Postcard printing and direct mailing is like mainlining your message right into the customer’s brain; they don’t even have to open an envelope, and your message and offer are right in their hands. So don’t screw up this opportunity. Reinforce your message and your offer by giving them one of these “can’t miss” incentives to sign up, call in, and make purchases with your company.
Nobody likes to part with their money. If the customer can delay the pain of coughing up his hard-earned dough, he will. Getting something for nothing, even if the buyer knows she will have to pay for it eventually, feels good, and people are more likely to act when the time to pay is somewhere in the future.
When you time it right, the option to rush your product to customers or their gift recipients can work wonders. The week before Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Hanukkah, and other major holidays is a great time to offer expediting shipping services to desperate last-minute shoppers who don’t have a lot of time on their hands.
There is nothing people like less than paying for “shipping and handling” costs. Just look at the success of Amazon’s Prime membership, which offers members the privilege of receiving many items with fast two-day shipping and at no cost to the buyer. Many spoiled shoppers no longer even consider buying from catalogs or the internet unless there is an offer of free shipping. Anytime you advertise free shipping on your postcard mailer, you will open up doors to a whole new segment of consumers.
You’ve seen the offers at smoothie joints and coffee shops. Now make it work for you. You can make your postcard into a punch card customers can bring in to get “points” for their purchases, with the incentive of eventually getting a freebie for their loyalty. As an added bonus, this will allow you to see firsthand how effective your mail campaign has been.
When you offer a free gift for a limited time only, your customers will jump at the chance to take home a freebie and they’ll be encouraged to make purchases within a time-frame they normally may not have acted within. Choose stuff everyone can use – tote bags, free song downloads, T-shirts, kids’ toys, chocolates, or elite bath products – and you’ll maximize the appeal of your free gift. This is one of the best ways to bribe your customer.
Offer your customers a small gift simply for coming into the store and trying a product. Maybe the gift can even be a sample of said product. And then offer them another, larger free gift when they actually purchase the product. This will not only make your customers view you in a favorable light – everyone appreciates generosity – but it will consistently keep you on their minds, bring them into the shop often, and turn them into loyal repeat customers.
When you give customers a choice of which free gift to select, you get them so worked up about all their free options that they forget the fact that they are actually spending money.
Use one of these bribes per postcard mailer and watch your traffic – and your earnings – increase, along with customers’ smiles.
About Jenny DixonJennifer has been apart of the EliteFlyers.com team for over 15 years. She brings a deep understanding of web marketing, thoughtful strategies, that she's able to design, manage, print, deliver multi-media campaigns to meet all client's goals. Her personal portfolio includes high-end design and printing of business cards, flyers, post cards for elite businesses and individuals from all over the world.
