Keys To Creating A Better Postcard

Direct marketing does take a certain set of skills but luckily they are skills that can easily be taught, researched and used.  One of the tools you’ll likely come across when you’re working a direct marketing plan is utilizing the postcard.  Consider the following key ways to making your postcard marketing brilliant. 

Carefully Consider What You’re Offering

Take a solid look at what you’re planning to send out… Is it clear and stated simply? If there are tons of offers, clauses and other contingencies then your response rate will drop.  Have you made it clear what the reader should do?  When you’re offering a product make sure to have clear details on how your reader can get the product easily and for a great price. 

If your postcard is sent with the intent to sell take a look at the product or service.  Is it unique, a top seller or does it represent your merchandise accurately?  Keep this in mind especially when sending to new client potentials. 

Take A Look At Content

The content is the heart of your postcard.  You’ll want to make sure you have headlines that sizzle and that pull readers in.  They are the most important part of the postcard so should be well-written and visually ‘popping’ to get the most attention. 

In addition to great headlines, your content needs to be concise and easily understood.  Bullet points instead of paragraphs and short, descriptive sentences are best.  Content should also be specific in its design, telling your reader what he or she stands to gain when responding to the post card. 

A little repetition can go a long way.  Repeat your offer to your reader at least twice so they are sure to understand what you’re promoting as well as seriously consider what it can do for them.  Following these few, simple marketing rules can increase your postcard response rate and help to grow your business with minimal hassle.  

7 Keys To Getting Better Responses From Your Direct Mail

Utilizing direct mail marketing is an important part of getting you company out there and seen by potential clients.  In order to get the best responses from your marketing plan it’s essential that you consider utilizing some of the most important tools of success such as the following:

      1.       Problem Solutions Vs. Products

Regardless of whether or not you are selling a product, people want a solution to their problem.  Make sure to talk about what you’re offering in a manner that illustrates the problems it can solve.  Once a person sees a product or service as capable of solving problems they will be more likely to want it.  

      2.       Give ‘em What They Want

Making sure you’re marketing to a group of people that have a need for what you offer will certainly help your efforts.  

      3.       Emotionally Appealing First & Then Reasonable

Sending out logical info that involves numbers and statistics won’t excite your clients.  Set it up by appealing to them emotionally then speak to their logic.  

      4.       Use What Works

Don’t try to break the mold.  When it comes to direct marketing find the forms that work and use these.  

      5.       Content Is Critical

Don’t worry so much about formatting and the looks of everything-worry about what you will give your clients by way of content.  

      6.       Make It Direct

There are basically three elements to all direct marketing messages- offers, acceptance of offer immediately and a way to respond to the offer.  

      7.       Sales In One Of Two Steps

The first step of a sale is when you get an order without extra communication and effort.  This is ideal as it provides the best potential for highest profit.  The second step is generating inquiries and then converting sales from these responses.  This can be a little harder but with the communication can work very well. 

Even With Economic Slump Direct Mail Marketing Is Steady

Our current economic conditions are problematic, there’s no doubt about that.  With these issues, more and more business are working doubly hard to insure that they are marketing effectively.  One method that pops up in discussion often is direct mailing programs and what they have to offer.  If you’re looking to promote your business then direct, postcard marketing should be one of the first methods you consider.

Advantages Of Direct Mail Marketing

When you use directly marketing to your clients you are choosing a method that some people feel is outdated.  This couldn’t be further from the truth and that is because of the distinct advantages to direct marketing.  With this mail, a person has to physically touch what you’ve sent.  This means they will look at it without fear of a computer virus.  It is still considered a marketing workhorse for the simple fact it is physical and a person will look at it even just to toss it.  When designed effectively, they will look at it and keep reading it. 

Still The Consumer’s Preference

With studies being done in 2008, 2010 and 2011 consumers have consistently reported they prefer to have a marketing message received in traditional mailing format.  This means they will already be more open-minded to any marketing message that comes to them by way of direct mail versus email. 

One Mail Box

A key advantage of direct mail marketing is that there is generally one mailbox per home.  When it comes to email, an individual can have multiple address and a home will have multiple individuals.  This may mean to market to four people living in a house you would have to send an email to four email addresses and even more when some don’t get checked.  Why go through this extra work when one postcard can be delivered to a mailbox that services multiple people?

How Your Restaurant can Benefit from Email and Direct Marketing

Restaurant marketing is crucial for any restaurant to grow to its fullest potential, but the sheer variety of marketing methods, tricks, tips and suggestions can leave any conscientious restaurant owner pulling his or her hair in confusion over which is the BEST way to market.  There’s a lot riding on how successfully executed your restaurant’s marketing campaign is, so how you focus your marketing is important.  And according to research, there is no better way to do this than to focus your marketing efforts (and budget) on email and direct mail marketing.  

A recent study conducted by ExactTarget shows that among online consumers in the US, email is still the most preferred way to receive marketing messages, promotional material and permission-based communication.  Out of 1,481 survey participants who answered the question concerning their most preferred method of receiving such messages, 77% of respondents chose email and coming in a distant second was 9%, who chose direct mail such as letter, catalogs, postcards, etc.  After these first two preferences, 5% of respondents chose text messaging (SMS) on a cell phone, 4% of respondents chose Facebook, and 2% of respondents chose the phone. 

The fact that email was preferred wasn’t any different among age groups, either.  While email was more popular among the 35-44 year old and 55-64 year old categories than the 15-17 year old category, all categories still preferred email to any other form of communication of marketing messages.  This means that regardless of your intended demographic, if they are internet users, they are likely to prefer email as their primary method for receiving marketing messages.  

So don’t stress over where your money should be going in marketing.  If you have an email and direct mail marketing campaign, you have covered two of the most preferred methods for marketing your business.  If you haven’t started an email and direct mail marketing campaign—what are you waiting for? Contact us, we can help you!

Reasons Why Email and Direct Marketing (and not Facebook/Broadcast Media) Might be the Better Choice for Your Restaurant

Have you ever been in a store browsing, only to be annoyed by a pushy salesman who doesn’t understand the concept that you just want to look around?  We’ve all experienced this and it isn’t a pleasant experience.  In fact, it’s the primary reason why the foundation of successful marketing is the understanding that your approach needs to be something that your end-audience invites.  If you attempt to market in a way that your intended audience feels is intrusive, you might be negating the point of your marketing attempt in the first place, which is to attract customers without annoying them.  

For this reason, Facebook as a marketing platform has lost its luster for many companies for one very simple reason: people use Facebook to connect with friends and a social network—not necessarily to read marketing messages on their home page.  The same works for broadcast media.  People listen to the radio or watch TV to enjoy their favorite music or shows, and will often turn the volume down or change the channel entirely when confronted with too much marketing.  

You might ask, then, so what is the least intrusive way to market?  Well, according to surveys conducted regarding customers’ preferred method of contact for marketing and promotional material, an overwhelming majority stated that email is their preferred method for receiving marketing messages.  

Think of it this way: people access their email at a time of their own choosing, and can open emails or not open them according to their own whims.  This puts the end-user in control of when he or she reads a message, making them much more receptive to what the message contains.  Their lives, social networking, and entertainment time are not interrupted, and they are always subconsciously appreciative of this consideration on behalf of the restaurant marketing to them.