If all you do is read the first sentence of this article, remember data, offer, design (DOD), in that order.
What does it all mean? These terms are the keys behind every highly successful postcard campaign that we see come through the presses, including one that recently delivered $40,000 for one of our customers within just one week. (This came from 30-45 minutes of work, we might add. We can’t even start to do the math on that ROI.)
Remembering these principles thus ensures that your offers get to the right people, say the right things, and look the right way in order to capture leads and customers. Do it any other way, or heaven forbid mix them up, and you risk wasting postcards and precious marketing dollars with dud offers.
Ready to learn how the 3-secret system works?
Let’s dive in.
1. Data
As David Ogilvy, grandfather of modern advertising, once said, “Don’t count the people that you reach, reach the people that count.” In direct mail marketing, this couldn’t be more true because 100% of your poorly targeted postcards are wasted. The problem is that you don’t ever really know which half that is, and thus you can’t do anything about it. Typically.
If you’re using a direct mail platform that leverages state of the art technology however, it becomes a different story. Our partners are out there collecting every drop of information you could want to know about your prospects – do they have a credit card? Do they drive a car? Do they have young children? All of this is placed at your fingertips through ProspectsPLUS’s web-to-print platform.
The provider of this is Nielsen’s PRIZM, which makes your job easier by just allowing you to select profiles of your ideal customers.
With the data piece of things taken care of, you cut out the vast majority of wasted postcards and target just those who are ready to buy.
2. Offer
Once you’re focused on the right people, it’s all about what you say! Delivering the right message to the right audience is critical, as personalized offers increase sales opportunities by as much as 20%. Personalization is so powerful in fact that it’s responsible for 1/3 of Amazon’s revenue and 75% of Netflix’s movie rentals.
Nielsen’s PRIZM put’s this same power in your hands via postcards and when you know precisely who you’re writing to, you can get much more specific.
Start off the postcard addressing the recipient by first name to grab their attention (just like we do with our emails). Next, talk about what you can do for them and not what they can do for you. Drop the “We’re a contractor who’s been in business 40 years…” intro and tell them how they’ll feel once they buy from you.
Make the message relevant to their household or industry by peppering in specific jargon that you know will resonate. If they’re a homeowner talk about local landmarks. If they’re in construction, talk about well-known job sites. Ensure that they feel like they’re reading a letter from someone who understands their neighborhood or industry.
Include the 5 W’s:
Who are you to them?
What is being offered?
When will the offer expire?
Where can it be redeemed?
Why is it important that they act now?
How do they reach you?
3. Design
This comes third, but is still extremely important as it determines whether your card is picked up and read or not.
The best design is a high quality photo of one of your customers enjoying your product or service, and the emotions that go with it: excitement, relief, joy. If the photo is grainy or too small, go with a stock image photo. Make sure that it’s bright, powerful, and attention grabbing, and that your call to action (CTA) is displayed prominently and in a different color!
Example:
All set to go!
What are you going to remember from today? Data, offer, design. DOD. Now the next time that you’re thinking that you need more customers, you know exactly where and how to get started: just log into the ProspectsPLUS web-to-print platform which will walk you through those precise steps to get your marketing out into the world where it can land you more customers!
If you’re ready to be done for the day, give one of our experts a call at 1 (877) 222-6010 and let’s get you set up!
Need a little extra help?
Call Opportunity Knocks at 1 (866) 319-7109 to get help setting it all up so that it runs without you even thinking about it!