Postcard Printing for Business Marketing: Design online, print and post automation

In today's digital world, traditional customer marketing methods can be forgotten.

Call it a change of the times, but even the most brilliant marketers and CMOs may be unaware... Unaware of just how effective printing and posting postcards in the form of automated marketing is - differentiating many brands today from the digital noise. We're going to explain why (with the latest statistics and figures) for experienced marketers and brands why Direct Mail today is not what it used to be. As digital technology has improved, it's relationship with offline technology has as well. The two should not be looked at as different, but complimentary. You will also learn why and how ZAP~POST makes printing customer postcards and campaign letters as easy as sending an email, so let's get started.

 

 

What is Postcard Marketing?

Marketing with postcards entails mailing tangible postcards to prospective or current clients as a part of Direct Mail marketing strategy to advertise a company, product, or service. The goal of this approach is to capture interest with visually appealing designs and succinct messages, prompting the receivers to take a step, such as accessing a website or availing a promotional offer.

Postcard marketing offers a tangible, personalised touch that digital ads can't replicate. It's a versatile strategy, suitable for businesses of all sizes and sectors.

Designing business postcards online for customers has never been easier. With a plethora of design tools and templates at your fingertips, you can create eye-catching postcards that reflect your brand's identity.

But the process doesn't stop at design. Print and post services like ZAP~POST streamline the distribution process, saving you time and resources, while allowing you to design online instantly and connect your CRM system.

Direct mail automation takes this efficiency a step further. By integrating with your customer database, it enables targeted, personalised marketing campaigns.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the world of postcard printing for business marketing. We'll explore the benefits, the process, and the potential it holds for your business.

Whether you're a small business owner, a marketing professional, or an entrepreneur, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to leverage postcard marketing effectively. Let's get started.

 

Print Postcards for your Business with Marketing Automation

Postcard printing is a cost-effective marketing tool with a wide reach. It's a strategy that has stood the test of time, proving its effectiveness over the years. Nowadays however with new technology, they perform better than ever.

In an digitally saturated world, the tactile nature of business postcards gives businesses a unique edge. They offer a physical touchpoint, a tangible reminder of your brand that customers can hold in their hands. This makes your message more memorable, helping your brand stand out in a crowded market.

"Direct Mail holds the attention of consumers 118% longer than digital advertising."

-Canada Post

But the benefits of postcard marketing extend beyond memorability. Business Postcards are versatile, serving various purposes in your marketing strategy. They can be used for promotions, announcements, thank-you notes, and more. Even better, you can design postcards online, integrate your CRM, and use print and post automation. 

Here are some key benefits of postcard printing for business marketing:

• High Engagement Rates: Personalised postcards lead to higher engagement rates and better customer responses.

• Cost-Effective: Print and post services often provide bulk discounts, making large campaigns more affordable. They're typically even less expensive than digital advertising such as Google Ads.

• Targeted Marketing: Our Direct mail automation software integrates your customer databases for targeted marketing.

• Versatility: Postcards can be used for various purposes, including sales updates, offers, or rewarding VIPs.

• Memorability: The tactile nature of postcards makes them more memorable than digital advertisements.

 

 

Download our Direct Mail design templates.

In the following sections, we'll explore how to harness the power of printing postcards for your business. From designing your postcards online to leveraging Direct Mail automation, we'll guide you through each step of the process.

 

Designing Your Custom Postcards Online

ZAP~POST makes designing your customer postcards online a convenient and easy creative process. It allows you to customise your postcards to align perfectly with your brand kit to meet your marketing and sales goals.

Our online design tools offer a range of features to help you create impactful designs. You can choose from a variety of templates, or start from scratch. We offer two business postcard types, Zap Impact and Zap Square.

 

We also offer a tri-fold Direct Mail design which includes three panels on each side, as well as a Direct Mail letter option in a secured envelope called Zap Secure.

(pictures of Zap templates)

The ability to customise business postcards or campaign letters for your customers extends beyond design however. You can also personalise the content of your postcards to resonate with your target audience. This leads to higher engagement rates and better customer response.

