Postcard Marketing:  Five Facts for Today’s Market Leaders

Postcard marketing? Direct mail?  That’s old school stuff right?  Well yes – and no.  What business owners and entrepreneurs are finding out in today’s economy is that sometimes to move forward, it’s REALLY smart to look back.  By taking a lesson from direct mail experts of old and implementing now technology and tools, you can really make an impact on your market, outsource your competition and emerge as an industry leader.  Here’s why:

1. There’s no “delete” button on postcards. Sure they can throw it away, and I’m not saying they won’t – but you have a lot more time between consumer contact and circular file if they are physically holding something in their hands.  Especially if that something contains relevant, valuable information or represents savings to that consumer.

2. Make the most of the shift. Things have changed in the mindsets of consumers over the last few years.  Recession has a way of altering the way people think, react, purchase and interact with businesses salespeople and each other.   It’s a perfect storm out there for a company who does things right.  And by “right” I mean that you have to understand that people for the first time in a long time are more interested in value and quality than purchases of convenience.  They’re researching watching for deals, searching for coupons, asking around long before they ever commit to buying a product or service. The DMA tells us that consumer surveys show more people are watching their mail more closely for coupons, discounts and deals than ever.  Our thought process has changed from “I want to buy it now” to “how can I pay less?”  If you can meet that need in your postcard marketing deliverable and answer that question for consumers, you win.  It’s that simple.

3. Mailboxes are empty. All that real estate in one little box.  With the majority of companies out there opting for email marketing, internet SEO and beefing up their blogs, most have gotten out of the direct mail gme completely, leaving a perfect landscape for your offer to get noticed. Deemed too expensive in the past, the savvy business owner can now do just as consumers do, shop around for a better bargain, with the most “bang for their buck” as it were. The nice thing is, if you position your postcard marketing the right way – you can actually capitalize on both sides of the marketing coin.  Use your direct mail to drive website traffic, invite new “friends” to your social media site for coupons and discounts, offer free downloads in return for email addresses AND make them an irresistible offer as well!  When you consider getting all that for the price of a postcard, it really doesn’t seem all that expensive any more does it?

4. Targeting has never been easier. Now I would absolutely agree that postcard marketing of old was not the best way to conduct business.  The “shotgun” approach or as some fondly refer to it the “spray and pray” approach of just blanket mailing an area is just not a smart use of your money or your time.  But we live in a data age filled with data experts who can pinpoint (with surprising accuracy) the type of buyer you’re looking for.  Your best customer a 40 year old mother of three who makes $40-50K a year and lives within 10 miles of yoru business?  We can do that?  Maybe it’s the 20-something, fresh out of school, ready for the world technically savvy man?  No problem.  Newlywed?  Babyboomer?  New parent?  We got this. Now you can spend less by mailing ONLY to your best customer type, and better still make sure that your message is front and center in its ability to answer the questions in the minds or that particular buyer, giving you the leverage you need to get the person to first read your offer, then act on it.

5. It’s all in the offer. Before you do ANYTHING – be it direct mail postcard marketing, internet SEO or email blasts, take a little while to figure out what your customer wants.  What are their buying habits?  How do they best communicate with your organization?  What is your competition doing?  Who’s got the most market share and why?  Once you’re armed with the facts you can build a message and irresistible offer that is well – irresistible.  Make sense?

Bottom line, learn from the old school, add the new, and most of all ACT.  That phone’s not going to ring by itself!  The only way to move ahead in this economy is to keep moving forward, keep challenging old idea and new and making the decision to meet your customers where they want to met in terms of marketing.

Need more information?  Call us today at 1.866.405.3638!  We can help you find just the right postcard marketing solution to suit your business and your budget!