Direct Mail Post Cards

When the powers-that-be start lowering the interest rate, it generally means that the economy is in trouble.  People are losing their jobs, having to work twice as hard for the same amount of money, or the prices are rising as the wages are falling.  So, the hope is to lower the cost of financing, so more individuals are encouraged to buy, thus stabilizing the economy.  Unfortunately, when consumers start hanging on to their money, businesses start to suffer the strain.  While some will survive, until the economy revives, others will close their doors for the last time. If you want to be a survivor, then you need to know how direct mail postcards can help recession-proof your business.

Recognizing your Most Valuable Resource

If you want to save your business, during hard economic times, you need to recognize your most valuable resource.  Your customer database is what will keep your enterprise afloat, when others are sinking under the weight of the economy.  You have the information needed to keep in touch with those that are already familiar with the goods and/or services that you have to offer.  Use it!

Recognizing your Value

Next, you need to recognize your value to the community and your customers.  You have served them well in the past, and you will continue to do so.  But, you also need to help customers recognize your value.  You are an expert in your field.  You know all about the product or service you provide.  Give consumers a reason to seek you, rather than the competition.  

For example, if you sell sewing machines, give the customer a bit more than a simple discount. Offer a series of sewing lessons on Tuesday afternoons. Anyone who has purchased a machine from your store is welcome to attend, free of charge.  You might also show your customers how to troubleshoot problems that they can easily fix at home, so they can keep sewing.

Actually, it doesn’t really matter what you provide in a product or a service.  You can always find something that you can give to the customer, as a way to thank them for their patronage.  A direct mail postcard is a way to get that message out to those people who have already been in contact with you in the past.

You are the expert.  You know more about the product or service you sell than anyone.  You need to share that knowledge. Give the consumer something that makes you indispensible. You have something the customer needs that only you can provide.  It is up to you to discover that quality.  Then, use that edge when creating the perfect direct mail postcard.

Outdo the Competition

If you want to stay in business during a recession, you need to be as good as the competition, and then go above and beyond that point.  Whatever they do, you must be just a little bit better.

Think of something that will differentiate your business from every other similar provider within the community.  What product or service can you add to your business that will make you unique?  How can you make what you sell a necessity to more of the people within your targeted market?  How can you change your product or service to include a larger segment of the population?

In essence, you need to always be one step ahead of the other businesses that want to take your customers.  You must be open to new ideas, and constantly considering ways to change and grow your business, despite the economy.

The Value of the Postcard

Now that you recognize your most valuable resource, believe in your own value as an expert entrepreneur and have thought of ways to make your business indispensible to your target market, you are ready to use direct mail postcards to help recession-proof your business.

You will need to plan a concise advertising campaign that will fit on a postcard – the bigger the better.  It doesn’t have to be a small pocket-sized card.  You will only have approximately four seconds to attract the recipient’s attention.  Otherwise, all of your efforts will be wasted on the inside of a trash bin.

However, even if you have to hire an advertising expert to help you develop the first mail campaign, this type of ad is generally more cost-effective than other forms of advertising.  Then, once you get the hang of it, there are programs available so businesses can develop their own direct mail campaigns, whenever they have something special to offer and promote.

In short, recession-proofing your business will take time and effort on your part.  But, if you make your product or service necessary to your target audience, the reward will be keeping your doors open, when other businesses are closing theirs for the last time.  Then, long after the economic hard times are over, your loyal customer base will still remain, largely because you knew how to make the most of direct mail postcards.