ELetter deal gives RE/Max agents new lease on direct mail rE/Max International Inc. has a new online strategy for its offline direct mail campaigns.
The Greenwood Village, CO-based residential real estate franchise has inked a revenue-sharing agreement with Internet-based lettershop ELetter Inc. to produce printed direct mail campaigns for Re/Max’s 47,000 independent real estate agents.
Although RE/Max runs national TV and newspaper advertising campaigns, agents are responsible for marketing themselves locally. Agents typically target direct mail to selected ZIP codes to make themselves a household name among local homeowners, says Kristi Graning, vice president of Web service information technology at RE/Max. With this centralized service, RE/Max can present a more professional and consistent image nationwide.
“It’s another sales tool for us to recruit franchisees, and because of our size we can get significant discounts for them from ELetter,” Graning points out.
The program is a welcome option for agents accustomed to doing their own desktop publishing, sorting, folding, addressing and envelope-stuffing. Agents typically mail 500 to 2,000 pieces at time – tiny by direct marketing standards – but a time-consuming project for one person.
Now, agents can log onto a computer network maintained by RE/Max and use ELetter’s software program and templates to design direct mail campaigns. They compose their own direct mail copy and select among postcards, fliers or brochures, as well as paper stock and design features. They may upload their own mailing lists, prearrange list rentals or use ELetter’s list-brokerage services. The software also generates price quotes. After an agent’s specs are transmitted over the Internet to ELetter, which is located in San Jose CA, the mailing lists are run against National Change of Address files to be sure they are clean.
RE/Max has approved 10 templates for campaign designs, with plans to increase that to 30 or 40.
Individual agents may reduce their postage costs by using ELetter, too. Sometimes, a group can qualify for bulk-postage rates.
Direct mail is generally more effective than e-mail for acquiring new customers in real estate and other industries, observes Jeff Spirer, vice president of marketing at ELetter. E-mail is better for tending existing customer relationships: “People don’t usually read unsolicited e-mail,” he adds.
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