See Central File at RentDirect PrimeTime!
Complete Vendor List | Floorplan

Central File direct mail marketing programs work to keep your rental customers loyal

HOT - See exclusive podcast interview with Paul Gibbons , Central File here.

Central File direct mail marketing programs work to keep your rental customers loyal - contact Dan Chadoir at 414-687-2033 for more information.

We all know it's more efficient to keep an existing customer than go out and find a new one. But, like most things, that process is easier said than done. Unless, of course, you know the marketing professionals at Central File.

According to Sales Manager Al Benson, what sets Central File Direct Mail Marketing apart is their deep RTO-centric background.

"All of us at Central File from the owner to the very last salesperson has RTO savvy. Most of us were operators in the rental-purchase industry, holding various positions of responsibility. We know what rental store managers do every day when they go to work. There are certain intricacies to this business that are important to understand but difficult to grasp unless you've done it yourself. We believe the RTO industry is really a culture that you can't teach to someone who hasn't lived and breathed it for themselves."

Benson points out that their depth of knowledge in the category lends itself to another selling point – trial and error experience.

"In the last 13 or 14 years I can tell you we've mailed about 250 different types of mailers of which about 25-30 really work. We've experimented enough with what works to this customer base to know the core values of a mail piece that will get results. Our statistics show that for every 500 customers a store has on rent, 150 are simultaneously renting from a competitor. We know rental customers like to shop around, and we can help direct them to your location."

Results for Central File are measured in "cost per order" versus a sheer response rate. Which, thanks to the use of a customer database to match up responders, Central File can easily track.

"What we like to call'vertical marketing', which is when we mail to existing or inactive customers, use a $20 to $50 cost per order target."

Benson says one of his favorite lines from rental customers goes something like this –'You guys aren't the cheapest, but it sure works every time we use you.' To Benson, cheap isn't the goal of their mail programs. A high number of loyal and frequent rental customers is what Central File is all about.

"What really excites us is creating a direct mail piece that is so compelling customers will want to hang it on their refrigerator. We make things that are hard for them to throw away."

Central File is a proud participant in the 2008 RentDirect PrimeTime! buying Show, March 2-5, 2008 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. Rent to Own dealers should contact James MacAlpine at 336-714-8802 or jamesm@nationwidegroup.org for more information on joining RentDirect, the nation's largest rent to own buying group.

Tradeshow FloorPlan	Complete Vendor List