discount.

• The purpose of an EDDM postcard is not just to be informative or to deliver a pamphlet with your phone number in case they need you.
• The purpose of an EDDM postcard is to sell the homeowner on why they need you now.

Eye-Catching Design To Keep You Out Of The Trash

Your postcard design cannot be boring. It must be visually interesting enough to give homeowners a reason to stop when they are rifling through their mail.

Your postcard needs to make them stop and pause. That brief moment of attention to your design and your offer is what will put your brand into their mind and help keep you out of the trash.

A good sticky design and offer may even earn you a coveted spot on their fridge.

A Clear, Easy Call To Action

Your EDDM postcard needs to have a clear, concise closing call to action. “Call Now” or “Free Quote” - something that demonstrates value and suggests immediate action. It should be paired with a phone number or website address so that taking the next step in the process is easy.

Supercharge EDDM with Digital Marketing

Once you’ve got the EDDM basics down, including sending EDDM campaigns instead of single postcards, you can use digital marketing efforts to add to that multi-touch, multi-channel marketing exposure.

Pair EDDM with Facebook Ads

Run Facebook Ads to reinforce your mailers. When people see your postcard and then see your ad online, it creates that “but how did they know I was looking at that?” or “is my phone listening to me?” moment - but it also helps to demonstrate that you are a well-established business.

You can geo-target your Facebook ads to be constrained to the same approximate area as your selected mailing routes and zip codes.

Good Online Marketing Basics To Prepare For Business Name Searches

Having a solid website presence and Google Business Profile rating is important if someone does a Google search for your business name after seeing your marketing materials. That’s pretty likely to happen, as that’s oftentimes easier than manually typing in an exact domain name.

When your website pops up as the first thing in organic results when searching for your business name, and when a Google Business Profile with a nice number of reviews and good review average shows up in a Google Knowledge Panel or Maps section, that helps to solidify your standing in your future customers’ eyes.

Taking The Next Steps to Getting New Customers with EDDM

So we’ve learned that…

• EDDM is an easy way to target entire neighborhoods without a mailing list.
• One mailer won’t cut it—use a multi-week campaign to get real results.
• Layering EDDM with Facebook ads and a strong online marketing presence can make your campaigns unstoppable.

There is also a simple trick that helps you to improve your EDDM effectiveness without spending more cash…

Sending EDDM is great, but the TIMING of WHEN you send your mailers can be key.

Have your campaigns ready to go so that you can try to time out the delivery of your messages.

• HVAC companies can send early season tune-up cards in March that say, “This April is supposed to be hotter than last year - Is your AC ready for the heat?”
• Roofing companies that do hail damage work can prepare their first round of EDDM postcards just prior to the start of the hail season, warning homeowners to have a gameplan for bad weather.
• Remodelers can send campaigns targeted around tax refund season or before major holidays.
• At the very least, try to get your postcards to land in mailboxes earlier in the week whenever possible - as homeowner are more likely to check their mail and engage with it before the weekend.

If you’re interested in experimenting with EDDM postcards, the pros at Footbridge Marketing have you covered. FootbridgeMarketing.com has the tools, design services, and competitive pricing to help contractors dominate their local markets with EDDM. You can learn more about all of our contractor print marketing services online at FootbridgeMarketing.com.

About Chris Lonergan

Chris Lonergan has over 12 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.

Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.

About Chris Lonergan