—Jenny Pedersen
Vega Furniture Store
And because there’s no envelope to hide with prospects. They
the message, it’s absorbed instantly, con- keep in touch with long-
sciously or not, even if the postcard goes right time customers, who may
into the round file. A letter that goes directly feel neglected in the shuffle
into the trash, unopened, can’t compete. for new business. And they
reach out to past clients. Plus,
Postcards are keepers regular mailings increase
Because of their size, postcards, when word-of-mouth referrals.
combined with a pretty picture, a funny sen- The first postcard series
timent or just plain useful information, grab Swanson mailed was a Letterman-like
attention and beg to be saved. You might see Top 10 list of reasons not to use the
them pinned to a bulletin board, stuck on a company, mailed in reverse order. In
refrigerator or tucked into a purse. 1994, Creative Techs experimented
“I’ll go into people’s offices, and they’ll with a tear-off business card, which it
still have my postcards hanging up,” remarks still uses today. This season’s series of
Ciesielka. “And then they’ll say to me, oversized postcards is made up almost
‘When is the next one coming?’” entirely of text—a clever, bold heading and
This staying power, whether a result of descriptive copy. “The Stickers That Get You
design or content, means postcards have sev- Unstuck” reads one headline. Peel-off stick-
eral more opportunities to make an impres- ers with the company’s phone number and
sion on customers—or their friends and web site are affixed directly underneath.
business associates. “Most companies have a binge and purge
CreativeTechs, Inc. has long been sold attitude toward marketing,” says Swanson.
on the benefits of postcards. “Postcards are a “They spend a lot of money on on-again off-
great way to keep in touch with people,” says again marketing tactics and lose contact with
President Craig Swanson, who understands clients. A series of postcards enhances your
the importance of being top of mind at just relationship with your customers.”
the right time. Creative Techs offers technical If your small business is looking for an
support to design professionals, who may effective and affordable way to stay in touch
need the company’s services just once or with its customers—drop ’em a postcard. C
twice a year.
The Seattle company and Costco member has made multiple postcard mailings a Seattle-based consultant Tracy Schneider
regular part of its marketing plan since 1992, writes about small-business issues.
sending six to 10 postcards each year to a
mailing list of 3,500 people. Postcards work
for everyone on CreativeTechs’ list. They
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