If you’re a business owner, over the course of the past several years, you’ve probably embraced social media and other online marketing techniques.  After all, every marketing guru swears that digital marketing is the “future” of marketing.  What’s worse, they repeatedly warn business owners just like you that if you don’t keep up with the times, you’ll quickly become irrelevant to your target audience.

What these self-proclaimed gurus fail to mention is that there’s a traditional marketing strategy that when utilized properly, can be just as effective as a comprehensive digital marketing campaign – if not more so.

So what is it?

Postcard marketing.

And here’s why…

Have you ever received a REALLY good postcard in the mail?  We’re going to guess that the answer is yes.

Do you remember the feeling you had when you received it?  The image was vivid.  It caught your attention.  The message was engaging.   You genuinely WANTED to do whatever that postcard was telling you to do, whether it was to grab a free drink at a local restaurant or book a massage at a new salon down the street.

So, the question then becomes: why aren’t you using postcard marketing for your business?

If you’re like many business owners, you’re convinced that postcard marketing campaigns are outdated – and maybe even completely ineffective.  Perhaps you believe that they’re too expensive or just won’t work for your business.

The Cold Hard Facts 

Recent studies have found that that:

• 7% of people visit their mailbox daily
• 5% of consumers read postcards
• 4% of consumers respond to postcards that they find relevant
• 46% of consumers say that they are more likely to respond to a postcard from a company that they’re already familiar with. Repeat advertising?  Yeah, it works.

Now let’s translate these numbers into something more tangible, shall we?

The Benefits 

Postcards are:

• Cost-Effective – The cost per lead – the total amount of money spent divided by the total number of leads generated – for postcards is $54.10. To put this in perspective, print advertisements average around $60.50 cost per lead and telemarketing a whopping $190.49 cost per lead.
• Customizable – Digital printing companies like ProspectsPLUS! can print postcards in a variety of shapes and sizes – and for a variety of different promotions – while keeping both your message and imagery laser focused. You no longer need to order in bulk as you did in the past so you can run smaller campaigns that are more fine-tuned to your end objective.
• Personable – Because of the different printing options available, you can completely personalize your message, all the way down to using the recipient’s first name, which is very strategic when executing laser focused send outs like birthday postcard marketing campaigns. After all, who doesn’t like receiving something in the mail that addresses them by name, wishes them a happy birthday and offers them a promotion of some sort?  The same thing goes for holidays.
• Physical – You can’t physically hold an email or a voicemail. You can, however, hold a postcard. You can put it on your refrigerator.  You can leave it on your counter so you see it often.  It’s never going to accidentally be deleted or lost in cyberspace… and it certainly isn’t going to get a virus.
• Nostalgic – It’s no secret that digital techniques have completely transformed the marketing landscape. As a result, many small businesses have opted out of using postcards. This makes them both rare AND appreciated.  Being different can be a great way to retain your existing customer base while generating a healthy, steady pipeline of new prospects and customers.
• Accessible – Most letters come in an envelope. And let’s face it: it’s pretty easy to tell whether something in an envelope is legitimate or a solicitation. Postcards are different. When your intended recipients pull your postcard out of the mailbox, they see everything there is to see. There aren’t any secrets.  Your message is right there, front and center.

 The Main Takeaway

Traditional postcard marketing is NOT dead. There’s still a whole lot of experimenting to be done and because less businesses are doing it, your postcards will stand a MUCH better chance of standing out. Making an investment into a postcard marketing campaign for your small business is not only a good idea, but one that has proven to remain successful over the years – and will continue to do so long into the future.

Want to learn more about how you can use postcard marketing to up the ante on your marketing efforts?   If so, give us a jingle today!  877-222-6010.