When Theodore Hook invented the first postcard in the early 1800’s, he must have known he was on to a winner. The simplistic ability to say hello with a personalised touch, with the advantage of being cheaper than a letter meant the nation became ‘hooked’ on postcards.

Since their invention we’ve sent millions across the globe and it’s the personalised touch which is so unique to the postcard, which perks/sparks an interest in marketers. At 123Print UK we love using postcards for a wide range of business uses and we love learning about knew ways we can use them.

Below we’ve listed our 4 favourite postcard marketing ideas; let us know in the comments below if you have any of your own.

Personalised Customer Service

You will know by now that customer service plays a major role in marketing; and businesses who split the two elements apart are destined for failure. So when it comes to delivering excellent customer service, postcards could give you the extra edge you’ve been looking for.

Think about the effects a simple handwritten apology, accompanied with a gift voucher code could have when trying to retain a disgruntled customer. It not only shows you’ve taken the time out of your day to apologise for your mistakes, but also gives you the chance to show you’re a real human being with personality and emotions; something a customer can really connect with.

A Constant Reminder…

We all get the emails reminding us to reorder, and yet, most of us will promptly delete them. Would you rather receive a personalised postcard with a discount code off your next order as a reminder? .

We know it wouldn’t be practical to send thousands of postcards every week, but you could use them to surprise loyal customers during special occasions such as Christmas. Or perhaps if you have a clever CRM database you could really impress customers by sending them a simple, affordable birthday wish. Plus the glossy print is always going to catch people’s attention much more than a plain and bland letter.

Another example; if you work in a service industry, people always need a little reminder when their car may need an annual service, or they need to book a dentist appointment.

Fact: A recent survey found that 85% of women between the ages of 25 and 44 said they read direct mail pieces

Free Postcard Marketing

Why pay big money for advertising when you can let your customers target and advertise for you? With the postcard you can do just that, everyone loves receiving a postcard and we can’t help ourselves from picking them up when they’re on sale. If you have the right type of business you could offer free postcards on your premises with different great designs and you could even add referral codes or discount codes, which your customers could send to friends and family who may be interested in your services. It’s a sure fire winner as it will certainly get people talking about and connecting with your business!

Show Off Your Skills!

As you may have noticed, here at 123Print UK, we are massive fans of the business card. It has an abundance of diverse uses when marketing your business, with the only potential downside being its size. With the postcard you get all the positives of a business card – but with much more space to shout about your business and latest offers.

If you’re in a graphic design or illustration niche why not show off your skills with all the extra space a postcard can offer? We’ve seen some fantastic designs here at 123Print and the postcard is one of your most creative tools when trying to show off exactly what is great about your business.

Introducing… Your Business

If your business is new to the area, then postcards are the perfect way to say a friendly hello to your local community! They easily stand out from the usual junk mail, both with their personal touch, and without an envelope the ‘open rate’ is 100%, so you can be sure people will be talking about your new services in the area.

As a great welcome idea you could offer people a first touch/order discount code or even use them for building sign ups to your services by using the several postage paid services available.