Bring back the lowly postcard!
It’s more intrusive than an unexpected house guest and more irritating than a car alarm that won’t shut off! I’m talking about internet spam… you know, all those unwanted messages from someone in Nigeria, begging you for money or the myriad of offers guaranteeing to enlarge. . . well, you know!
Yes, today internet spam has become one of the most-hated things in our lives. And, in spite of my filters and blockers, some still gets through and I’m forever hitting the delete key. In fact AOL, alone, recently told the Washington Post it blocks more than 780 million spams daily and it can’t get them all. That’s 100 million more messages than it actually delivers! Spam now accounts for a reported 30% of all email and it’s growing rapidly. The result is electronic marketing has some serious problems today. Similarly, studies indicate consumers are increasingly rejecting what they view as intrusive Internet advertising techniques.
Now I’m not suggesting there aren’t good uses for electronic marketing. There are. For example, every dealer should have a good Website. But the highly touted e-newsletters and e-mails aren’t necessarily getting the message to the customers. That’s why there’s a business migration back to good old, reliable direct mail. And what’s the best read direct mail piece today? A postcard! Coincidentally, it’s also the cheapest printed promotional piece you can produce.
Let’s face it - no one throws away a postcard without at least looking at both sides. Moreover, everyone still takes the regular mail seriously. It’s still compelling. We wait for the mail to arrive. We complain if it’s late. When there’s no delivery on Holidays, we feel like something’s missing! When we get home, the first thing we still do is go through the mail. Even at the office, we usually stop whatever we’re doing when the mail arrives. Admit it or not, mail is still a priority in our lives. Therefore, it remains a viable ad tool for us.
So at a time when we’re all competing harder than ever to get even the simplest of messages across to customers and prospects, it’s a great time to fall back and consider using the simple, inexpensive and compelling postcard.
Dealer Outlook
November 20th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Excellent point; the impact of highly targeted and effectively designed offline direct marketing is why Treasure Chest participants have repeated every year for the past ten years. Boat builders generated 1,000-2,000 offline qualified leads and also see a signficant, sustained spike in site activity. Direct mail can act as a search engine with many additional values, too.
November 20th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
The Post card “This Winterization and Storage season” resulted in a 15 to 20% increase in customers for our boat store. I also feel it also helped increase confidence and good will among our customer base. We used it to Inform them about the “Fuel situation” with regard to Ethanol. Sold a bunch of Fuel Water Separators. So…………………. for us the post card mailing has been well worth the effort.
And for Sales? Yes we use the post card But I not going to share what we do because some of my competitors may be reading and I do not want to give up one of our advantages. We grew again last year to capacity, 89 new boat sales out of our little boat store “Little” and the post card played a part.
November 25th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Right on point, Norm! The postcard is worth its weight in stamps. We have used it successfully and frequently to remind people of impending dates and events, special meetings, and new opportunities. Search the net and you can find some good deals on four-color larger postcards that don’t cost more than a first class letter, but you’re correct, the cards get read before they are filed! Your message will get through.