What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just about any franchise? Direct mail. Or more accurately, Postcards.

Results of direct mail marketing vary from business to business but the principle holds true and always works: if you send out enough promotion, you will make sales and maximize your marketing ROI.

When it comes to marketing ROI, you have to realize that Return On Investment is measured in dollars. Let's say you spend $2,000 to get out a postcard mailing of 5,000 pieces and you get 10 calls as a result. Doesn't look like much. But out of these 10 calls, you close 6 and get immediate sales of $12,000. That's marketing ROI! And that's not even taking into account the future sales to those 6 new customers. It could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Don't worry about the amount of responses; look at your overall Return On Investment.

How much will it cost not to do this advertising?

Will your franchise be successful if you don’t advertise? Look at it from a branding point of view.

Postcards are an effective way to brand your franchise in your local community. The locals may have heard of the franchise, but have no idea you are open in their area. Instead of spending loads of money on TV ads that may only hit a few of your potential customers, use direct mail to specifically target your new customer base.

The biggest single factor in the success of your direct mail or postcard marketing strategy is who you send your mailings to. The mailing list must contain the names of people who are likely to be interested in the benefits of your products or services.

By targeting your promotion, you can save a significant amount of money – mailing postcards 1st class is less than the cheapest letter rate and thousands cheaper than a 30-second TV spot.

Why limit your exposure? One of the biggest advantages of direct mail is that your message is seen immediately. No envelopes, no long letters to read – just your company name in the open for every person to see – you can even market to the postal workers!

Make Them Notice with a Good Design

What really works when it comes to postcard marketing?

To start, a good design and message.

Your design should reflect your franchise, be relevant to who you are marketing to, should include an offer to create an immediate call to action. The graphic and headline is what ultimately prompts your prospect to turn your card over and read your message so make sure they communicate to your target audience.

In most cases, it is more cost effective in the long run to hire a professional to do the design and copy for your promotion instead of spending the time to learn the software, much less the marketing know-how necessary to elicit the response you are trying to get with your direct mail piece. The proper emphasis on the design and copy of your postcards will result in much higher ROI for your postcard mailing. Over emphasis on aesthetics and under-emphasis on what will get results can be deadly for your ROI.

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