I have Radon in my area of Maryland. I sent 100 letters to my neighbors explaining the hazards of Radon and offering discounted tests. I received only one response. My brother-in-law said people do not read letters but do glance at postcards. Anyone have success with direct mail?
Dick Moran
MD Licensed HI #29927
What did your letters look like? Often, if you use labels or a postage meter people automatically think that it is junk mail. I have found from experience that that a plain envelope (no logo) with a hand written address and stamp get the best results.
I have not tried a direct mailer for radon, but have for other types of services such as a one year warranty inspection.
Your question about the postcard - Postcards are many time more effective in getting people to read the information for the simple reason of not having to open an envelope, just turn the postcard over and there you go. The only problem with postcards is the cost of having them printed vs. printing and mailing your own (good quality of course) flyer’s. You may save some money on postage .26 vs. .41 but you will have to do the math so see if it is worth it.
The only way to really know if a marketing idea is going to work is to test it and track it.
Hope that helped (some).
You’d be lucky if you received a 1% response from mailings.
Thanks to both of you for your responses. My mailings were letters printed and inserted into envelops. My return address was printed using my printer and the address were preprinted address labels. The stamp was stuck on by me. I used my home address which showed that it came from a neighbor. Only one response.
I will try postcards and see if that is any better. If not I will start knocking on doors 
Dick
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Most people have no idea what Radon is. And those that do, rank it right up there with the Global Warming phenom. Most think they won’t live in the house long enough for it to have any effect on them so why bother with the testing.
Does your home have a radon mitigation system installed?
Do you have high radon in your home?
I’m assuming you may, if so I’d recommend developing some brochures that show your actual test results before and after a mitigation. I know test results can vary from home to home, but giving your potential customers “real” personal data (your house) might convince them it wouldn’t hurt to at least have it tested.
Real experiences always help when trying to sell something.
Most people think Radon is a flying Dinosaur in old japenese horror movies.
From a marketing point of view you need to “ding” your target market multiple times to make an impression. One mailing is unlikely to get mush response.
Don’t try to buy their orders with discounts. Emphasize and sell the value of your service itself instead of the price. If you want to reward your customers do so by rewarding future behavior (like a coupon good for a reasonable discount for their next test, not their first one)
Finally, be sure that you are selling yur service at a profitable price. Otherwise, what’s the point.
My six year old overheard me talking on the phone about Radon. He thought I was talking about his Pokemon cards!
