Marketing plan · Clairemont

Landscaping direct mail in Clairemont:
a neighborhood-by-neighborhood plan

By Best Direct Mail, San Marcos · Numbers from USPS and the US Census Bureau

Clairemont is part of the City of San Diego, and its main ZIP Code is 92117. It was built mostly in the 1950s and 60s as street after street of single-story homes on flat lots, and many of those yards still have the front lawn and foundation shrubs they started with.

For a landscaper that adds up to three markets: old lawns ready to be replaced, canyon-rim homes that need the brush kept back, and backyards being reworked around new ADUs. Part of Clairemont is in 92111, but 92117 covers most of it. Below is what we'd mail where, starting with the public numbers for 92117.

Clairemont by ZIP Code

ZIP Code	Homes (routes)	Single-family houses	Owner-occupied	Median home value	New movers a month (average)
92117 Most of Clairemont, including North Clairemont, Clairemont Mesa and Bay Ho	21,371 (40)	62%	56%	$981,200	about 192

What the columns tell you:

Single-family houses: the share of homes that are detached houses, most with a yard to care for. The higher it is, the fewer EDDM® cards go to apartments and condos, where the HOA or the landlord hires the landscaper.
Owner-occupied: owners decide on clean-ups, new plants and turf replacement. Renters usually don't.
Median home value: higher values point to design, installation and full-service maintenance. Elsewhere, clear flat prices for mowing and clean-ups work best.

These figures cover whole ZIP Codes, and single routes inside them can be quite different. Our EDDM® route planner shows homes, income and homeownership for every route before you choose.

Homes and carrier routes are from the USPS EDDM® route map. Single-family houses, homeownership and home value are US Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates for the ZIP Code area. New movers are a US Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimate: residents who moved into a different home in the past year, turned into households and divided by 12.

New movers: on average about 190 households move to a new home in these ZIP Codes every month. A new owner often wants to make the yard their own and doesn't have a gardener yet.

What a mailing costs: $2,721 for 5,000 homes with our recommended 8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcard, including printing and postage. See our EDDM® prices for other quantities.

What to mail in each neighborhood

North Clairemont and the tract streets (92117)

North Clairemont is block after block of 1950s and 60s ranch homes from the same few floor plans, each with a front lawn, a driveway and a flat backyard. Similar yards close together make it one of the easiest places in San Diego to build a tight route.

Turf replacement. A card about trading the old front lawn for water-wise plants and mulch, with the rebate from the SoCal WaterSmart program, fits these yards well.
Flat-price mowing and maintenance. Small, similar yards make a set monthly price easy to quote on the card.
Overgrown shrubs and old trees. Many yards still have plantings from decades ago that need heavy pruning or removal.

Bay Ho and the Tecolote Canyon rim (92117)

Tecolote Canyon Natural Park runs through the middle of Clairemont. In Bay Ho and on the streets along the rim, backyards end at a slope covered in native brush, and many homes look out over the canyon or toward Mission Bay.

Brush clearance and slope care, mailed in spring before fire season. Homes in high fire hazard areas will also have to follow California's new rules for the 5 feet around the house once they take effect.
Fire-safe redesigns: gravel, hardscape and low plants next to the house, with the bigger plants moved farther out.
View yards. Decks, patios and planting that frames the view rather than blocking it.

Bay Park, above Morena Boulevard (92117)

Bay Park climbs the hill above Morena Boulevard, with views of Mission Bay and many remodeled homes. Lots here are often sloped, and owners spend more on the yard than in the flatter tract streets. Bay Park is split between 92117 and 92110, so check the ZIP Code of each street before you mail.

Design and installation: terraced planting, retaining walls, outdoor lighting and new patios.
Drip irrigation for slopes, where spray heads waste water and wash out soil.

ADU lots and garage conversions (92117)

Clairemont's large, flat lots have made it one of the busiest areas in San Diego for ADUs and garage conversions. When construction ends, the backyard is usually dirt, and the owner needs a path, a small patio and plants for two homes on one lot.

Post-construction yard packages: grading, paths, fencing, gravel and low-water planting.
Shared maintenance plans for lots with a front house and a back unit.

