Years ago on a job interview I was asked a questions about direct response marketing.  The question was What Can You Sell With Direct Marketing?  Being the “expert” in direct response marketing…I answered “pretty much anything” and then it hit me.  The agency had a bottled water client as well as other clients selling consumer packaged goods.  I quickly qualified my comment to exclude those sorts of products.

The point I was going to make was that if there is a defined/target market for a product or service you can find a way to market, advertise and sell using direct response media.  To make a long story short I got the job and had a lot of fun helping our clients become better and smarter database and direct marketers.

So what is my point?  The other day I worked with my son on a video. He had to “sell” his classmates on the book he read for a class book report.  We used a direct response television (DRTV) style to make his commercial.

So in short Direct Response Marketing done right can sell anything (except maybe bottled water).

Would you read this book?  Did we “sell it” to you?

The postcard has many uses in marketing.  Over the last few days I have been thinking a lot about their pros and cons.  I figured I would think on this blog and share my list about the simple postcard.

A postcard by USPS standards is no larger then 4×6.  So when should you use this potentially very effective mailing device?

Pros:

• Postage is lower then any other class of mail
• Fast and easy to print and mail out
• Inexpensive to produce in small or large quantities
• Great for timely promotions or specials
• Can be used as a reminder to an earlier direct mail effort
• You can use graphics and text to communicate

Cons:

• May get lost in your consumers mail pile
• Limited space to tell your story
• Size limits room for creativity (although you can be creative)
• Too small to send to a potential prospect if the message is long or complex
• May not perform as well as a larger mail piece (test, test and test)
• Some marketers rely too often on mailing postcards when other formats would be better suited.

I think the pros win but remember to make sure your marketing goals match the medium.

So, if you have a limited budget, pressed for time or want to get a simple or promotional message across the postcard can be a great asset.  If your product is complex and you have a few marketing dollars to play with go with a different format.  There are always exceptions to every rule so make sure to test and read results.

Stay tuned for the “edge of your seat” posting on double postcards… yes, there is such a thing but since their use is more limited I will keep those tidbits in my head.

Does mailing a postcard work for your business?

Let me know by posting a comment.

I get a lot of sales calls.  It always amazes me when the sales person forgets all their manners and just talks over you, ignores your time constraints and then drops the ball on the follow-up.  Just the other day a media sales rep had me on the phone (I couldn’t get a word in so I could end the call…) finally he asked when he could follow up to get my decision.  I said 10 days.  Would you believe he then asked if he could call sooner?  To make matters worse he then called twice the next day to ‘check in’.

Few things annoy me more then being asked a question just to have the answer ignored.  Think about how annoying those calls to your credit card company are when you type in your account number and then when you finally get someone on the phone, the first thing you are asked for is your account number.

If you are selling to someone (online, in person, over the phone) and ask them a question make sure you use that information. If you are not going to use information don’t ask for it.  If you are able to use the information to customize your communication or create a relevant offer then ask away. If not, keep it simple.

When you are thinking about what data to collect keep in mind testing variations.  Do you get better results with less info or more? Can you ask the same question in two different ways and get different results?

Here are some questions to ask yourself before asking your customers alot of questions:

• Do you need that extra question or want it for the future?
• How will I use this info to make my customer’s experience better?
• Can I get this information from another source?
• Do we ask the same question in another way somewhere else in the sales cycle?
• Is the question clear?  Does it solve the problem we need to answer?
• Are your questions leading to the answers you want or do they get you the info you need?

What works for your business?  Let me know and please enter your account number so we can pull up your account…