For nearly four years, Nissan dealers have gotten response rates better than 4% to mailings promoting parts and service to their more than 20 million customers.
Six to eight times a year, Nissan and Infiniti dealers send customers self-mailers and other packages urging them to visit dealers for inspections, tune-ups and other basic maintenance work, says Doug Thompson, president of The Marketing Store, Nissan's Toronto-based agency.
Since its inception, more than 1,000 Nissan dealers (roughly 70% of its total in the United States and Canada) and 95% of Infiniti dealers have joined this program. Both Nissan and its dealers share the mailing costs, Thompson says.
A format the company relies on is the 8-1/2-inch by 16-1/2-inch self-mailer. In one case for Nissan cars, the mailer had the words “Escape” and “Motion Without Concern” printed over a photograph of a highway by the ocean. On the flip side, the headline reads “Trust genuine Nissan service and parts to get you where you want to go.”
On the inside are coupons for oil and filter changes, transmission flushes and other maintenance services.
“We actually use a combination of formats, including letters and self-mailers,” Thompson says. “We have specific messages and formats based on consumers' behavior and stage in the program's life cycle.” The agency sends out all the mail on behalf of Nissan, Infiniti and its dealers, he adds, noting that each piece's “high degree of personalization” makes it appear as if the mailings originate exclusively from the local dealer.
Besides creative, lists and other services for the mailing program, Nissan supplies dealers with banners, point-of-sale and other collateral material promoting parts and service.
“Once vehicles are sold, if we can set up a good relationship with those customers and keep them coming back to that dealership, the tendency to repurchase from that dealership goes up dramatically,” according to Thompson. Over the past year, Nissan has been testing the idea of extending these campaigns to e-mail. However, the firm and its dealers plan to stick with direct mail regardless.
“We're quite happy with the way the [mailings are] working,” Thompson says.
Q & A
Getting in Shape
With last month's postage hikes and new shape-based pricing guidelines, companies may have to rework their direct mail plans. Or will they? To find out, Direct spoke with Gina Danner, CEO at Mail Print Inc., a Kansas City, MO printing and direct mail services company.
DIRECT: What should mailers do to adapt to the new postage rates?
DANNER: More than ever now, size doesn't matter. It's how you make the mailings more personal to drive revenue. It's not about mailing more pieces; it's about mailing the right message.
DIRECT: How hard will it be for mailers to cope with the new conditions?
DANNER: Looking at it from the whole size and shape perspective, it'll mean mailing smarter and will require more planning up front. Making sure your database has integrity is the first step — but then, too, mailers must use that information in more relevant ways. With digital printing today, being able to create a more personalized message for recipients is a lot easier than it used to be. We aren't expecting a significant decrease in mail volume. We still think direct mail offers huge opportunities. It's very affordable compared with newspapers and magazines.
— LR
W
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