The Power of the Postcard
Volume 11, Number 39
Issue 535
Back when I was a teenager and running a mail-order business out of my bedroom, I learned that if you have something brief to say to your customers, why not do it on a postcard, rather than bundled within an envelope! I learned that postcards would often allow for the possibility to be more colorful and since they were small, people often put them in their pocket, use them as a bookmark, or, as I would learn later, use a magnet to stick them on the refrigerator.
Years later, I still use postcards because they are a very efficient way to communicate with the clients of my accounting firm. Several times each year, I produce a list of all of my customers on computerized, self-stick labels. I then use that list to mail postcards that we have printed “in-house” using thick “card stock” paper. I use a graphic design template to produce a double-sided, 8 ˝” by 11” sheet with four postcards printed in each quarter in a “landscape” format. Then I use the paper cutter to “slice” them into quarters. Voila! I have postcards that have been produced at virtually no cost that now cost only 23 cents each to mail.
I’m amazed that more businesses do not send postcards. If you have a price special, a new product, new hours, or just want to generate excitement, postcards are a very inexpensive way to promote it.
Let’s do the math: If you want to produce 500 postcards, that would be 125 sheets of cardstock, printed double-sided. My check with Hardwell Office Supply (always my first choice), Kinkos and CopyMax, shows an average quote of about $25 (including cutting) if the customer supplies printed, camera-ready art. Then there are 500, 23 cent stamps for a total of $115 in postage; a grand total of $140 for everything. If you sometimes have workers idle like I do, the labor cost is already a sunk cost elsewhere. If you do the labor yourself or have your kids do it, there is no incremental cost.
So, for a total of $140, you can communicate with 500 clients to alert them of a, for example, “15% off sale during the month of October” or a “We are now pleased to represent the Acme line and invite you to call for special pricing” promotion. I’ve used postcards before to generate special hourly consulting time during an otherwise slow period. I’ve also used it to promote special services like new-business start-ups, business plan writing and special “$69 appointment days.”
Perhaps the best thing I use the postcards for is a special mailing in January to 4,000 people who have moved to the zip codes near my office during the prior year. A professional mailing company sells me the list for about $160 (4 cents per name) and it is already printed on self-adhesive labels. I get my office staff rolling for busy season by having a huge stamping and mailing party. This mailing brings in only about a 1 ˝% rate of return for part-year, multi-state filiers, but each return averages about $300, so the economics of this mailing work very well, especially when considering that almost all of these new clients become clients for future years, too.
I urge you to consider trying out the use of postcards in your own business. They are a cheap and cost effective way to market your company. If you would like to discuss the use of postcards, please give me a call at 1-804-378-5096.
David B. Robinson, CPA
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