Here are some key benefits of designing your customer postcards online:

• Convenience: You can design your postcards from anywhere, at any time.

• Customisation: Online design tools offer a range of customisation options, from templates to fonts and colours.

• Personalisation: You can tailor the content of your postcards to your target audience for higher engagement rates.

• Cost-Effective: Designing your postcards online is more affordable than hiring a professional designer.

"Adding a person’s name, full colour and more sophisticated database information can increase the response rate by up to 500% vs not doing any of these things."

 

Key Elements of Effective Customer Postcard Design

Curious how to design a customer postcard? A successful postcard design grabs attention and delivers your message effectively. It should be consistent with your brand and connect with your intended audience.

Incorporating striking visuals is crucial in grabbing attention. Top-notch pictures, vibrant colours, and innovative layouts make them noticeable - creating an emotive element for your customers and prospects.

Concise communication is just as vital too. Your message needs to be understandable and persuasive, with a powerful call-to-action that encourages customer engagement.

Get more Direct Mail marketing tips in our ZAP academy resources.

 

Utilising Templates and Customisation Options

Direct mailing web-based design utilities like our ZAP~POST app provide a convenient way to streamline the process. You can utilise our application as a foundation, then modify them to align with your brand.

Options for customisation encompass colours, typefaces, and formats. Additionally, you can incorporate your own visuals or select from a compilation of stock images.

Keep in mind, the objective is to generate a customer postcard that's visually enticing and proficient at transmitting your message. Hence, don't hesitate to explore various design components until you discover what suits your brand best. For the best conversion outcomes, you will want to complete multiple designs and test multiple mailer campaigns.

For assistance we will also setup one on one meetings at no extra charge! Also see our ZAP~POST academy resources to learn more about the most common questions we get around Direct Mail design, campaigns, and integrating CRM data.

 

Direct Mail Automation: Streamlining Your Customer Marketing Campaigns

Direct mail automation is a game-changer for businesses of all types and industries. From D2C Ecommerce mailers to Charity direct mail campaigns, It streamlines the process of sending out your Direct Mail pieces to your audience, making it more efficient and effective. We are your design studio and mail house all in one. Pretty nifty, right?

 

 

With Direct Mail automation, you can schedule your postcard mailings in advance. This ensures that your postcards reach your audience at the right time. Perhaps you have a new sale coming up or a new product to offer. Get your audience excited about your offerings!

Direct Mail automation integrates with your customer database. This allows for targeted marketing, where you can send personalised postcards to different segments of your audience.

Here are some key benefits of direct mail automation:

• Efficiency: Automating the process of sending out postcards saves time and resources.

• Targeted Marketing: Integration with customer databases allows for personalised and targeted postcard campaigns.

• Scheduling: You can schedule your postcard mailings in advance to ensure timely delivery.

• Tracking: Our Direct Mail automation software includes tracking features within the Zap app in tandem with Google Analytics tracking, allowing you to effectively measure the success of your campaigns.

 

Choosing the Right Direct Mail Automation Software

When it comes to running successful postcard campaigns for your business, the choice of Direct Mail automation software plays a critical role in achieving your desired outcomes. It is important to carefully select an app that is not only user-friendly but also provides a wide range of features to enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns. Furthermore, the software should seamlessly integrate with your existing systems to streamline the entire process and ensure maximum efficiency.

In addition to ease of use and feature variety, the ideal Direct Mail automation software should also offer a high level of flexibility and customisation options. This means that the software should be able to cater to the specific needs and goals of your business, providing bespoke solutions that align with your unique requirements. Moreover, having access to personalised support and guidance makes a significant difference in how well you are able to utilise the software for optimal results.

Furthermore, a key component of successful Direct Mail campaigns is the quality and accuracy of your data. Therefore, it is imperative to choose a software that not only helps in managing and organising your mailing lists but also offers Direct Mail data cleansing services for recipients. These services can help in ensuring that your campaigns reach the right audience, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions. By leveraging data cleansing tools, you will improve the overall effectiveness of your customer postcard campaigns, campaign letters, and maximise your return on investment.

