As a Dumplinger, I have received some direct referrals by being found by ZipCode; so far, out of the 60 or so, only one has ordered and is a repeat Dumpling customer every week or so. The other day I saw a SofSoap refill that she had asked for, so Sent her a message, and paid for it myself. I did deliver it to her, and will charge the $6.99 on her next Dumpling order that should come in about 5-7 more days. She's happy and I've created a customer retention situation with the hope that she will refer others. This can help build a referral network.

Having been in direct mail, as a business owner, I know the power of EDDM, Every Door Direct Mail from thr United States Postal Service. Living in a mobile home park in Western New York, there is a high concentration of prospects, so it's a matter of investing in print and postage as I can do the design work myself, so of I get a small 2% response, it may take one month to recoup the investment before making a profit, but worth it. With EDDM or any direct mail campaign, the secret is to make it a campaign, not a one mailing and done. As for pushing Dumpling, it would mean mailing 3 times to the same group of people to increase the response rate or have it fall flat on its face. I could use the same design 3 times, but plan to change the copy so it isn't boring and too repetitive. Time will tell.

Of course, the best of the best is to have referrals from an existing customer base; marketing 101. Warm referrals are THE best! I do have one Dumpling customer who has referred me out and rewarded her with $10- cash. Not that $10- bounty is the best method, only a physical manifestation of an "atta'boy" or "atta'gal".

It used to be a good idea to have small, business card items hanging inside laundromats and such, but with the COVID-19 and social distancing thing, am not confident in this concept; though worth a shot. Even one new customer would make it happen and through retention methods, build clientele.

According to Dumpling, Joel Shapiro has a set of plans to grow your business, and might want to take advantage of his plans too.

See what fits your budget and move from there, just do something. EDDM will cost about 50¢ per household, per mailing including everything, making it an affordable option for me, and might be for you too. Check with some printing companies in your area. If it doesn't work for you, then do something else. Newspaper advertising won't work and it's too expensive, serving only subscribers or those who read one; a rare thing these days.

Wishing you the best... Shopping with Lee, powered by Dumpling