How to Market Your Business with Postcards

Marketing is a key factor to the success and continued growth of any business, and postcards are one of the most effective — and least expensive — ways to market your company's products and services. Custom postcard mailings are a highly regarded tool in the business world because of their ability to quickly put a personalized message into the hands of a potentially unlimited customer base. Here are a few ideas on how to market your business with postcard mailings:

Create a need, solve a problem

It is important to generate a positive response from your prospects. Your postcard should solve one of your readers' problems or create a need they didn't know they had, and then offer a solution. A well-designed postcard can generate an emotional response that will influence prospects to take the next step in the purchasing process. Know the audience that you are planning to reach, and design your printed piece to speak to them and make them realize that your company is the one they must buy from.

Features and benefits

Features are like your product specifications — what it does, how it's made, etc. Benefits explain to your prospects why the features will solve their problems and make life easier, more fun, or generally better in some way. Features and benefits work together to demonstrate that you have what your prospects need, and that you can deliver in a way that's better than the competition.

Grab attention

Most direct-mail postcards get tossed in the garbage. That's because, like other direct mail promotions, they're often regarded as junk mail. Unlike other forms of direct mail marketing, however, a postcard does not have to be opened or unfolded to be read. Because of this, well-designed postcards have the best opportunity to grab your prospects' attention before they get to File 13. Create a custom design with a clear and concise message; make your headlines big and bold; and introduce a compelling offer right away. Include plenty of white space so the body of the card is easy to read and does not look too busy or crowded. Include your company logo, a relevant graphic, color and perhaps a glossy coating. If applicable, use bullet points to showcase the specific features and benefits your company has to offer. The goal is to make your postcard easy to read at a glance, thus motivating potential customers to take a closer look.

Make your point

If your prospects want to read a lot, they'll join a book-of-the-month club. It is crucial to make sure that anyone receiving your postcard understands the precise message you are sending. The text on the postcard should be brief and to the point. Tell the consumer what your company does, and what you have to offer. Many businesses do not include exactly what they are offering, listing only their most basic information. This is a waste of marketing dollars, because they're missing the opportunity to make a great offer that will turn prospects into customers. Once someone has purchased from you once, they're much more likely to seek you out for additional services.

You will find that postcard mailings are a very economical way to connect with a new audience of future customers. When you are preparing for this often-successful style of marketing, work to develop a postcard that creates a need, displays the features and benefits that will be available to the customer, and states your message in a clear, concise and eye-catching manner. Coupled with an effective, targeted mailing list, direct-mail postcard marketing pieces — done correctly — should increase your response rate immediately.