Integrating with CRM for Personalised Postcards

Integrating your Direct Mail automation with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system streamlines your marketing efforts with ease. This integration allows you to send personalised postcards based on customer data. This includes prospects as well as loyal customers within various marketing segments.

For example, you can send a special offer to customers who haven't made a purchase in a while. Or, you can send a thank-you postcard to customers who have recently made a purchase.

This level of personalisation will lead to higher engagement rates and better customer responses. Your business will build stronger relationships with your customers, leading to increased loyalty and repeat sales.

 

Check out our ZAP~POST Direct Mail integrations.

 

Print and Post Services: The One-Stop Solution for Busy Marketers

Print and post services like ZAP~POST are a one-stop solution for busy marketers. Our services handle everything from giving you the tools to designing and printing your postcards - to mailing them out to your audience. We provide this solution because marketers are busy people; constantly juggling multiple tasks. From small teams to larger teams - with our comprehensive range of services, we assist in every step involved in creating and distributing postcards to your target customers.

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This means you don't have to worry about the logistics of printing and mailing. You can focus your energy on creating effective customer postcard designs and crafting compelling messages that really resonate instead.

Print and post services also provide bulk discounts, making large campaigns more affordable. We also ensure high-quality printing, which influences the perceived value of your brand.

Here are some key benefits of our print and post services:

• Convenience: Our Print and Post services handle all the logistics of printing and mailing your postcards and letters.

• Cost-Effective: Our Direct Mail services are cheaper than the most average costs of PPC today.

• Quality: Stand out with our high definition printing solutions.

• Sustainable: Our business postcards are recyclable, making sure we are eco-friendly in our practices.

*You can learn more about our Eco-Friendly Direct Mail Practices here and our very special partnership with Veritree.

 

How a Print and Post Service Saves Your Business Time and Money

When you use print and post services, you are not only saving time and money, but you are also streamlining your entire marketing process. By outsourcing the printing and mailing of your customer postcards, you free up valuable hours that can be better spent on growing your business with other important tasks. This convenience allows you to effectively manage large Direct Mail campaigns (add blog) without worrying about all the details and headaches of traditional mail sending.

In addition to the time-saving benefits, utilising print and post services leads to cost savings in the long run. When you streamline the process by eliminating unnecessary extra employee overhead, you win. You maximise your marketing budget and reach a wider audience without breaking the bank.

Furthermore, the high-quality printing provided by print and post services has the intangible aspect too. That is the impact on how your brand is perceived by customers. Crisp, professionally printed postcards convey a sense of professionalism and attention to detail, making a lasting impression and fostering loyalty. This attention to quality results in better customer response rates, increased brand recognition, and ultimately, a higher return on investment for your marketing efforts. By investing in high-quality printing services, you are investing in the long-term success of your business.

 

Tracking and Measuring the Success of Your Postcard Campaign

Tracking and measuring your customer postcard campaign is crucial. It allows you to understand what's working and what's not, so you can refine your strategy.

Our Direct Mail services include tracking features. These features allow you to measure the delivery of your postcards and campaign letter response rates. For QR code tracking with Direct Mail pieces, you conveniently measure it in our Zap app records - or google analytics with your utm links.

By tracking the success of your postcard campaign, you have the power to make data-driven decisions, similar to PPC campaigns. This will lead to more effective campaigns and a better return on investment.

 

Enhancing Your Marketing Mix with Business Letters

Enhancing your marketing mix with business letters can be a magical strategy to expand your reach and engage with your target audience. It comes off more genuine and authentic. A securely sealed envelope also builds a bit of anticipation for the end customer.

 

 

While postcards and digital advertisements have their place, business letters offer a personal touch that can resonate with customers on a deeper level. These letters (which we offer as Zap Secure) can be used to provide detailed information about your products or services, announce new offerings, or even express gratitude to your valued customers. We all love a little praise now and again right?

