Are Postcards Still an Effective Marketing Tactic?

Outbound or Inbound?

A great deal of the debate among marketers today centers on the issue of inbound versus outbound marketing strategies. Of course, every progressive marketer is now fully aware of the advantages of successful inbound marketing techniques. This is the process whereby you the customer or prospect initiates the conversation with your company, as opposed to you trying to get their attention by traditional advertising or outbound processes.

The problem in this ongoing discussion is found in making the issue one of either-or. The reality is that a modern, cost-effective marketing strategy is almost always going to consist of carefully integrating both approaches. Certainly, the days of spending thousands of dollars a month on yellow page advertising are over for most companies. Likewise, simple mass mailings of unattractive direct mail pieces are probably useful in only a few circumstances today.

However, it is important to remember that today’s marketing message is all about the conversation. It’s great when the customer initiates that process, but it’s up to the company to make it a truly two-way and productive conversation. While you can respond with an email (and many fail to even do this), there are many traditional ways to follow up with prospects and clients that are cost-effective and relevant. According to a recent article in Agency Access, postcards are one of the most effective and affordable means of keeping that conversation going.

There are several reasons that postcards remain popular with creative marketers. At the heart of these are the capabilities of modern printing. Stunningly attractive postcards can be personalized and printed in small quantities to address any number of special needs for communications. Modern web-to-print services even provide full addressing and mailing services. These nifty items affordably and professionally announce a special event, send an automated reminder, or blanket a neighborhood with news of a grand opening.

Postcards may seem old school to some, but to many savvy marketers they’ve graduated to a new and powerful marketing tool that leverages inbound marketing success.