If you’ve ever been to Houston you know it’s one big city with lots of smaller surrounding cities. 
Driving from far outlaying northern areas like The Woodlands to southern cities like Kemah and Galveston can easily take an hour.
So moving from one side of town to another can seem like moving cross country.
Our family made such a “local” move and it meant starting over.
It meant finding a new dry cleaners and nail shop. And if you didn’t know, all nail shops are not created equal. Finding the right technician who does your nails exactly how you like them can be a frustrating process.
I remember feeling completely and utterly lost.
That’s been some years ago and we’ve settled into our community nicely. I’ve even held up the line at my neighborhood drug store because the cashier and I were catching up and swapping stories about our kids.
I thought about this as my husband and I sat in the optometrist’s office. I chatted with the doctor; she told me about her recent cruise and how she had another one planned this summer. We laughed and chatted like old friends.
But how did I find this particular doctor in the first place? I was new to the area and everything was foreign to me. I didn’t know anyone and didn’t have the benefit of word of mouth referrals.
So how did we connect?
A refrigerator magnet that came in the mail.
If you’ve ever moved into a new home or new apartment, you know it’s not too long before you start getting welcome to the neighborhood letters. We received refrigerator magnets and those were very effective. I put them on the fridge and when it was time to schedule dental and eye doctor appointments, I started with the people who introduced themselves when we first moved to the neighborhood and we’re still customers today. As a matter of fact, we’re still with the same dentist; he sent a magnet in the mail too.
We originally went because of a refrigerator magnet. We stay because of the customer service. As long as we live in the neighborhood, as long as my doctor continues her practice we’ll be customers. Think about the lifetime customer value (LCV or CLV) she earned because she invested in a list, bought a few magnets and sent them out to all the newest residents.
Despite what you may have heard about direct mail and printed advertising, this medium still works.
Are you leveraging it to your company’s advantage?
My dentist and optometrist have customers for life because they sent me a magnet in the mail.