By integrating business letters into your marketing mix, you create a comprehensive strategy that combines both traditional and digital approaches, maximising the impact of your marketing efforts.

Complementing Postcards with Broader Marketing Materials

Customer Postcards, business letters, and email can work together to create a larger marketing strategy. Each of these materials has its own strengths and can be used to achieve different marketing objectives.

For example, postcards can be used to drive traffic to your website or physical location. Business letters on the other hand, can provide more detailed information about your products or services. Email combined with these other mediums create an omnichannel approach that stands apart from the competition. In fact one study showed marketers who combined an email with Direct Mail follow up saw an increase of 40%.

It's a smart combination for an omnichannel strategy (Direct Mail and email) (link to blog). By using a mix of business postcards and letters, emails, you can time these campaigns together and reach your audience in different and unique ways.

 

Case Studies: Successful Customer Postcard Marketing Campaigns

There are numerous examples of businesses that have successfully leveraged postcard marketing. These case studies provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of this marketing strategy.

Case studies about Direct Mail Results:

1) Only Curls

Only Curls needed to elevate their omni-channel marketing strategy to augment customer retention and bolster conversion rates. Recognising that digital channels were providing subpar returns, they needed alternative channels to foster connection & engagement. They wanted to reactivate lost customers and re-engage abandoned baskets with Direct Mail. Their results were a 17% conversion rate, 6 figures in sales, and 1627% ROI.

Read the full case study

2) Revolution Beauty

Revolution Beauty needed to elevate their omni-channel marketing strategy to build relationships with their customers after they had purchased. They had large segments of their data they couldn’t connect with via the usual digital channels, and many customers were not responding. Their goal was to reactivate lapsed customers with Direct Mail postcards monthly over a 12 month period. Their results were 400% return on ad spend (ROAS).

Read the full case study

3) Face the Future

Face the Future were a fast-growing business, and they were keen to try a new marketing channel that would help them retain and grow their customer base, whilst achieving a higher level of cut-through. Their digital marketing efforts were working, however some segments of customers were no longer responding to their email, loyalty and SMS efforts, so they wanted to try Direct Mail. The decided to run 3 test customer postcard campaigns over 3 months to different segments - with tailored messaging for each aligned to the audience. Their results were a 24.8% increase in orders and a 23.9% uplift in AOV.

Read the full case study

 

Analysing What Worked and Learning from Real Examples

By delving into the data and results of past successful custom postcard marketing campaigns, valuable insights can be gained for the planning and execution of future campaigns. For example, in the case of a thriving eCommerce brand, the utilisation of a compelling call-to-action and an irresistible promotional offer could've played a significant role in driving customer engagement and boosting sales. On the flip side, a successful real estate agency may have achieved its goals through the precise targeting of mailing lists and the delivery of pertinent content that resonated with potential clients.

Through a thorough analysis of these successful custom postcard marketing campaigns, businesses can uncover the specific tactics and strategies that contributed to their effectiveness. By applying these key learnings to their own marketing endeavours, companies can fine-tune their postcard marketing strategies to better connect with their recipient data and enhance the overall success of their campaigns. This iterative process of learning from past experiences and adapting marketing techniques accordingly will significantly increase the likelihood of achieving desired results and gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace.

 

Conclusion: Maximising Impact with Postcard Printing and Marketing Automation

Ultimately, marketing with customer postcards provides a distinct and efficient method for companies to engage with their desired audience - including sending out business letters as a part of your Direct Mail approach. With an effective design, message, and distribution plan, Direct Mail can greatly improve a company's marketing endeavours.

Whether employed as an independent strategy or integrated into a broader marketing scheme, postcards and letters enhance customer interaction, elevate brand visibility, and in the end, augment sales. By utilising the strength of postcard printing and marketing automation, companies can optimise their business marketing objectives.

Want to get your Direct Mail campaign started? Start designing your Direct Mail postcard or Business Letter now. Contact us if you have any questions.