Postcards Work
by 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