Lessons from Marketing Failure: A Tree Service Direct Mail Case Study
A real-world analysis of EDDM mailers from tree service companies — what worked, what failed, and what your business can learn.
"Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others." — Otto von Bismarck
Today's case study is about how NOT to do marketing. There are several image scans here, so it will be relevant and important for you to review all of them. They all pertain to the direct mail marketing of tree services (a.k.a. arborists, tree removal, or tree trimming).
Direct mail is a great way of marketing tree services, and of course, it isn't wrong to go to a firm that purports to know something about your industry. We're going to look at these EDDM flat mailers we received and then talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Rarely is something all bad, and there are some overall positive things to say about the commercial EDDM mailers that we collected.
What Went Right
Good Marketing Point #1: The mailers got noticed
We got these mailpieces, we saved them, and we're all talking about them. Job #1 of any mailing is to get the recipient to look at, and then if possible save, your mailer. Here, mission accomplished (although we saved all these for perhaps the wrong reasons). Bottom line: the mailers hit an intended target, and the recipient remembered.
Good Marketing Point #2: Personalization attempt
There's an interesting attempt to personalize the marketing (albeit generically). This is an approach we like, and try to use often, although with images and not text/copy alone.
Good Marketing Point #3: Clean and clear messaging
Generally speaking, these mailers are uncluttered and get to the point. There's a good use of white space (intentionally or unintentionally) and it's clear what the tree services are offering. Being clear and to the point IS the point because, in direct mail marketing, you are trying to purchase awareness in microseconds.
What Went Wrong
Now, let's look at what went wrong with all this. I bet you can spot some issues, but there's a whole mess of problems to unwrap here.
Problem #1: Identical templates across competitors
If you compare the Top-Notch Tree Care & Removal LLC flyer with the Lemus Tree Service LLC flyers and Tree Pros Arborist Services, they are all the SAME letters. Undoubtedly, they went to the same tree service marketing "expert" who sold them not just the same style letter, but the same letter. At least the names and phone numbers were different, but assuredly, you wouldn't want your marketing campaign and branding to look similar, let alone identical, to some other firms.
Problem #2: Same mailer sent twice
Tree Pros used the same letter twice. Yes, they did this year-over-year. You run the risk of having someone throw out the second mailer because they likely think they already know what it says. When we do send the same mailer, we usually give at least a three-year break between cycles — we want the mailer to appear somewhat fresh upon arrival.
Problem #3: Everyone using the same format
All these letters are the same style — the perceived personal letter style. It's not wrong, but when everyone is engaging in the same marketing, it waters down the overall effectiveness for everyone. At Cornerstone, we do our best to "mix it up" with different mail piece colors, sizes, etc., but nobody asked the obvious question here: "who else regionally is using this format?"
Problem #4: No website listed
There are no websites listed, except for one mailer where it's only in small print at the bottom. This is a huge marketing failure because you can get "free" Google traffic (hence, higher ranking) if you make your web address loud and clear on your mailer. If they want to know more (because you can only fit so much on a letter), you make the recipient have to work to find you. Compare this with our recommendation in direct mail vs. email marketing — always drive recipients to your website.
Problem #5: Saturation mailing to wrong audience
This saturation mailing was sent to both commercial businesses and residential customers. We don't recommend sending tree service flyers to businesses and prefer to maximize the value of the outreach to residential recipients only. If 95% of your tree service customers are residential, then you might be throwing your marketing dollars away by including commercial destinations. Simply ask first and don't assume — there are two types of EDDM saturation: residential only, and residential and businesses.
Problem #6: Paper stock below USPS standards
Two of the 8.5" x 11" flyers were likely printed on 70 lb. paper stock, which is the minimum acceptable thickness for folded self-mailer flyers, but is against DMM USPS standards for EDDM. As per USPS Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) Section 201 "Physical Standards for Commercial Letters, Flats, and Parcels," Sub-Section 5.2.2 "Dimensions for USPS Marketing Mail Flats with Simplified Addresses," the minimum paper thickness for EDDM printing is 0.007 inches. Everything is fine until you get audited and your mailing gets rejected.
Problem #7: Same content on both sides
One mailer has the same letter on both sides (with a postal permit on one side, and even there, the return address is non-compliant with USPS DMM regulations for EDDM mail piece design). It's not a fatal flaw, but it distracts the recipient and makes them curious for the wrong reasons. You have only microseconds to deliver your message, so don't blow it with an odd approach.
Problem #8: Too much copy, no images
Long copy was used when icons or images representing services would have been far more effective. In an era of what Lord Maurice Saatchi called C.P.A. (Continuous Partial Attention), marketing could be reduced down to a single word — think: America has "Freedom" and Volvo, in automotive marketing, owned "Safety."
Problem #9: No service images
None of these mail pieces showed images that captured the services being promoted. This graphical loss makes the recipient "work" because long copy requires a mental process rather than allowing for an immediate intuiting of what is presented. We are all fatigued with promotional material, so having to read something non-essential becomes just that — non-essential.
Problem #10: Wrong targeting for the market
In a residential upstate market like New Paltz or Kingston or Red Hook and Rhinebeck where housing prices are high, the tree companies might wish to stay clear of hitting many city routes where there are many apartment dwellers and fewer homeowners. For marketing in city areas, Cornerstone usually recommends using homeowner data and not EDDM saturation so that we are reaching only the homeowners and not the renters.
The Takeaway
We're left with a final question that even we could not answer — how did everyone, over just a few years, end up using the same format? We guess that there are niche marketing firms that must have been feeding their clients the same marketing approach, and for each tree service company, it must have looked good and tasted good.
Yet, as Otto von Bismarck also once said, "hounds follow those who feed them." If you're a tree service provider (or landscaper, contractor, or similar service professional), in the hunt for solid direct mail marketing advice, we're not going to feed you the same thing that everyone else got. Please reach us at info@crst.net or call (845) 255-5722 and someone will call you back right away.
Want to see more examples of what works? Browse our case studies for real-world campaigns across different industries. See also: Direct Mail vs. Email Marketing for data on response rates and ROI.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common mistakes in direct mail design?
The most common mistakes we see are using identical template designs that competitors also use (making your mailer indistinguishable), failing to include a clear call to action, using low-quality images, and not personalizing the message to the local area. This case study walks through real examples of each problem.
Does EDDM work for tree service and contractor marketing?
Yes — EDDM is one of the most effective channels for tree services, landscapers, and contractors because it targets homeowners in specific neighborhoods. The key is differentiating your mailer from competitors who may be using the same template services. Cornerstone designs custom mailers that stand out.
How can I avoid looking like every other direct mail piece?
Work with a printer who designs custom pieces rather than using a template service that sells the same layout to multiple businesses. In this case study, three different tree service companies sent virtually identical letters to the same carrier route — which undermined all of their credibility. Custom design from a local printer like Cornerstone prevents this.
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