Greg Buckley was looking for an advertising partner that could live up to his shop’s 50-year legacy of quality service and auto care. When he pulled up to the headquarters of Mail Shark, he knew he had found it.
“That was very special for me,” Buckley says.
“I went to their operation to see it firsthand. I was intrigued to see what a true mailing company was all about, and when I arrived, there was a huge banner that said, ‘Welcome Buckley’s Auto Care to Mail Shark!’ I knew they were different and awesome already.”
It’s good to be different and it’s really good to be awesome. For Buckley and the shop that shares his family name, Mail Shark delivers.
Baiting the (Marketing) Hook
Buckley describes his introduction to the Mail Shark team as an unforgettable experience. After arriving (and walking under that welcome banner), Buckley met the team, discussed his shop’s history and goals, and got down to business.
“We spent an hour or more sitting at a roundtable just going over what kind of pieces can be designed for Buckley’s,” he says.
“We came up with unique pieces; Mail Shark isn’t focused on only postcard marketing—they’re able to do create any kind of print media, from pamphlets to postcards to magnetic, scratch-off and peel-away; it only takes a phone call.”
Buckley enjoyed the experience and vision of the Mail Shark creative team, who spingboarded his ideas into something more tangible, marketable and fun.
“You can call them, bounce ideas around and help design your own piece. You go over it with them and before you know it it’s ready to go. It’s a very strong and personal interaction with the Mail Shark team.”
Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat nor Gloom of Night (Can Stop Informed Delivery)
What also attracted Buckley to Mail Shark was their knowledge of the USPS Informed Delivery program. Informed Delivery is a free service through the USPS that grants email previews of your daily incoming mail and packages and features a wide variety of services pertaining to delivery—users can see their mail, get digital updates via phone or email, leave delivery instructions, schedule re-delivery and more.
“Because I knew what the advantages are with using Informed Delivery, I started vetting vendors from around the country looking for those that knew as much about Informed Delivery as I did,” Buckley says.
“Mail Shark was the only one that was confidently able to not only understand it, but direct me through it so our pieces not only get opened in the mailbox but also in the email. As a result, our last postcard campaign utilizing Informed Delivery’s technology had an open rate of 45 percent. That’s incredible; that’s the benefit Mail Shark and Informed Delivery provide.”
“The vendors I prospected didn’t understand it and weren’t concerned; Mail Shark knew the game and immediately knew they could help me. Taking nothing away from other vendors, I feel my experience from top to bottom has been nothing but exceptional.”
What enables Mail Shark to leverage the power of Informed Delivery is that the Mail Shark headquarters contains a post office within it. Because the USPS owns your mailbox, you’re piggybacking off the strength of the federal government with Mail Shark. Mail Shark incorporates the power of the daily mail directly into its process.
Direct Mail is a Client Feeding Frenzy
For Buckley, the primary benefit Mail Shark provides is this: his marketing campaigns are a direct corollary to the personal relationships his shop has made with customers for over 50 years.
“For shop owners, we love our digital ads but we need to focus on 1:1 relationship building, and Mail Shark provides that,” he says.
“Postcard mailings are getting traction back. The humanistic touchpoints are all there, so it makes sense to do these campaigns—with Mail Shark, it’s 1-2-3, boom! Done. Email campaigns are still a big gorilla, but there’s a diminishing return with traditional open rates. With Mail Shark and Informed Delivery, customers now have a value-added reason to check their email."
Buckley trusts Mail Shark because they continue to innovate on his behalf.
“What makes them unique is you can give them an idea and they can make something for you now. The value they return makes it a deal. It’s value-based, and that’s the beauty of working with Mail Shark; they can take your idea and turn it around for you in no time at all. They can bring another element to your piece or campaign and make it even better by bringing diversity to your ideas and program. They have a timeline I don’t believe many other vendors can offer.'
“I can’t stop talking about it,” Buckley says, “I love Mail Shark.”
Who knows? Maybe you’ll blow your old marketing campaign out of the water. You’re gonna need a bigger shop.
