Do you love the idea of sending personalized postcards to your clients as you go about marketing your small business?
You can do it in lots of different ways, and it’s a powerful technique.
Personalize Your Postcards With Mail Merge Technology
One way to personalize postcards is with a simple mail merge technique inside the text.
For example, let’s say you had a list of real estate prospects with names and addresses and city.
You could write a postcard that said something like this: Dear (name), Do you have a home in (city) that you are thinking about selling? I have recently been recognized by my brokerage as one of the leading listing agents in (city) and I have a great track record of getting 90% of my homes sold in 90 days or less for 95% of the listing price or greater. If you’re selling your (city) home, or know someone who is, I can offer you a free appraisal of your home’s value in the current marketplace. Call Today!”
Here’s another example of a personalized postcard for another industry: Dear (name), I was looking through my files the other day and your name came up. Can you believe we haven’t met since (date)? It’s been quite a while, as I usually like to meet with my clients more often than that. Why don’t you make an appointment to come in before (date) and we’ll let you in on some special “We want you back” pricing – My assistant Janis will tell you all about it when you call!”
Personalize Postcards With Your Special Message
An even better way to personalize postcards is to send a specific, individual message to the recipient of the card. If you can mention something about the person your writing to, so they know it’s “just for them” it will have a lot more impact than a generic message you send out to your mailing list.
Writing a postcard by hand is always the best way to personalize it, but there are automated solutions to handle this task, too. Imagine being able to write out a few personalized postcards on the computer and have them sent automatically every few months as a way to “tickle” your clients and remind them you’re out there. This type of automated system makes sure the postcards get sent when they should, instead of being relegated to the bottom of your To Do List where they are likely to be overlooked.
Remember to Brand Your Postcards and Stationary!
Also, whether you send a handwritten postcard, a mail-merged document, or use an automated postcard delivery service, remember to brand your stationary with your company name and contact information. A tasteful letter head, logo, or catch phrase, along with your contact information, will remind your client who they’re working with and how to get in touch with you, without taking away from the personal and thoughtful nature of your communication.
If you would like to see some samples of personalized marketing campaigns other small business owners are mailing out to their prospects, you can download this special report of Proven Marketing Campigns For Small Business Owners,
Want some fast, easy ideas for marketing a small business? Here’s a killer list of offline marketing ideas that have been proven to work!
10 Offline Methods For Marketing A Small Business
Write personal thank you letters to every client or prospect you talk with each day.
Go to business networking meetings such as the Chamber of Commerce, BNI, Trade Groups, etc. Be a regular and be a leader for extra visibility and credibility.
Send out a postcard with a special offer for a consultation, discount, or bundled package.
Write articles for magazines, appear as a guest on radio shows, or send out a press release to local media sources.
Write a book and sell it or give it away to qualified prospects.
Give speeches. Polish your skills at Toastmasters and then offer lunch and learn programs to groups like Kiwanis, Rotary, and trade groups or professional associations.
Make a personal call to everyone you’ve done business with in the past year and see how they are doing personally and how you can help them and their business. Then ask for referrals.
Go door knocking or make cold calls to your target market.
Put up pull-tab fliers or leave business cards with local businesses.
Find out who has influence over your target market, or works with many of the same clients, but is not in a competing industry. Take these folks out to lunch and try to find out how you can share more business together. (Example: Dentist and Orthodontist and Oral Surgeon or Real Estate Agent, Mortgage Broker, Title Insurance Company.)
These ideas should get your thoughts cooking in some new directions.
It’s easy for us to get stuck in a run doing the same old thing when it comes to marketing a small business. Sometimes doing the thing that makes you uncomfortable is the best way to break through some self-limiting barriers and get exposure to a whole new group of prospects and networking contacts.
Be creative and be consistent. Give any new marketing approach 6 months to test before you decide it’s not working for you. Often, people need to have several exposures to your message before they decide they are interested in doing business with you.
Think these ideas were good… wait til you see my proven marketing campaigns – the actual mailers that small business people use to generate business and build relationships with their clients all year long.