A few years ago, I attended a seminar about marketing where I learned how to create and prioritize a marketing strategy. The first and most important part of that strategy is to focus on your current customer. These are people who already know you and have stuck with you over time.

I learned how reaching out to them in a newsletter is an awesome way to stay in contact. Before that, we focused on using direct mail for the most part. To me, it seemed like direct mail became almost pointless. However, current technology changes help direct mail get more attention at a person’s home than it used to.

Bill and Patty Kennihan have used newsletters as part of the business marketing plan for more than 10 years. As a member of National Comfort Institute, we used their services for as long as they continued to do them. The Kennihans and I believe in them so much that we continue to do them with a marketing company twice a year. Yes, they are expensive, but there is a lot of value to putting a newsletter together for your customer base.

Newsletters as Educational Tools

Here is how a newsletter provides value to your customer and pays you back:

Education. This is a great opportunity to provide tips or ideas on things to do at the home. Newsletters can tie to the services you provide or not at all. The key here is to give, not get. You may share facts about IAQ while at the same time letting customers know a bit about the products you use and why.

Be the Expert. Showing your expertise is always beneficial and today you can enhance that push using social media. But that is fleeting. A newsletter allows you to have a more intimate connection with those who might actually care about what you have to say.

Show your knowledge and teach them about things they might not know, especially regarding you and your company.

Personal Touch. Every newsletter goes out with a first-person letter from our owner, Bill Kennihan. He always shares some personal anecdotes or excitement about the contents within the pages of the newsletter. You should do this in your own newsletter. It allows readers to get to know you better and learn what you care about.

We often include recipes and put our logo next to them. If the customer chooses to cut it out our logo might make it into their recipe book and create more impressions for our company.

Coupons and Offers. Every newsletter goes out with three offers for our customer base. At times, we also show different discounts for our customers versus non-customers.

For example, we might offer $250 off a ductwork renovation for existing customers and only $150 off for non-customers. By the way, we also post the lesser offer on our website where potential customers are likely to go. This shows loyalty to those who are loyal to us.

Constant Reminder. Newsletters are definite constant reminders so customers can remember what company took care of their home. You can also use it as a reminder for them to maintain equipment, replace their filters, and more.

Content Planning is Important

When doing a company newsletter for your customers, be intentional about the content. Plan for who, what, and when. In our experience sending it to customers who have used our services in the last 5 years works best. Furthermore, you should decide when the newsletter will arrive in people’s mailboxes and plan accordingly.

Think about the seasons and what kind of services and products make sense to talk about. If you line up your delivery with a weather change, like a heatwave in May, it can be even more impactful. Also, when the phone rings, and it will, be ready in the office to answer all customer questions.

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