WELCOME TO "BIZ TIPS"
where an industry expert Chamber member
will provide a helpful business tip for you each month!
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This September "Biz Tip" is brought to you by:

Dean Hastings
President of Multi Print Media, Inc.

Yes's and No's for Successful
Post Card Marketing

Yes, to incentives – Hesitant customers or prospects need to have their fears removed from purchasing your product or service. Incentives are a great way to do that. Offer free shipping or a gift certificate. Test different incentives until you have a bag of tricks that work for you.

No, to promises you can’t keep – Be honest to your customers and don’t offer something that you can’t deliver. This is a common mistake made by those who are trying to stand out from their competition but don’t be tempted by this dishonest method of marketing. Rather than being dishonest, share honest testimonials or be strategic and develop a unique selling proposition, if you don’t already have one.

Yes, market to the right people -  This is called targeted marketing and it’s one of the best ways to increase your response rate (and your ROI). Your mailing list should be composed of ideal candidates. If you don’t have a mailing list, work with a printing company that can offer list development for you to create a strong list based on your customer demographics.

Yes, keep it simple – Don’t confuse your message with words or lingo that might confuse the consumer. You can get technical with them after you’ve engaged them in a dialogue. This will drive higher response rates and give you more to share with the consumer after they’ve reached out to you.

Yes, it needs to be graphically pleasing – Your design should be professional and not look “homemade”. Additionally, post cards are like billboards; you need to get the attention of your consumer quickly. With these two points combined, don’t under estimate the importance of the design and layout; professional images (not amateur photography), proper font selections, professional color schemes, white space, etc. It doesn’t need to be expensive to pull this together but it does need to be done methodically and professionally.

No, don’t talk about yourself - Your customers can find everything they need to know about you on your website so direct them there for specific information like “an about us”. Talk about benefits, incentives & testimonials rather than you. In other words, don’t treat your post card like it’s your resume.

Yes, you need a strong call to action – This is what you’re trying to get your prospect “to do”. We've all received pieces of mail that want us to do something. And they're typically covered with act now, supplies are limited, this is a limited time offer, this offer expires soon, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and so on. You probably ask yourself why do these people still do this? Everybody knows the limited time offer is probably a million years. Why do people still use this language in direct mail pieces? Because the simple truth is that these words increase the response of mail pieces.

Yes, it needs to be professionally printed – Don’t settle for your office printer or color copier. You’ve gone through all of the steps to craft a professional message and image because you want your customers to take you seriously and know you’re a professional. Now, you need to have your post cards printed professionally. Multi Print Media can help you with all of these steps. We only use top quality machinery and materials to manufacture the product that will connect you to your customers.

No, don’t do your mailing yourself  - Don’t consider using stamps on your post cards. Save money by allowing your printing company to complete the mailing for you. Your list that was developed is easily sorted and mailed at a reduced postage rate. The money you’ll save on your time, labels and discounted postage will more than out way the cost for the small additional fee for the mailing service.

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About this "Biz Tip" author:
Dean Hastings has been in the printing, marketing and mailing arena for nearly 16 years and his company, Multi Print Media, Inc., handles direct mail projects for clients all across the county. He's passionate about "getting it right" for his clients. He feels he's able to do this best when he's able to get into the trenches with his clients while figuring out their goals and objectives.