|
|
|
||
|
|||
Did you know new movers in your community represent a huge opportunity for your pizza business? Due to their being new to the community, they're often in the dark because they don't know too many people and don't know where to go for good food. Why not target those people who are diligently searching for businesses to which they can be loyal? According to Ann Reichle, owner of Angelina's Pizza in North Olmsted, Ohio, "You lose a certain amount of customers each year because of people moving out. Unless you gain the new customers that are moving in, you have a static group that you're marketing to." Ann says marketing to new movers has been paramount for her restaurant. But it's not limited to just targeting new movers—also building relationships with the real estate agents, the loan and title companies, and the homebuilders in her community has brought her scores of new clients.
Moving Targets
For more than 15 years, Jay Siff and his company, Moving Targets, has worked with small businesses to help effectively draw new movers from the community into his clients' stores. Since it's nearly impossible and time consuming for a pizzeria operator to collect most of the information and lists with new movers' information, Moving Targets makes it easier to obtain that niche audience through their direct mail program. "We send to around 140 new movers each month, and it costs about $1.40 per piece, with roughly 30 to 40 redeeming the coupons each month," Ann said.
Andrew Sears, owner of C and M Pizza in Leominster, Massachusetts said he sees about a 75 percent return on his Moving Targets letter—possibly because he offers free delivery, where Angelina's offers carryout only. Ann explained, "We want them to come into the store so we can meet them, shake their hand, and we want them to come in and see our restaurant. We offer a free pizza of their choice—no limit on toppings." Andrew makes his offer more personal by sending a thank you card after the new mover has ordered. "Once we have them in our system, we immediately hit them back with a hand-signed ‘welcome to the neighborhood' thank you note," he said. On the card, he offers a free order of breadsticks with their next order.
How it Works
According to Jay, the program works through years of trial and error, testing, and retesting. The letter is an 8 ½ x 14-inch form with the top portion being a tear-off gift certificate, and the bottom portion is a letter to the new mover. "The way we like to present it is, ‘Here's something for you. You are new in the area, we think you'll like it, and we want to earn your business, that's why we're giving you a free pizza," Jay said. "Another thing when you're making an offer, you want to sell the premium. Tell about your pizza, your crust, your quality cheese and toppings." But, Andrew says it's all about which new movers you target. "We only send the offer to new homeowners—no apartments or renters—because, since we deliver, we feel the homeowners will take better care of the drivers," he said.
Something a Little Different
Ann said there are other things that can be done that also relate to new movers. For example, have you ever thought about chumming up with the realtors in your community? "Most good realtors will buy a new homeowner a gift for using their services because they made a heck of a lot of money off them, so we put together a package for them, presented it to them, and the bought into it," Ann said. The offer is a gift card with three full meal options for four people, all the way to dessert. It costs the realtor 35 dollars per card, and according to Ann, it brings business from all directions including catering, funeral business, homeowner business, homebuilders' business, and business with the loan companies. But how do you approach the realtors about taking advantage of this program? Here's how Ann did it: "What we did was, Tuesday mornings all the realtors have meetings to review all the new homes on the market. They show a slideshow in the morning, and then in the afternoon they all go out and look at the houses and decide who's selling which ones. In between the slideshow and them going out, we asked for about 20 minutes of their time and we brought lunch in for them. We let them taste everything and ask questions—the point is that food sells," she said.
The other half of the program also targets the realtor. "The realtor that's been assigned to each house usually throws some kind of light luncheon or snacks to feed other realtors and get their help to sell the house. We market through them also to try and get that catering possibility." She said it's usually the moving out people that will end up with the leftovers, and if they're not already customers, they probably will be after they have tried the food. Another program she's embraced involves the homebuilders. "We feed a lot of construction crews on site. All the homebuilders have offices set up on their development sites and they do open houses for potential clients and new move-in clients, so that has led to a huge opportunity for catering as well," Ann said. She also explained that title and loan companies sometimes buy these certificates and give them to the realtors hoping they will point some business their way as well.
Conclusion
As you can see from this article, targeting new movers, real estate agents, and people who deal with new members of your community on a regular basis, can be an essential part of your business. But, most importantly, as with any new marketing campaign, it is vital for you to measure the results and track your success. If it wasn't as effective as you imagined it would be, try it again with a different twist and learn from your mistakes because oftentimes, through downfalls, we sow the seeds for improvement and, ultimately, triumph. Also, keep in mind how much knowledge you can gain by listening to your fellow peers in the pizza community.
