Get the Response that You Want with Folded Postcards

Postcards are the most economical yet the fastest way that you can get the response that you need from both your loyal customers and your likely customers. The limited space on the postcard allows you to maximize the use of it. You can either use the postcard as a whole or fold it in two to be able to make best use of its space.

Printed postcards are ways of making your design and format as personal as you can. It can also avoid getting with the junk mail because your message would be seen immediately. No use for sealed envelopes and unopened pages.

But using postcards as means of getting response would be challenging as well. While the limited space can be an advantage, it can be a disadvantage as well. The advantage of saying only limited things can also limit you to what things you can say to your targeted audience. This makes the content of your postcard make or break your success.

Postcards are also designed to be used easily. And with just this purpose, you have to think extra hard to serve just this function. In order to get the response that you want easily, you can make it into folded postcards.

Folded postcards are where one side of the postcard is divided into two sections. You can use one part for your advertisement and then place your return address on the other side. This is also one way of getting an immediate response from your audience.

You can do anything that you want on the other side of your folded postcard. You can put an image of your new product or an invitation to an upcoming event in your company. Since postcards are generally conceived as a medium using large images you can use this as a reason on using one whole side of the postcard as well on images. Just make sure that what you are putting together doesn't make it a muddle.

Most postcards are done simply and so it saves valuable time for the part of the reader. And so with its simplicity, the response would be instant as well. And each successful postcard is very simple, specific, concise and brief. Postcards also use an immediate call to action on its simplicity.

Postcards usually have forms that are easy to fill up. Multiple choices and forms that are easy to fill up like survey are where postcards are most commonly used.

Sure the postage for folded postcards would be more than the usual because it also serves as a return postcard, but the reaction would be immediate as well. The motivation that you give the readers would entice them to answer immediately.

Using postcards as a marketing tool is just one way of getting the response you want as fast as you want it to be.

Building A Better Brand in the New Year

The new year is well underway and many of us have been using the start of the new year to review, refine and/or restart various things in our businesses. For this article I want to concentrate on writing to encourage you to seize the opportunity to look at your branding for this year.

First, let's define branding. Branding is the process of building a favorable image for a product or company that differentiates it, in the minds of prospects and end users, from other competitors. Secondly, I hope you will agree that branding is strategically important to you and your business. And thirdly, if you have not thought about branding, I hope this article will cause you to start thinking about it for you and your business.

I suggest we employ some strategic thinking here. I want you to ask yourself some critical questions about your branding efforts last year and this year. Okay – here are my questions to you.

Did you consciously think about defining your brand at all?

Did you consciously use any branding techniques last year?

Did you set branding goals last year?

If you did not set branding goals, why not? If you did set them, what did you achieve?

Why did you achieve some goals, but not all goals?

What were the lessons learned from your efforts?

What will you do to change the outcomes of your efforts this year?

Once you have answered these questions, the next steps will be to:

Define your brand, if not already defined.

Revise the definition of your brand if necessary.

Set your branding goals for this year using your Strategic Plan's vision, mission and core values as a guide.

Break down each goal into individual tasks to achieve the goal.

Assign due dates for each task.

Monitor the timely completion of each task.

Hold yourself and other leaders accountable for the completion of each task.

Act on the above and you will be building a better brand in the new year.

Strategic Marketing Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach

Being strategic and thinking strategically in developing your marketing plan means you understand the needs and desires of your clients and customers, and you show them how your product/service satisfies those needs. You must know:
what value your product or service offers and what benefits it provides; what differentiates you and your product/service from the competition; who are your stakeholders, which may include: your suppliers, your bank, your subcontractors or vendors, your associates, your staff, your clients or customers, and of course the general public; where your clients and customers are located geographically; and what are the most effective distribution channels to deliver your product or service? When developing a strategic marketing plan, your strategic thinking business coach provides the following ten (10) strategic marketing tips.

Strategic Marketing Tip #1: Develop a strategic plan with a clearly defined and focused vision and mission for your business, along with core values and goals
As the foundation for all your business, marketing and other plans.

Strategic Marketing Tip #2: Develop a Strategic Action Plan that breaks down your goals into tasks with assigned leaders and completion dates.

Strategic Marketing Tip #3: Develop strong relationships with your stakeholders. People want to do business with people they know or with whom they have a positive relationship.

Strategic Marketing Tip #4: Be positive, persistent and patient.

Strategic Marketing Tip #5: Focus your primary marketing efforts on existing clients and customers since they are already doing business with you.

Strategic Marketing Tip #6: Develop and implement an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan.

Strategic Marketing Tip #7: Develop your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to differentiate you and your business from the competition.

Strategic Marketing Tip #8: Make effective use of the Internet by having an effective website.

Strategic Marketing Tip #9: Develop and implement an evaluation program for your marketing efforts and commit to continuous improvement of your marketing
program.

Strategic Marketing Tip #10: Develop and implement a customer contact management system to promote Top Of Mind Awareness (TOMA) as part of your marketing program.

Your strategic thinking business coach encourages you to develop strategic marketing plans. If you would like to learn more about how to use strategic thinking in developing your marketing program and plans and how a strategic thinking business coach can facilitate and guide you in that endeavor, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com