by Joy Gendusa
http://www.postcardmania.com
© 2005
So you’re starting a small business. You
figured out what you
wanted to sell or do and went out and got it all set up, had
your DBA framed and on the wall and now all you need is for
someone to buy your product or use your service. Right?
How are you going to go about getting your public to know you
even exist?
Promote! Promote! Promote!
Well that all sounds simple, but say you’re a financial
specialist, a boat builder or llama farmer. They probably
didn’t teach the basic principles of starting small business
promotional campaigns in boat-builders’ school. So what do
you
need to know, and how do you go about it?
Let’s start with the “Basic Principles” of promotion:
What is Promotion?
Promotion (pru•mō′•shun) n. Anything,
as
advertising, public appearances, etc., done to publicize (get
the attention or interest of the public) a person, product,
event, etc. The New Webster’s Concise Dictionary2003
Encyclopedic Edition
Why do you promote?
The purpose of promotion is to make sure people know you are
in
business. You promote because if you don’t, you won’t
make it in
business. You promote because it is communication that you need
to engage in in order to survive. You promote in order to
expand and get the attention or interest of the public for your
products or services. You promote because if you don’t, no
one
will know you exist and no one will buy from you and…well,
you
get the point.
How do you promote?
There are more ways than you would ever think. Have you ever
heard someone say, “I never promote and I am always busy”
OR “I
don’t have to promote, all my business comes from
word-of-mouth”? They may not be aware of how they’re
doing it,
but I promise you they are promoting somewhere. Maybe they just
go around telling everyone they talk to, that they don’t
promote. (Sound funny? It’s still promoting.) Maybe their
larger-than-life running water faucet in front of their store
attracts so much attention that they don’t need to do anything
else. Well here are some ideas you can do “knowingly”
to drive
in the business.
• Greeting your customers with a smile is a great place
to
start.
• Calling your customers after they have had a chance to
use
your product is a good way to promote that you care about their
experience with your organization. It can also create an
opportunity to make more sales.
• A neatly packaged product, the shipping label on straight,
promotes that you take pride in what you do.
• Always keep up-to-date brochures or catalogs about your
business in your reception area for people to see and take with
them.
• If you have customers coming into your business, make
sure
they are greeted pleasantly, professionally, and immediately.
Anything that gets the attention or interest of the public for
the company, its employees, its products or services (in a
positive way) is promotion.
But how do you go about promoting to the masses?
Here is a story that could save you thousands of marketing and
promotional dollars, as well as months or years of experience.
“I was working as the Communications & Promotional Director
in
a medium size business. We were fortunate enough to have our
own commercial printing press, that put out lots of very fancy
letters, catalogs, brochures and other promotional items, and
oh yes, envelopes to put them in. My full time pressman and his
helpers, spent several days each week getting everything
printed, cut, folded and sent over to the mailing house.
“There, they had machines that automated all the stuffing,
sorting, addressing and stamping. All in all everything was
going very well. We were sending out about 40,000 pieces per
week at a cost of about $10,800.00, and getting around 120 to
140 good leads per week. This generated an average of 2 new
sales per week for a product that cost around $12,000, and
re-sign income of around $45,000 more. We weren’t growing
very
fast, but we were making money.
“THEN…911 hit.
“Suddenly, nobody wanted to open envelopes. Our leads were
dropping to nothing. We were heading toward our own disaster
like so many other companies did. I knew I needed to promote,
but what good did it do if nobody read it!
“I was talking to the owner of the mailing house and he
suggested the use of POSTCARDS instead of letters. So we
decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I had much less money
to allocate towards promotion, so I started by sending about
20,000 postcards weekly. The total cost-per-piece, needing only
one day on the presses, half the labor at the mail house and a
substantial decrease in postage, was reduced by about 60%.”
What was the result? Try 120 to 140 leads per week!
Why?
• You don't have to open a post card!
• You see it right away, the bright picture is not hidden
from
view by an envelope.
• The message leaps right out and you can't ignore it or
throw
it in the trash unopened (the fate of many bulk mail pieces).
Postcards are the best medium to reach new customers
when starting a small business promotional campaign.
