Judging by the tone of most marketing blogs, you would guess that all business was either conducted on Google or Facebook. But it’s easy to forget that many of the tried-and-true methods of the past are still just as valid today.
Take postcards for example… they’re fantastic!
You can just load up your prospect list in Excel, run the stack through your ink-jet printer, and you’re ready for the mailbox. There are no letters to fold, no envelopes to stuff, and (for large volumes) no stamps to peel.
Postcards also work great in tandem with your online efforts. If you record a different themed webinar every month, you’ll have a new reason for prospects to engage with you in each mailing. Just make sure to keep these videos short. No longer than 10-15 minutes each.
I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of this technique, and I’ve used it to close some very lucrative deals.
And here’s another tip:
If this is a B2B offering, don’t mail these postcards. Show up at your prospect’s offices every month and drop them off personally. This will do wonders to improve your ROI on this technique.
Why this works:
It’s a well known fact that customer trust accumulates with multiple points of contact. It might take up to 10 or 15 visits before someone decides to buy from your web site.
But what you should know is that trust also increases based on the number of channels through which you reach your prospects.
If a company’s message were to reach you:
- Once by social networking
- Once by web search
- Once by email
- Once by cold call
- Once by mail
This would be much more compelling than simply having received 5 emails… or 5 PPC clicks… or 5 even postcards. In fact, I’d even say that it’s probably more effective than 20 points of contact from any other single channel.
When you show up in person to a prospect’s office… with a postcard… that sends them to a webinar… that’s 3 points of contact through 3 different channels. And if, after watching the video webinar, you follow up with a phone call and a thank-you email… that quickly evolves into a VERY persuasive interaction.
If you aren’t currently using postcards to market your products or services, I’d suggest looking into whether this technique would be well suited to your business.
About The Guest Author: Paul Rudo has been a freelance business consultant for over 5 years. He specializes in B2B marketing for technology companies and organizations targeting geographically local clients.
I think this is a definite for fundraising as well. People are still inclined to receive something in the mail and then have the option of mailing a check back in.
If you want an especially timely and relevant example of savvy marketers using paper, check out the photos of what Google has been sending to my small business recently — by good the old fashioned U.S. Postal Service.
http://www.rexblog.com/2010/02/08/20328
Good marketers want MORE, not less, ways to reach out to their customers — and potential customers. More marketing channels, not fewer, are what the marketers at Google are using to grow their business. There’s a lesson in that for small business marketers, as well.
Rex Hammock
@smallbusiness
SmallBusiness.com
While I agree that this techniques can be effective it really all boils down to how personable you are when you meet people and if they you stand out on some level
Paper marketing still has an important role in my company. We still have many customers who have not elected to friend request us on Facebook or subscribe to our email newsletter. Postcards are the only way to keep our name in their radar. I realize most cards will probably go directly in the trash, even a few seconds of seeing our logo is better than going without.