FOCUS ON MARKETING: Profiting With Postcards

Imagine that you could be 99 percent sure that your customers would read 99 percent of your message when they receive it. And imagine that you could do this on the tightest advertising budget. Sound too good to be true? Probably so, but the answer lies in the humble postcard!

What’s the first thing you do when you receive a postcard in the mail? You probably turn it over to see what the postcard is about or who sent it. So do a lot of other people, including your customers and prospects.

This is because postcards require no envelope to open. The message is right there in front of the recipient. They are one of the most effective, inexpensive, yet least used forms of direct mail in the pest control industry. You may be asking yourself, “Why send a postcard? Why not send a letter? Catalog? Brochure?” The answer: economics!

Last year, a videographer mailed information on a product to 6,000 people — 3,000 people received a postcard while the other 3,000 people received a product flyer in an envelope. The results were totaled at the end of 45 days. Sixty-eight percent of orders came from the postcards and 32 percent came from the product flyer. The test was run again with a different rented list of names. This time 62 percent of the orders came from postcards and 38 percent came from the product flyer in the envelope.

WHY POSTCARDS? There are several reasons why postcards are hard-working marketing tools and can produce this type of results.

Postcards don’t take any time or effort to open. Almost everyone reads postcards, even those people who throw out all their bulk direct mail. By the time your customers have it in hand, they’re reading it! And they can understand the message quickly as they sort through their mail — if the card contains one quick and easy-to-read message.

Postcards are usually inexpensive to produce in quantities of 1,000 or more and require no folding or inserting into envelopes. Just address them and away they go! A nice thing about postcards is that one- or two-color postcards work just fine and they are less expensive to print. However, the price of four-color postcard printing is more affordable than ever and the choice of vendors is unlimited. A search of postcard printers on the Internet can reveal hundreds, each providing pricing, features and benefits. (See list on page 108 for other sources.)

Postage is less than regular first-class mail if the overall size of the postcard is between 3½ by 5 inches and 4¼ by 6 inches — just 21 cents each. And that’s before any postal discounts from barcoding and carrier/route labeling, which can be substantial. And for paying regular first-class postage (not counting any postal discounts), you can mail an oversized postcard measuring up to 6 by 11 inches.

Here’s an additional postcard tip: Mail postcards to local addresses on a Monday so they receive them on Tuesday — the day of the week with the lowest mail volume. (Wednesdays bear the heaviest mail load.)

Developing a message for a postcard demands brevity and forces you to focus on one main idea. Ideally, a postcard contains only one call to action and no more than three benefits.

According to marketing guru Markus Allen (visit his site at www.markusallen.org), postcard success rests on the following factors:
• Who receives your postcards (50 percent) (Want to find out the ZIP codes in your market area that have the highest discretionary income? Visit www.compelcom.com for more information.)
• Attention grabbing headline (20 percent)
• Compelling offer (20 percent)
• All the rest (10 percent)

To sum it up, mail to only your target audience, write great copy and make an irresistible offer.

When planning marketing for the year, include postcards as an important strategy among your usual marketing activities. As with any direct mail effort, a multi-part campaign is the most effective, i.e., a sustained effort over time or mailing postcards on a regular basis — either monthly, bimonthly or quarterly.

THE BASICS. The address side of the postcard has two purposes: 1) to get the postcard delivered to the right person and 2) to explain the offer made on the other side of the card, known as the billboard side.

For the best postal discounts, you need to leave a 2½- by 3¾-inch rectangular area free of printing at the bottom right corner of the address side. Plus, don’t put graphics or printing within 5/8 inch of the bottom of the card on the address side. Use card stock at least .007-inch thick but no greater than .0095 inch.

If your addresses will be ink jetted, be sure the address side of the card is not glossy because glossy stock may cause the addresses to smear and be unreadable by postal equipment. Ask your printer about paper that is “coated one side,” which means the billboard side of the card will be shiny but the address side will be matte paper.

THE MESSAGE AND DESIGN. Decide what you want to accomplish and who is most likely to respond. Write your message designed to get a response from the recipient. You’ll probably receive a better response from a mailing to your current customers than from a mailing to new prospects. On the other hand, mailing to new prospects can be a good way to increase awareness of your company.

Identify the benefits that come from your offer — that is, what’s in it for the recipient? Then focus on that main benefit through the headline and copy of your card.

Use the billboard side of the your card to get attention with an eye-catching graphic or photo with headline. Then put the details of your offer on the back.
Here’s an additional postcard tip: Jeffrey Dobkin, author of How to Market a Product for Under $500, contends that if you put the words “Save this card” somewhere on your card, people will save it. If the card is mailed without these words, people will throw it away.

If you haven’t tried postcards as an important marketing tactic, it’s time to give them a try!

The author is owner of Compelling Communications and helps pest management companies grow their business. Visit her Web site at www.compelcom.com and go to “resources” to download a free postcard production checklist.