Postcards are versatile. Postcards can look like a one-to-one communication. They can be used to keep your mailing list up to date. Send postcards first class with the imprint “Address Service Requested” below the stamp.

The post office will return cards for free with undeliverable addresses back to you. Lots of catalog companies do this before mailing their catalog — it’s much cheaper to get cards back than to pay for getting unusable catalogs back after the normal post office handling.

One of the benefits of using the postcard first class rate is that the postcard will be mailed back to you if it has a bad address, which helps you keep your list up to date.

Need a quick survey response? Create a short survey postcard Ask recipients to fax them back to you, or go to your website and answer the questions. There’s a good chance you’ll get lots of responses. Testing your offers with postcards is easy. Just send your card to a small group of people and see how many of them respond. If you’re satisfied with the results, then roll out a bigger mailing!

It’s easy to track your results with postcards since you can tell recipients to bring the card into your store to redeem it for a special discount. Or direct them to use a special ordering code when purchasing from your website.

Postcards can be produced on a very tight production schedule. Postcards are simple to create and send, there is no assembling, collating, stuffing, licking envelopes, etc.

The hardest part of sending a postcard is putting on the stamp.

Your postcards can brand you and your business in ways that most marketing materials cannot. Once you start and then stick to a regular postcard mailing program, you and your business will gain a reputation, perhaps even a little notoriety.

Small and medium sized business budgets love postcards because they are one of the most effective and affordable marketing strategies. What other strategy could you place a personal message in the hands of 500 clients eight times a year for only $2.08 per client? Postcards are inexpensive to produce. In fact, standard sized postcards are 40% cheaper than using regular sized letters.

Mailing postcards allows you to take advantage of first class delivery while enjoying the postage savings (only $.26) that is lower than standard bulk mail. That amazingly low first class rate even applies when mailing just one card.

Postcards achieve almost 100 percent readership and generate a high rate of response.

Postcards are associated with happy memories and if your postcard looks like a personal message instead of a sales promotion, prospects can’t resist reading it. It’s up to you and your imagination to make your postcards eye-catching and readable.

Postcards don’t waste people’s time-they don’t even have to open an envelope to read your message. Letters, on the other hand, are enclosed in an envelope so the recipient gets a chance to decide whether to open the envelope or just throw it away — many decide on just throwing it away. What a waste of a marketing budget. However, with postcards, they will see your message.

When you use postcard marketing, your competition doesn’t know about it. Unlike advertisements in newspapers or magazines, which shows your competition how you are marketing your business.

You control where they are sent. That way, your competitor doesn’t know your marketing strategy unless one of your recipient’s happens to tell them.

Advertising has changed. Many consumers and businesses are using the Internet now to compare prices and buy items they need online.

For the small to medium size business the cost of advertising to get the attention of these buyers has gone through the roof. It is outrageous how expensive it has become to advertise in newspapers, magazines and the Yellow Pages.

The real problem with display ads is they are not targeted advertising and there is no guarantee that you will get any response at all. You could spend hundreds of dollars of your already tight marketing budget for a display ad and never get the first phone call.

On the other hand, the postcard is a powerhouse of a marketing tool. They work!

Even faced with the advertising competition of the Internet, the simple postcard stands light years ahead of other methods of advertising.

The key to their success is to concentrate on marketing a specific item or niche. Pick out a few hundred very targeted suspects and print up a series of eight postcards, each featuring different benefits of your product or service. Mail them, one every six weeks for the next year to those target suspects.

You can use the shotgun approach and run a series of ads that you hope your suspects will see, or pinpoint them and send a series of benefit driven postcards.

Which would be more effective? I think you know — with the postcard you have consistency and frequency on your side – plus your targeted suspect will have seen your message multiple times.

Since the cost of finding new customers is increasing drastically, the best place to look for new business is from your existing customers. When approached properly, they can become a free sales force.
A good customer referral is the strongest advertising you can receive. This referral is actually a stamp of approval from a third party regarding your product or service. You create good referrals by being sure your customers have positive experiences when using your company.
A big mistake business owners make is assuming they know what customers want. Listen to the customers. After they are finished talking, repeat their requests to make sure you understand. Also, make sure your staff knows the importance of properly dealing with customers.
Don’t get caught in the misconception — if I do a good job, referrals are automatic. This can be true, but not always. Never take referrals for granted. Once your business has reached the level of constant business flow, do not stop marketing. Because of competition, technology, client mobility and market changes you must constantly work at keeping the referrals coming.

With commitment and consistency in mind, let’s look at 5-C’s needed to construct your marketing plan.

Company. You have to be able to describe your company just like you would describe it to a prospect or customer. In your description, you will create a mission statement. You will describe your product or service, your geographical marketing area, your pricing strategy, your customer service, your distribution methods, your business location and any environmental factors that might affect your business.

A business with a mission statement is like a fireman running into a situation everyone else is trying to leave. But successful businesses know what they’re doing. They have a mission - a plan just like the firemen. They know about fire and exactly how to put it out.

Customer. You have to be able to describe your perfect customer. The better you can describe a customer, the easier it will be to find them. continue reading this entry »