You need marketing to grow your business. You know direct mail postcards are a proven way to promote your business affordably and effectively. So you set everything in motion, ready to reap the rewards of your postcard campaign. But what if people don’t respond? What if they – heaven forbid – throw your postcard in the trash?
Direct mail postcards wind up in the trash as junk mail because:
- They are irrelevant.
- They look “sketchy” in some way.
- They are unconvincing.
The first two are absolute deal-killers, so into the trash your postcard goes, without a second look. Sometimes, however, prospects are interested, at least at first. But as they examine your postcard more closely, they don’t learn anything that excites them about your products or services or doing business with your company. You failed to make your case, so your recipient isn’t interested after all. No need to keep your postcard, so into the trash it goes.
Keep your direct mail postcards from being junk mail!
Instead of giving people reasons to toss your marketing materials, you can just as easily give them reasons to get excited and follow up. Here are 3 ways you can do that – one for each of the disasters noted above.
1. The right audience.
You can’t create effective marketing unless you know what you’re trying to accomplish. That starts with clearly defining your campaign goal. “Get more business” doesn’t cut it. Do you want more business from new customers or patients or clients, or do you want your current clientele to buy more, or more often? Get specific with each campaign, because your marketing goal dictates what audience you will target with your direct mail postcards.
In turn, that dictates which selection criteria you should use to pull together your mailing list as well as the specifics you’ll include in your postcard’s content. When you present highly relevant content to the right people, your postcards will not be destined for the trash.
2. The right design.
Postcards that work are attention-grabbing but not pushy. They are easy to understand at a glance. They include key points that go straight to the heart of the matter – what makes your business stand out from the crowd and how prospects will benefit when they buy from you. All these essential ingredients have to be assembled into a well-constructed layout.
Regardless what you do or sell, it’s essential that your direct mail postcards look professional and inviting. Second-rate printing, typos and grammar mistakes and other completely avoidable defects reflect very poorly on you and your business.
You’re trying to build rapport and trust with prospects, proving to them you’re the best choice to clean their carpets, help them stay fit, whiten their teeth or enjoy dinner out. You can say the right things on your direct mail postcards, but if your visual presentation doesn’t say “quality,” prospects will deliberately give you a miss.
When you present highly relevant content on a mailer that is strategically designed, vibrant, crisp and colorful, your postcards will not be destined for the trash.
3. The right offer.
Prospects like to be courted, so give ‘em what they want – a good deal on whatever it is you’re selling. They know you want their business, because you sent them your postcard. Offering a discount, a giveaway or some other enticement is often the icing on the cake that makes them respond. Offers are a great way to get new people in the door and an equally great way to reward existing customers for their ongoing patronage.
Not every offer resonates with every prospect, though. Offers that excel are crafted to speak directly to your target audience.
When you know your audience, design your postcards to deliver the most important and relevant information and tantalize prospects with a tempting offer, prospects wouldn’t dream of tossing your direct mail postcards in the trash.