Mudlick Mail Unveils New Tool To Track Direct Mail Campaign Results

Direct mail provider Mudlick Mail has developed the “Mudlick Analytics Program” (MAP), a new tool designed to help automotive repair shop owners better evaluate their direct mail campaigns. The new reporting tool tracks the entire process of a campaign – from the mailing to customer conversion.

“The Mudlick Analytics Program provides us with an effective method of showing clients the return on their investment by revealing which customers actually visited a shop after receiving a postcard – even if those customers didn’t redeem an offer,” said Mudlick Mail Project Manager Ryan Monson, who created the tool.

The Mudlick Analytics Program ties into a shop owner’s Point-of-Sale (POS) system and generates reports on such data as customer repair orders and the average spend per visit. The tool can then cross-reference that data to determine whether those customers came from areas where direct mail campaigns were conducted. The information can help clients discover what percentage of its customers came from which zip codes, allowing them to make adjustments if certain zip codes or neighborhoods aren’t producing a strong response rate.

“This tool really gives shop owners an accurate snapshot of their campaigns. It’s about improving their experience and helping them identify those “great” customers,” said Mudlick Mail President Tim Ross.

The tool can also offer operators insight into their retention rates by examining the frequency of customer visits. Best of all, Mudlick Mail is offering the tool as a supplement to its existing services at no additional charge. Although only available to automotive repair industry customers, the company hopes to expand the use of the Mudlick Analytics Program to other markets in the near future.

Mudlick Mail’s campaigns are developed using in-depth market research, allowing clients to focus on customers by income, geographic area and other key demographic details. Once a client has identified its target market, Mudlick Mail provides a turn-key suite of direct mail services to reach customers, including postcard design, printing, listing services, postage and delivery for one flat fee. Mudlick Mail also offers customers access to an online “learning center,” where they can find strategies on how to maximize the effectiveness of their direct mail programs.

Founded in 2008, Mudlick Mail now counts nearly 900 customers in the United States and Canada. After posting a 37 percent increase in revenue in 2012, company officials are anticipating a more than 45 percent growth rate in 2013.

For more information visit www.mudlickmail.com.

When Your Shop Is Worth Much More Than You Thought

Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.

Case Study: Owner of San Francisco-based Import Service Shop Delighted to Discover Just How Valuable His Business is to Qualified Buyers
I sometimes share case studies of the clients I have been able to assist in my role as an aftermarket business broker and provider of intermediary and advisory services. I do that when I think the story will provide a reader in similar circumstances with new insights or helpful information.
In the case of Cowden Automotive, Inc., I acted in a consulting capacity assisting the owner and his broker in valuing the business, creating a marketing plan, finding a qualified buyer, and arranging financing for the sale.
Although every sale of a shop in which I am involved has its own unique set of circumstances, which makes my job both very interesting and very challenging, Cowden Automotive stands out as particularly memorable because I was able to demonstrate to the long-time owner, Paul Cowden, that his business was worth about three times what he had initially thought.
Needless to say, delivering that kind of good news to a shop owner is a rewarding experience. Discovering that the sale of his business would result in his retirement nest-egg being substantially larger than he had ever thought was a fitting tribute to someone who had spent his entire working career as a busy automotive service shop owner.

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