Why should I consider a postcard campaign?
Today’s consumers are bombarded online by digital advertising in the form of emails, social media posts and online advertising to name but a few. So much so that it is difficult for brands to cut through the noise and get their messages heard.
Whilst digital is by no means dead, it highlights the significance and effectiveness of traditional forms of marketing such as direct mail.
This can take many forms from leaflets and fliers to the trusty old enveloped letter. However, when optimizing your return on investment, it is evident that postcard campaigns come up trumps. With 53% of potential recipients claiming they will read a postcard, compared to only 30% for an enclosed letter, the numbers speak for themselves.
When should I send a postcard campaign?
There is no time like the present. With Christmas just around the corner and so many consumers now working from home, postcards offer an extremely efficient and flexible marketing tool for any type of business.
Moreover, with digital communications impacted by GDPR, direct mail is seeing a revival. As found by JICMAIL, recent research highlighted that the average number of times a consumer interacted with a piece of direct mail was 4.28 times - the highest amount recorded.
Alongside this, the average lifespan of direct mail increased by 9% to 8.5 days, creating more opportunities for engagement and consumers to take action. Even in the digital age, large brands such as MyProtein are using postcards as a cornerstone for their marketing campaigns.
Cost-effectiveness
Postcard marketing can offer excellent value for money for marketers. Due to the bulk nature of printing and mailing, they can be delivered for as little as 28p per lead.
In addition, direct mail advertising can complement digital efforts, resulting in higher engagement and response rates. The Data and Marketing Association (DMA) reported that as a result of receiving direct mail, 92% of those surveyed were driven to an online activity, with 87% influenced to make a purchase online.
In particular, the DMA noted the following sectors to benefit the most from direct marketing:
· B2Bproducts and services
· Travel
· Retail
· Hospitality
· Travel
· Education
· Car dealerships
· Councils
· Estate and letting agencies
Time-efficient and simple to create
Postcard campaigns are extremely quick and easy to create. With SendVia’s user friendly postcard campaign platform, all you need is your creative piece of A6 artwork, some targeted messaging and a list of contacts. They can then be printed and mailed on the same day as the order is placed!
High read and response rates
With highly targeted and personalised messaging, consumers do actually read postcards. Without the need for opening, they’re easily picked up, read and cannot be ignored. Just make sure your artwork and messaging is eye-catching!
Even once the postcard has been set aside, the reader(and anyone near them!) will have been exposed to your branding. Consequently, their brand recall and recognition should mean that when it comes to needing your product or service, you’ll be the first name on their minds.
Multi-channel integration and data reactivation
As mentioned above, while we live in a digital age, brands are finding that by combining their digital channels with targeted postcard campaigns, they are seeing greater marketing results. The application programming interface (API) connectivity of postcard campaign platforms means that consumers can be sent tailored, personalised mail based on their unique sales journey. It also means brands can have postcards sent out automatically based on rules that they set.
Further to this, the recent tightening of GDPR legislation has left many brands with large lists of data they cannot communicate with via digital channels. However, the rules on communicating with opted-out data via the post is different to digital channels, meaning brands can use postcard campaigns to reactivate lost digital data.
What fast and effective results can be seen?
The limited space offered by a postcard forces brands to use clear, concise messaging and powerful imagery. When combined with a powerful, clear call to action, this results in the marketing message being delivered with maximum impact – producing magnified marketing results.
Why now?
There has never been a better time to create a postcard campaign. With Christmas on the horizon, alongside the considerable growth of eCommerce, and more people staying at home than ever before – it is a hugely effective addition to your marketing strategy.
If you want to utilise the power of the postcard and achieve direct marketing success, checkout SendVia’s postcard campaign builder to launch your very own campaign.
