Many small business owners look for low cost marketing ideas. Have you thought of postcard marketing? Postcard marketing has been around for a long time – and some small business owners may not think of it at first glance. But postcard marketing can be very successful when done properly. The key is to understand how to harness the power of postcard marketing for your business.

Don’t just send postcards out and expect the business to come in. Wishful thinking needs hard work to back it up. Your small business postcards need to be carefully thought out before they leave your company so they have the best chance of success. Think of some of your most successful marketing pieces and what copy and graphics you have used. Take the time to create a postcard that will attract people and entice them to turn it over and learn more – and want to call your business for your service or products.

Use one postcard for one business idea. It is easiest to send out a postcard mentioning a sale or promotion or another topic. Try not to send out a postcard with several topics as it is probably too much information for most to absorb on a postcard. Remember that most people will spend a very short time looking at your postcard – probably less than a minute! One message per postcard is best and keeping it focused will help your audience respond at a higher rate.

Show your postcard to several people before you send it out. Ask them what they think – what they notice about it. Their feedback could be very valuable and save you lots of time and effort. Remember that first glance is so important. Having them notice your sale or promotion is important. Pay attention to what they notice and also what they seem to miss as they read your postcard.

The most important part of postcard marketing? Send your postcard to the people who will be most interested in what you have to sell or service you have to offer. Do you know who your target market is? Consider buying a mailing list to send your postcard to. Or if you are leaving postcards in places people will find them so they can pick them up, think about where your ideal customer would find them. For some this could be at the Laundromat and for others this could be an art gallery. Knowing who and where your target market is important to reaching them and letting them respond to your postcard marketing.

After developing a product that has generated consumer interest, the originator is generally filed with a great sense of satisfaction. That feeling of accomplishment should not be used as a lingering disposition. Instead, the momentum should be used to accomplish the next step to market infiltration and eventual market domination. You will accomplish this by strategic placement of your product through existing retailers and industry influencers that will make your product available to consumers at little or no-cost to you.

A product placement campaign is ideal for those who have created a product with limited means to retail the product on their own efforts or originators who are seeking to increase awareness and Client Base for a particular product. The threshold inquiry before beginning your campaign is to realistically assess whether the product meets a two prong criteria: first, it must be a quality product as valued by your targeted Consumer Base and second, it has generated enough interest from consumers that is verifiable through sales generated, customer reviews or industry standard. If you meet both prongs, you are now on the precipice of coming up with a successful Product Placement Strategy as outlined in the three step action plan below based on coordinated Timing, Action and the actual Placement of the product.

Timing

The timing of the product placement campaign will determine how successful the campaign will be. There is an opportune time for each targeted market that will facilitate the conversation surrounding your intended product placement because retailers will be more responsive to promote new products during those times. To determine the ideal timing, you need to identify which industry the product will service. If there is an overlap with different industries, try to narrow down your list based on the primary function of the product. Next, you need to research that industry for peak times as there may be more than ones. For example, for the retail one of the major peak times is the holiday season. Now that you have identified the peak times, you need to coordinate your efforts so that your product placement requests occur before the peak seasons, but just in time to benefit from the increase traffic they generate.

Action

Your next step will include selecting a cluster of retailers within the immediate area where your product has earned some reputation for quality which should be verifiable on some level. Spend some time researching each prospect as to their strengths and their current targeted Consumer Base. Armed with this information, you need to create a sound bite which addresses or includes each of the following factors: (a) an elevator pitch about your product (2 -5 minutes); Identify the advantage the retailer stand to gain through the placement; (c) Some hard facts about your expected consumer base’responsiveness to your product. Finally, you will initiate direct (i.e. face to face or phone call) strategic communication, with the owner or decision makes for each the retailer.

Placement

The physical placement of the product itself does not guarantee that your intended consumer will purchase it. Unless you are Bethany Frankel selling Skinny Girl Margarita, a product highly publicized on Television, you need to take is a step further. Otherwise, your product may simply become a wall flower on a retailer’s shelf. This is your opportunity to get create and build a unique marketing campaign around the placement that will generate buzz about your product and the intended retailer. Generate ideas with thoughtful consideration of the sound bite you have created with emphasis on creating a mutually beneficial campaign for your product and the retailer.

Catherine is the founder and owner of Delcin Consulting Group, a business consulting firm that provides comprehensive services to Startup Companies, Existing Businesses, and Non-Profits Organizations. The collaborative efforts of the DCG firm generate business solutions and long-term support to facilitate and ensure the successful pursuit of entrepreneurship.