Marketing Article
Postcard Designs that FAILED
I spend a lot of time talking about how we at PostcardMania track our campaign results so we can show you examples of what has already worked for businesses like yours. I do this because it is basically the biggest thing that separates us from the competition, but there is another side to that coin…
I can also show what has ABSOLUTELY NOT worked for businesses like yours. And thanks to a little digging, I can also tell you why those campaigns failed. So let’s start with these three…
Postcard Designs that HAVE NOT Worked
1. This Denture Card
- 2 Mailings of 6,000 postcards
- Targeted 44–81 year-olds with $75,000+ income
- Generated only 2 calls and 0 new patients
OK — this pains me. No pun intended! I’ve seen this before where the client insists on targeting a market that is WAY too specific when we know it won’t be a great result. In MOST cases, the more specific, the better. But in this case, there was no way to know that the people on the list were even interested in dentures! Plus, new patients in this market are generated almost exclusively by referrals. So while the design is not great, the target market was the real culprit here. No design would have stood much of a chance. I’m so glad he did another more general card (with good results!) and didn’t give up on marketing with postcards!!!
See some GOOD dental marketing samples here…
2. This Hearing Aid Card
- Mailed 5,184 postcards
- Targeted age 56+ with $60,000+ annual income
- Generated 3 calls and 0 sales
Oh boy. You know how I said the last one wasn’t the design’s fault? This one is definitely the design’s fault. I mean, at first glance, would you have ANY idea that this was a postcard about hearing aids? Me neither. The image does not support the headline in any way I can think of. I guarantee most of these cards went in the trash without the recipient even knowing what the message was. I can’t say it enough: you have to be CLEAR in your messaging. Otherwise, even the best prospects won’t respond – because they won’t bother to read your offer!
See a great Hearing Aid card (and the results) here…
3. This Home Care Card
- Mailed 10,700 postcards
- Targeted zip codes in Russian/Polish speaking sections of NYC
- Generated 8 calls and 0 new patients
Here we have a failed campaign that wasn’t the fault of the design OR the list. The fault was in the execution: They mailed one time! Deciding on a home care professional is a HUGE decision for people. They need to see the message a few times before they’ll even consider it. This client needs a great landing page to pair with the postcard to really get prospects to trust their company. There isn’t a URL anywhere on the card. This is sooo important so people can go online and learn more! I can’t stress this enough! Repeat message!!!
If this client had used DirectMail2.0 paired with a great website, they would have made a ton of money off of this card. We try so hard to get our clients to mail more than once to the same list, and if you read this FREE chapter of my book and you will understand why!
See a home care card that WORKED here…
What do you think? Do you like seeing examples of what DOESN’T work? Thanks so much for reading! As always, let me know if I can help you in anyway. Drop me a line at Joy.Gendusa@PostcardMania.com!
Best,
Joy