A homeowner list makes sure this card goes to the person who owns the lot, even when they live somewhere else.

Clairemont Mesa and the apartment corridors (92117)

Around Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Genesee Avenue and Balboa Avenue, the original houses sit next to duplexes, small apartment buildings and shopping centers. Many homes here are rented, and renters rarely hire a landscaper, so mail this area with a homeowner list rather than whole routes. The apartment and condo complexes themselves are commercial prospects: reach their managers and associations with a business list.

A first Clairemont mailing plan

Turf replacement to the tract streets. Mail an 8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcard to the owner-occupied routes in North Clairemont in late winter and spring, with the rebate on the card. Pick them in our EDDM® route planner for 92117.
Build a maintenance route. Mail the routes around your current customers with a flat monthly price and "we already take care of homes on your street".
Brush clearance to the canyon rims. Mail an 8.5 × 11 EDDM® postcard to the routes along Tecolote Canyon and in Bay Ho in spring, before fire season.
ADU yards to owners. Mail a 6 × 11 postcard to a homeowner list of single-family homes, so you skip the renters near the main streets.

Mail each group at least three times, a few weeks apart. Use a different offer code on each card so you can see which neighborhood and which service brings the calls.

EDDM® or a mailing list in Clairemont?

Which one is better depends on the street. On the quiet tract streets of North Clairemont and along the canyon rims, most homes are owner-occupied houses with yards, and EDDM® reaches nearly the same people as a list for less. Near Genesee Avenue, Balboa Avenue and the shopping centers, where there are many apartments and rented homes, a homeowner list wastes fewer cards. Check the single-family and homeowner numbers in the table above, and tell us the areas you want and we'll recommend the right mix.

What to put on a Clairemont postcard

Talk about the yard they have. "Still watering the lawn your house came with?" speaks right to Clairemont owners.
Before and after photos of Clairemont yards you have done. A ranch house with a new water-wise front yard looks like the house next door.
One service and one offer per card, matched to the neighborhood above.
Your C-27 license number if you do installation work, plus "licensed and insured".

For the full list of services, offers and a 12-month calendar, see our landscaping direct mail guide.

Landscaping postcard designs

Start from one of our ready-made landscaping postcards. We add your logo, offer, license number and photos, send you a proof, then print and mail it. Need a custom design, or have your own? Just let us know.

Landscaping marketing plans in other cities

Clairemont at a glance

Homes and mail routes: About 21,400 homes on 40 routes
New movers: About 190 households a month
Best areas: Turf replacement and maintenance routes: North Clairemont and the tract streets. Brush clearance and fire-safe yards: Bay Ho and the Tecolote Canyon rim. Design and installation: Bay Park.
What it costs: $2,721 to mail 5,000 homes by EDDM®
Where to start: EDDM® with a turf replacement offer to the owner-occupied tract streets in North Clairemont.

Frequently asked questions

How many homes are there to mail in Clairemont?

The table above shows the homes and carrier routes in 92117, straight from the USPS EDDM® route map. Part of Clairemont is in 92111, so the table does not cover every Clairemont street. Most landscapers don't mail all of 92117 at once: they pick 2,500 to 5,000 homes on the routes around their current customers or in the neighborhoods that fit the service they want to sell.

Is Clairemont its own city?

No. Clairemont is a community inside the City of San Diego. Most of it is in the 92117 ZIP Code, which makes it easy to mail on its own.

Why is turf replacement a good offer in Clairemont?

Most Clairemont homes were built with a front lawn, and many still have it. Owners who are tired of watering and mowing it are good prospects for a water-wise front yard, especially with a rebate to help pay for it.

Do you mail in Clairemont?

Yes. Our print shop is in San Marcos, so we print your postcards there and take EDDM® mailings to the Post Office that delivers your Clairemont routes.

Get a quote for your Clairemont mailing

Tell us which neighborhoods and services you want to focus on. We'll reply with a price for printing and mailing, and the routes or list we recommend.

Landscaping direct mail in Clairemont:a neighborhood-by-neighborhood plan