Postcard Marketing works! Why? Because most consumers are impressed by them. Consequently, companies and businesses that use them to introduce and promote new products and services often get the results they desire; increased customers and sales.
And while there may be many reasons for why businesses and companies prefer postcard marketing campaigns I think it comes down to this - designing postcards and related campaigns can be fun in that you get to tap into the creative part of your personality; designing postcards, writing the marketing messages, and selecting the targeted audience designed to net you the highest possible return on your investment.
Still, marketing with postcards does not always work... and when it doesn't you can usually point to a few specific things that went wrong - starting with the implementation.
Mistake #1. Sending of postcards to the wrong people
Postcard marketing campaigns are doomed to fail if you don't target the right audience. For example, if you are targeting military personnel a postcard that appeals to civilians may not produce your desired results. Sending your creative postcards to the wrong people is arguably one of the biggest mistake you could commit, but marketers do it everyday. Don't let it be you, though.
Mistake #2. Failure To Follow Up
Most marketing campaigns require mailings to the recipients to leverage the desired outcomes. However, may marketers mail marketing materials once and never followup. The only case I know of where that wasn't a monumental waste is with my expired letter listing system, wherein I developed and refined a single letter campaign that got me two plus listings a week.
But generally speaking though you should not expect good results from a single mailing campaign. You need to follow up at least 3-4 times in order to achieve the level of success you desire.
Mistake #3. Not Connecting With Your Targeted Audience
Consumers value postcards with messages that they can relate to, which is achieved by the art work, words used, tone of the communications, clarity of the messages and calls to action.
In closing you stand a much better chance of having successful postcard marketing campaigns if you avoid thees mistakes.