Massage Marketing with Postcards
In my experience one of the best ways to communicate marketing messages to your prospects and customers is through direct mail. There are a number of ways to use direct mail effectively, and postcards are right on top. —Joe Garcia, marketing consultant and author of Give to Get Marketing Solutions.
This month I questioned our best marketing consultants — our customers — to find out what’s working. I wanted to know, “Who are you sending postcards to?” “What kind of specials are you offering?” “What kind of response are you getting?” What I found were some very creative customers who were willing to experiment until they found what works for them and their clients. What works for one practitioner doesn’t necessarily work for the next, but they ALL find that some kind of postcard campaign works to bring in both returning clients and new ones.
Let me introduce you to your colleagues.
has been in business
for 3 years, and has been mailing postcards for over 2 of those years.
She gives $10 off on all her offers. She has sent both holiday and birthday
messages, but her Thanksgiving
postcard is
by far the most effective. This Thanksgiving, she sent out 100 — thirty
of those had booked by February first.
Marie attributes the great return on that mailing to her
message of appreciation (“Down to Earth Therapeutic Massage would like to give thanks”)
plus the fact that she handwrites a personal note in addition to her
personalized message. When clients bring the card in, they often say how much
they appreciate both the card and the message.
learned
for himself that postcard campaigns get results. In 2007, he didn’t
send postcards at the holidays,
and sold $1000 in gift certificates. Last year, 2008, he sent a Christmas
mailing announcing this offer: “Buy
a gift certificate by Dec. 31st, and get the second one
for 25% off.” His sales increased to $4000! Many clients
who bought one the year before, bought two in 2008.
Jon emails the same offer for a “double hit,” as he called it. But he added, “With postcards, there is a nice looking card to hold in your hand. With email, people delete a lot of messages every day.” Jon
sent 320 cards at Christmas. Since then, his mailing list has grown to
400. And half the bookings since the holidays have been new clients due to
gift certificate sales, an impressive boost for his fledgling business.
gets
a great return on postcard mailings — 40 to 50%! She gives $5 off in
her ongoing birthday discount
program, and mails Christmas postcards (“cheaper than greeting cards”),
offering 10% off gift certificate purchases. The only lackluster response
she received was when she sent “It’s been awhile” cards
to folks who had not scheduled for some time.
On her Christmas postcard this year, below her personalized
business information, she handwrote both “Happy Holidays,” and special offers for both gift certificate purchases and aromatherapy sessions. She sent 400 postcards to regulars as well as clients going back 2 years. Barbara has found her offers work fine without an expiration date — she doesn’t
want anyone to miss out.
Try it yourself
If you haven’t tried postcard mailings, target a
group you would like to see more often, mail them an offer, then track how
they respond. Chances are good your clients will make it worth your while.
Here’s an example of a postcard layout you could use right away for the year’s
next event, Tax Day!
Stay tuned for more interviews with your colleagues next month!
For more information on postcard campaigns, check out these articles:
Promotional ideas for the holidays
Promos
that target your clients’ real concerns
If
you like these tips, please pass them on to your friends and colleagues.
You may also reprint this article on your website, e-zine, or print newsletter.
Please include the following paragraph with a link to our site:
Reprinted with
permission from Natural Touch Marketing™ for the Healing Arts. Natural
Touch Marketing offers professional tools for nurturing a thriving practice
by building relationships, sharing your knowledge, and showing that you
care. Free resources incude monthly articles, quick tips and tricks, interviews
with successful practitioners and more. Visit them at www.NaturalTouchMarketing.com. |
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