Prozac for angels

Postcard printing is not usually the major marketing strategy that most businesses use. Modern multi-media gadgets usually prevail over it.

The advent of all our modern multi-media gadgets and accessories, most firms opt for Internet, Radio and Television promotions as the media of choice over postcard mailing. This trend however is actually a good opportunity to invest in postcard printing.

With all this marketing going on in various electronic media, it can get to a point where there is too much saturation, numbing the minds of the market desensitizing them to electronic promotions. Postcard printing can be a fresh alternative to this, and you can do many trailblazing business strategies to gain an extra amount of market share through postcard mailing.

Product promotions

First, postcards can actually be re-tasked to promote your products. Much like a flier or brochure, you can add in a marketing design in the postcard cover for people to read. You can try putting a nice image of the product in the cover, plus some explanatory text about what the product is and how people will benefit from using it in their lives.

Of course, if you are promoting a location or event, then that pictures should be of that location or the things that would be happening in that event. Regardless, the postcard cover should suffice to present a small and simple promotional message about your products. When you send this message to precisely picked addresses, then you should have a good chance of advertising your products to potential customers easily.

Brand and company exposure

Also besides promoting specific products, your postcards can also be a public relations tool. You can use them to promote the image of the company and your brand so that they can familiarize themselves with the image or attitude that you want to adopt.

By mailing postcards to a wide variety of people, you can make people recognize the name of your company, your products and the lifestyle that it is supposed to promote. This should establish your reputation to the public ensuring their trust in you and your products. I hope that in time, this also translates into sales as well.

Consumer relationship building

Besides the firm itself though, you can also use your postcards to develop close personal relationships with your consumers. By adding a friendly message to your color postcards, plus by inviting them to write some feedbacks and opinions, you can eventually form a nice rapport with them to the point that they become loyal customers. Getting a nice consumer base in several locations is a good and very valuable thing since it gives you a constant source of revenue that can be useful when markets go volatile.

Proper promotional cash management

Of course, production wise, postcards are the cheap marketing alternative when compared to others out there. Color postcards can easily be printed even at home, and you do not really have to have formal training to achieve a professional looking finish. In addition, many cheap postcard printing services are out there that can be quite affordable and convenient for most people. Therefore, it is very economical and practical to use postcards for promotions, especially if the budget has little or no room for anything more.

Therefore, as you can see, postcards can perform many roles that can help businesses in their sales, public relations and even their budget spending. Indeed a color postcard is something that many firms should consider using in their promotions. The medium can perform many tasks and can be your key to success in promoting your business.

Katie Marcus writes about postcard mailing or postcard printing.

Copyright (c) 2008 Curtis Bingham

Procrastination can be painful. When I recently noticed the flashing light on my car’s dashboard telling me that it was time service my brakes, I thought that perhaps I would get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow turned into next month… and then the most horrible noise could be heard from the rear brakes. When I finally got them repaired, I ended up paying more than four times what I would have if I had taken the car in when I first noticed the warning.

Business leaders often procrastinate establishing or updating their business strategy. Refining strategy is uncomfortable because you have to acknowledge the goals that weren’t met, or the activities that slipped by the wayside. It is sometimes hard to tear yourself away from the tangible, immediate issues at hand. For many busy executives, it seems impossible to take the time away from a hectic schedule filled to overflowing with customer fires, internal crises, delivering for customers, or closing new business. But what are the consequences of NOT stepping off the runaway train and spending time preparing for the future?

1. Customers grow tired of inadequate service and take their business elsewhere. Hopefully they don’t take some of your other customers with them.

2. You are so busy serving existing customers that you don’t have the capacity to bring in new customers, forestalling growth

3. Without new customers, you have no way to compensate for inevitable customer churn

4. Your employees are ineffective at best, and at worst, begin to burn out and leave. How much would it cost you if 50% of your employees were ineffective 10% of the time? For 200 employees, you may be losing a minimum of $1.5M each year!

5. Your competitors pass you by

6. Worst of all, you suffer from burnout.

Postponing the development of strategy may be a short-term strategy in and of itself, but it is ineffective. Unfortunately, the treadmill you’re on keeps running, dragging you with it, until you choose to get off and readjust.

For your business to succeed, you need to allocate time each year to evaluate and update your long-term strategy. In addition, you also need to set aside a smaller amount of time each month to test & refine it. By ensuring that you are regularly evaluating and refining your strategy, you ensure that your customers, competitors, or the market don’t leave you behind.

The time you set aside for strategy must be sacred; otherwise, it gets put off like my brakes until the penalty is much greater than the prevention. December is typically a good time to evaluate your business strategy because many customers are unavailable. Schedule the time and “Just Do It!”