Postcards Work
Steve Conn
What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just
about any business?
The answer is postcards sent by direct mail. You can get your
message to a targeted group of prospects or to your existing
customers for a cost of about 25 to 30 cents each including
postage. You can actually send someone a postcard every 30 days
for only $3 a year. Postcards Work.
You can generate leads, create sales, ask prospects to give you
a try or convince existing customers to buy more or buy more
often. Postcards Work.
What are the 2 biggest secrets of marketing with postcards?
1. Regular, repeated mailings are the way to create big
predictable results. When you mail every 30 days for a year you
will cause a dramatic growth in your business. People respond to
repetition. If you are a parent you know how hard it is to
refuse repeated requests for a cookie or a desperately wanted
toy. If you are not a parent, I'm sure you remember asking,
even begging for a toy, treat or permission to stay up past
your bedtime until your parents finally gave in. Your customers
and prospective customers are similar. They need to be asked
repeatedly too. Postcards Work.
2. There are really only 4 reasons people don't buy your
products and services. Look at your own buying behavior and see
for yourself if you believe me when I tell you these 4 apply to
you too.
a) No need.
When people don't buy from you, it's because they don't want
what you are offering. They may need what you are offering and
not know or acknowledge that need, but the bottom line is they
don't want it.
Save lots of time, effort and money by targeting your postcard
mailings to groups of people who have demonstrated they want
your product or service or one's similar to yours and then mail
to them. Follow at least this one piece of advice and become
more profitable immediately.
Examples of those who have demonstrated they want your products
and services are:
1. your own customers,
2. your competitor's customers and
3. people who have bought products and services which your
products and services supplement or complement.
Target your marketing. Promote your business exclusively to
people likely to have a strong desire for the benefits provided
by your product or service.
Postcards Work.
b) No money.
Businesses and consumers don't usually avoid purchases because
they don't have or can't get the money necessary to purchase.
They usually don't buy because they decide buying something
else is more important to them (like food).
You can get them to buy from you by making it clear to them
that buying your product or service will get rid of something
they don't want or will get them something they do want or will
get them more of something they already have that they like
having.
It is your job to get your people and businesses to see that
your products and services give or get them what they really
want. Consumers and businesses rarely avoid buying something
because they don't have (or can't get) the money needed to make
the purchase. They avoid buying what you offer because they
place a higher priority on spending money for something else.
What is the most nagging problem you can solve for prospects in
your targeted market? Make it real to them how they'll feel when
your product or service eliminates that problem. Use postcards
to communicate how they can get their problem solved.
Postcards Work.
c) No hurry.
People tend to drag their feet after they decide to buy
something. The longer they wait to purchase the more likely
they are to forget why your product or service is valuable or
even absolutely necessary to them. Keep your message in front
of them with repetitive mailings. If you don't...You'll lose
the business. The reason repetitive mailings are so effective
is that they remind your customers and prospects of what they
are missing by not having your product or service working for
them in their life. You can avoid losing sales because of "no
hurry" by rewarding customers for taking immediate action and
penalizing those who don't. For example, offer a special
discount price or a special bonus for ordering before a
deadline.
Do repetitive mailings to targeted customers and prospects and
you will make more sales.
Postcards Work.
d) No trust.
Most people's fear of losing something is a bigger concern than
getting something that they want.
This fear causes them to frequently avoid buying something they
truly want.
They don't want to buy and then find out that your product or
service won't solve their problem. They don't want to be or
even feel ripped off or still at a loss over the solution to
their problem.
You must take away their risk in doing business with you.
You must provide a way that they can "trust" you.
If you don't they won't buy and you will lose business.
Most people fear losing something they have more than they
desire gaining something they want. This fear causes many
people to avoid buying something they really want. They're
reluctant to buy because they might not get what they expect
from your product or service and they'll lose their money. You
have to remove this perceived risk to avoid losing business
because of "no trust". Here are 3 ways I've found effective for
any business...
1. Eliminate the risk with an unconditional money back
guarantee.
2. Give them testimonials from satisfied customers and/or
provide references that prove the quality and reliability of
your product or service.
3. Make it easy for your prospects and customers to communicate
with you and get their questions and concerns answered. Let them
see you and your business are real and that you value getting
and keeping their trust and present and future business.
These are really the only 4 reasons why people don't buy from
you. You can increase your sales and profits by knowing them
and doing everything you can to mail your postcards to the
people and businesses most likely to want and benefit from your
products and services, make it clear to them how valuable the
benefits of your products and services are to them, get them to
see the urgency of getting the value of your products and
services now and finally that they can trust you to help them
get the benefits you promised your products and services would
give them.
When you do all these things, guess what? People will buy from
you like crazy. Postcards are a perfect low cost medium to
overcome the 4 reasons people don't buy from you.
Use postcards in repetitive mailings and make your business
soar.
Don't ever forget.
POSTCARDS WORK!
About The Author: Steve Conn, a Marketing Consultant, consulted
PostcardMania before it could afford its own in-house full-time
marketing director. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998;
her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did
$9 million in sales and employed over 60 persons. For more free
marketing advice, visit
http://www.postcardmania.com
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