Alexandria Pet Care

The Situation

Elizabeth Legere decided to start her own pet care business in Alexandria, VA because she felt her community was lacking quality pet sitters and dog walkers. At the time, she had a puppy and interviewed several dog walkers but ended up disappointed by their lack of knowledge and experience in caring for dogs.

Elizabeth started Alexandria Pet Care with the goal of only hiring high-quality pet care givers that had years of experience working with pets.

When she opened her business in 2004, Elizabeth decided to use a multi-tiered marketing approach that included SEO, social media, website, and direct mail, so she came to PostcardMania for her mailing needs in order to drive up brand awareness and bring in new clients.

She said, “We wanted Alexandria Pet Care’s name and brand to appear wherever our potential clients are looking — in their mailbox and out in the world. I reached out to PostcardMania because I had seen examples of effective direct mail postcards in my own mailbox over the years, and I knew that in order to build brand awareness in our town, we needed people to simply see our logo and a warm, welcoming message. Direct mail is also very effective in our area. We are located in a suburban area outside of Washington D.C.”

The Solution

Elizabeth selected a New in Town direct mail marketing campaign that targeted people who had moved into the area in the last 30 days. She also did a bulk mail blast once a year to blanket entire residential areas and make more people aware of her services.

The monthly New in Town postcards were mailed out in quantities of 300-500 cards and the annual larger mailings amounted to roughly 15,000-30,000 cards.

Their 4.25 x 6 inch postcard included the following features:

• Four offers on the front of the card, including a free consultation and $35 off a first service
• Cute photos of pets on the front of the card to attract attention and let recipients know what the company has to offer
• A five-star review on the back of the card from a satisfied customer
• A list of services on the front and back of the card
• A logo showing special certification in pet care which helps increase trust with the prospect

The Results

Our mailings have driven 43 new clients to us, representing about quarter of a million dollars in revenue!

On average, Alexandria Pet Care has a 65% response rate from the New in Town mailings and a 12% response rate from the bulk mailings. Each client has a lifetime value of about $6,000. Their last bulk mailing brought in 27 new clients in a span of 30 days, which is worth about $162,000 in revenue.

In the past couple of years, Alexandria Pet Care has gained 43 new clients because of direct mail, representing an estimated quarter million dollars in revenue.

Elizabeth commented on their amazing success with the mailers, “Those are just the clients who TELL us they contacted us after receiving a postcard. I suspect that many clients will see our postcard, then see our company somewhere else online or around town, and then hire us later on… not quite remembering the first place they saw our name was actually in their mailbox!”

Elizabeth has continued mailing with PostcardMania and is looking forward to achieving even greater success in the future.

She would say to someone considering using direct mail, “Do it, test it. Start with some small numbers, see what works in your specific community and with your specific demographic of client that you want, but don’t rule it out. Postcards really work and when they land in mailboxes — whether it’s a conscious decision or subconscious decision — they will remember the design, the business name, and that’s huge when you are trying to get your name out in the community.”

Interested in doing a similar campaign for your business? Call us and we will get you connected with a marketing consultant who has experience creating campaigns for pet care companies.