Are business postcards part of your direct marketing strategy?
The world may have gone digital, but many traditional marketing methods still have an important place in an overall branding and marketing strategy.
Business postcards are a very effective tool for engagement between businesses and clients globally, and they are effective whether those clients are other business entities or consumers. Unlike letters and catalogues, postcards are concise, so they get noticed and read quickly and easily. Simple and economical to create and send, they represent great value for marketers and brands.
Why Adopt Business Postcards?
Postcard marketing is highly effective at getting your message out there and received and it is also highly measurable. Response rates for direct mail marketing are predominantly measured via online tracking, coupons and codes, and voice calls.
Depending on the quality of the content and the mailing list, direct mail with business postcards can elicit a twelve-fold return on investment and response rates in the order of 4.9% to 9% (2018 DMA Response Rate Report). This is higher than general response rates for email or social media marketing.
Use Postcard Marketing For:
- Validating customer addresses
- Boosting brand awareness
- Broadcasting upcoming events
- Promoting new products or services
- Captivating new customers
- Compelling purchase activity via time-sensitive offers
Check out some of the industries that love our business postcard service:
- Real Estate
- Not for Profit
- Media & Publishing
- Travel & Hospitality
- Finance & Credit
- Healthcare
How Can Business Postcards Be Used?
Here at ClickSend, we have customers who send business postcards from a variety of industries. Some of the industries we see a lot of are travel/hospitality, real estate, not-for-profits, media/publishing, finance/banking, and healthcare.
Read on for a few examples of how brands use automated postcards.
Appointment Reminders
SMS alerts for appointment reminders are very effective, but some people appreciate (or even prefer) to receive a physical reminder they can keep on their fridge or in their diary, wallet, or handbag. Postcard reminders are ideal for regular appointments including dental check-ups, medical follow-ups, auto-servicing, hair or beauty appointments, and annual taxation appointments.
Seasonal Marketing Campaigns
Send targeted postcards to your existing customers and leads for seasonal promotions including Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
Birthday Postcards
Generate goodwill (and sales!) with a “Happy Birthday” postcard in the mail. The recipient will feel special and appreciated, and when you include a gift (e.g. 10% off next service, or a $10 voucher to spend within a month) you’ll trigger sales and loyalty.
Real Estate Postcards
Showcase homes for sale or rent as well as recent sales in your local area to attract interested buyers or new tenants in a timely manner.
Local Event Broadcasts
For example, a local school fete, a sporting event, a community fun day, a new exhibition, a restaurant opening, or a local festival. Send postcards within a local radius to alert the community and boost attendance.
Political Campaigns
Inform your supporter base and engage with a new audience to generate more support. A favourite of political parties, don’t let your campaign get left behind. Send postcards to your followers and keep them engaged for maximum impact.
How to Build Your Address List
The days of random letterbox drops have, to a large extent, passed. To best harness the effectiveness of direct mail, your business postcards need to be targeted: mailed and addressed directly to the recipient.
Making arrangements to design and print postcards are only part of the postcard marketing process. To send out marketing postcards, you’ll need a list of recipients and their addresses.
You need to identify your target market. Delivering marketing materials randomly is not economical and is rarely effective, if at all.
- Understand your brand and your product/service, and who these will most serve and most appeal to.
- Consider your existing customers, and find common traits — these may be their location, demographics, interests, etc.
- Consider your direct competitors within your industry and who they are advertising to.
- Determine whether you’ll benefit most by sending your marketing materials locally, citywide, regionally, nationally, or internationally.
- Consider your budget and potential ROI.
How to Build a Strong Mailing Database for Sending Postcards
- Encourage consumers to sign up for your mailing list via newsletters, promotions, social media, and other channels. Offer a discount or a free gift to entice new subscribers. You need to show consumers why they win when they join you!
- Collect names and address details at the very least. It’s even more effective if you can collect other demographics (e.g. age, interests), however, you also need to appreciate that consumers are less likely to fill in longer forms.
Analyse your list:
- Geographically
Where do members of your mailing list live? Are they urban, suburban, rural, or a mixture of these? Are they local, statewide, national, or international? - Demographically
Based on age, gender, job role, and/or industry, income, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, etc. Is there a group that is more likely to engage and buy from your business?
Your list will also need ongoing management to maintain its quality. You can do this by reviewing responses, identifying trends, and updating the list regularly when people move.
Choose ClickSend’s Postcard Printing Service
Make direct mail business postcards part of your digital marketing strategy. For affordable and effective online postcard printing, choose ClickSend. We provide clients worldwide with superior products and services.
With just the click of a button, ClickSend will get your transactional or direct marketing postcards printed and mailed out to your chosen recipients for fast and reliable delivery. Either send us your design or avail yourself of our in-house design team — it’s simple and easy.
Choose ClickSend for our:
- High quality, thick glossy postcards
- Simple automated printing system
- Easy Post API integration into existing business systems and software
- Fast turnaround for same-day printing and posting
Ready to get started? Sign up for your free account and test out our business postcard service. Or if you’d like some help, open a chat by clicking the link in the bottom right corner of this window and talk with one of our friendly support staff members.
