The recession has hit the consumer pocketbook hard, and that means coupons are back en vogue.
Valpak of Central Virginia, a company that sends out coupon-packed envelopes to 350,000 households in the area every month, is having one of its best years in more than 30 years in business.
The company won both Franchise of the Year and Sales Team of the Year at the annual Valpak awards ceremony in St. Louis. The company has almost 200 franchises, and never before has one won both awards in the same year.
Mike Meyer, a co-owner of the local Val-Pak franchise for 27 years, said business has always ticked up during recessions.
“There is a higher interest among the consumer in saving money,” said Meyer. “Advertisers look more closely at ad dollars and are looking for things that they measure the return on investment.”
Things like coupons, which customers take with them to buy something. That way the business can see exactly how many sales their ad dollars generate.
Meyer said the company has millions of dollars in annual sales and this year posted a 21 percent increase over last year, an amount he said was in the upper six figures.
Meyer credits not only the economy for the boost in business, but also the sales team, led by fellow owner Biff Wittkamp. The company has about 20 employees.
Al Harris is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.
Congratulations! The Central Virginia Valpak crew constantly delivers results for their advertisers with the blue envelope. The IMPAK Marketing group, has been an integral part of Richmond business for many years for many business owners. Having worked with/for them on many projects/businesses, I can tell you they care about results for their clients.
If you’ve never mailed 10,000-to-350,000 residents with Valpak – you should give them a call, to discuss your industry/marketing needs with them. Often the mailbox return-on-Investment is quite impressive for industries you wouldn’t expect – like dentists, and other health professional services. …Just be sure to listen to their experienced account representative suggestions on offers message, and final design. They now what works, and get case sstudy samples from around the country to pull from.
Also, don’t feel you have to print/offer a specific coupon – ValPak can also be a great way to drive traffic to your facebook fan page, website, blog, or the-good-ole phone. They even offer phone-tracking options/numbers so you can monitor the true value of the print ad to your business.
…and yes it’s true, that not everyone opens the blue envelope; but a majority will flip through and pitch-n-keep the ads that interest them. So for a few cents per home – you can get your message across with or without a coupon in order to reinforce your your social media, and other online marketing efforts – utilizing a proven delivery method that drives your message into the home of consumers with little to know effort on your part; – just write the check, sit-back, and watch “the power of the mailbox” go into effect.