Postcard Feedback?

[skitelluride531]

Hello!



I am in the process of creating a postcard for a mailing. I was looking for some HONEST feedback. Please let me know what you all think. If it sucks, please tell me!! Note: this is the front of the postcard, the back will have more info, of course.

 

[Envious Eric]

so you have the logo of a lot of high end cars....does that mean you dont do anything but? just a thought



i know I would love to work on nothing but 100K cars, but thats not reality

 

[LastDetail]

If you are planning on printing these up with the reflective cardboard that is typical of postcards it seems like it might be cost prohibitive.

Also I am not sure that I like the photoshopped car with the artificial background. You can see the reflections of trees, grass etc in the finish of the car, but the background you have the car in is one color, it is confusing.



And I agree also with ToyotaGuy, all of the manufacturer emblems detract from the overall look.



I really like the concept of having a postcard feedback for customer service purposes, but by the time you hand them this card odds are you are already finished with the detailing and hopefully you dont have to impress them anymore. :2thumbs:



Just my two cents.

 

[skitelluride531]

Thanks for the input guys!



After looking it over again, I've decided to remove the manufacturer logo's altogether, and move the "Got Shine?" horizontally below the M5.





I will post an updated version later.







Oh, by the way, these are not customer satisfaction cards. These are for a mailing I am going to be doing to get new customers.

 

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Oh, by the way, these are not customer satisfaction cards. These are for a mailing I am going to be doing to get new customers.

Instead of full color glossy, you may want to consider keeping your postcards as basic as you can in order to keep your costs down. That way you will have more money to spend on doing multiple mailings to the same prospects. Even then, you should not expect to get more than a fraction of 1% response. Yes, less than one person, for every one hundred cards sent, will probably respond to your mailing.



Also, unless you come up with a way to directly aim your mailings at people who are in the market to have their car detailed, you are basically just wasting your money. The return on investment is just not there when it comes to mass marketing as a way to attract new detailing customers.



p.s. About your postcard. Do you really want to advertise your detailing business the same as the dairy industry?

 

[MichaelM]

Also, unless you come up with a way to directly aim your mailings at people who are in the market to have their car detailed, you are basically just wasting your money.

That's a bit misleading, don't you think? Advertising works by repetively planting a message in someone's brain until it sinks in enough to motivate them respond. Alot of times you end up creating your market, meaning you turn people on to your services who otherwise did not have an "active" desire for detailing.



For example take the Foreman Grill. They have sold MILLIONS of units around the world mainly through infomercials. If the advertisers went by your logic you would probably only see the Foreman Grill on display in cooking/chef/department stores and in supermarkets because that's where people who are hungry or people who are looking for new ways of cooking will be, right? Well they seem to have proved that not be the case.



IME, even with a lowly 1% return on your investment you CAN breakeven on something like mass postcard mailing, I know because I have done it myself. From experience I can tell you that continuous mailings to the same market will increase your ROR past 1%, and once you have them and figure out how to keep them those postcards become the gift that keeps on giving. Those customers will come back, tell their neighbors and friends and so on.



I like your person-to-person and referal ideas for generating business but if you want your business to seriously grow you have to mass market. Flyers, postcards, billboards, whatever...you need to let people know about you and your services. If they aren't aware that you exist you'll never get their business.

 

[MichaelM]

Instead of full color glossy, you may want to consider keeping your postcards as basic as you can in order to keep your costs down.

When I first started doing my mailings I made then up myself on my computer and printed them out by myself on my home printer to "save" money. These postcards had a matte finish, which is fine but, doesn't stand out much when in a pile of mail. What I found after some research were places like vistaprint.com in which you can create your own postcards from templates on their site, or download your own, that were full color and glossy on one side (your message) and blank or black & white print on the other for very reasonable prices (1000 cards printed in this manor will be at your door in 7 business days or less for ~$100). For me, this was a much better way to go. They look better, feel better, and standout amongst the other "junk" mail.



To give a better idea on final cost:



1000 Postcards...$100

Address Labels...$20 or less

1000 Postcard Stamps...$240 (you can use the post office and do a bulk mailing which reduces postage to around 17 cents per vs the 24 cent postcard stamp but I feel that the stamps look better to the customer, cost in my mind is negligable.)



total..$360 for a well put together ad sent to 1000 households in your target income bracket or neighborhood or past customers, etc.



You can do the math yourself for a 1% or less return on any dollar amount offer you wish and you'll see the value in a well thought out mass marketing plan.

 

[MX823]

p.s. About your postcard. Do you really want to advertise your detailing business the same as the dairy industry?

Understandably, the forum members are split on whether post cards are a good idea or not. I personally think any well thought out advertising is beneficial. Post cards are relatively low risk, there is not a substantial investment if you are willing to put sometime into it.



Attached is a mailer that I quickly threw together... (the upload tool forced me to shrink the file size).





A few general advertising tips:

Remember to keep some "white space"

Don't feel as though everything needs to be centered.

Fonts can help set a mood....but must be legible

The eye reads left to right , top to bottom.....keep that in mind...(pics attract the eye)

Headline and picture should match....

The job of the mailer is to make the phone ring....and interest the customer....

Your advertising should speak to your target market.

Sometimes use focusing on an end result or playing to pleasure vs. pain theory.

i.e. Winter is coming, is your car protected ????

Spend the day with the kids..... not the car.

Want your car to look brand new all over again???

Waxing your car has never been easier.

Did you know there are 1,237 pollutants that are attacking your car right now...... (# stat made up)





I don't really have anything specific to comment on since, you know your business better than i do.

Ask yourself....

Is it attractive?

Does the piece convey your business, brand etc..?

Does the piece easily provide contact info?

Does the piece speak to the target market?





Keep up the good work. Feel free to ask for any help or suggestions...