Experienced direct mail marketers know the answer is to make money on what is known as the back end. For most pool retail you are not doing advertising purely for a one off product sale alone. Sure you will get some of these, but they also come with the opportunity to create regular customers for a broader product and service offering or to defend existing customers against competitive rivalry.

For example, based on a 3 year customer life expectancy for average (not high ticket) purchases, a campaign costing $5,000 requires 17 new or win-back customers to break even. That’s only a 0.4% response rate. Thirty new or win-back customers result in an eighty percent return on investment (ROI).

Back end sales also offer higher ticket items like openings, closings, liner replacements, spas, grills and more. Building awareness though frequency and compelling promotional offers improves the odds of higher ticket back end sales. You can see how as your communication frequency and customer list grows, your opportunity for profit will grow as well. Back-end marketing is not a new concept. It is how many mail-order and catalog businesses have operated for decades. They teach that it is important to understand that a negative ROI for a single program can still produce a positive long-term ROI.

Patience and effective frequency pays off in the long run, generating new business and building a sustainable foundation for your company name.

To receive a free pdf file of our White Paper: "The Six Most Important Facts about Direct Mail Marketing in the Pool Retail Industry," or to inquire about our services, contact Steve Carlyle: stevecarlyle@frontier.com