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Specialty Postcards by Martha Retallick

In the graphic design profession, baking fresh postcard designs from scratch is the only way to go. After all, we designers are sending cards to show people what we can do.

But many business people are selling something that isn't as easy to put on a postcard as, say, that nifty logo that Danny Designer just created for his new client.

That's where specialty postcards come in. These are cards that are produced for specific types of businesses.

For example, if you were in the dry cleaning business, you'd probably be interested in what Bill Bishop and The Golomb Group can offer. They create and implement postcard marketing campaigns for dry cleaners. It's a complete service that includes card design, printing, mailing list development, and mailing.

Why does The Golumb Group offer this service?

Bill Bishop says, "Most drycleaners have a serious weakness. They're passive. They don't promote. They never advertise. They wait for business to come to them. And an active, aggressive hungry cleaner looking for a good opportunity to grow can exploit this weakness and dominate a market. Believe me, it doesn't take much."

He recounts the story of a Chicago area cleaner who reported that "[h]is sales were down more than 20%. He's been in business almost 8 years but, until recently, has never seen the need to promote. We put together a very simple direct response mail program for him which got immediate and measureable results. At the end of last year, not only were his sales up 17%, but he was also getting between 30% and 50% market penetration in the prime carrier routes surrounding his plant. In short, it pays to ask for business."

TIP: When Bill says "carrier routes," he means the routes that the mail delivery people follow during their daily appointed rounds. "Prime carrier routes" are the ones that would have the greatest number of good dry cleaning customers.

Bill continues, "[If] asking for business is simple and profitable, why don't more cleaners do it? Who knows? I talk to cleaners every day who say 'We're a quality cleaner.We don't advertise. We rely on word of mouth.' Don't get me wrong, a good reputation is fine, but how do you make people tell others about your service. Word of mouth is passive. And right now, in a weakened economy, you've got to be active, not passive. If you want more business...you have to ask for it."

Thank you, Bill Bishop. If you'd like to learn more about The Golumb Group's specialty postcards for dry cleaners, here's the contact information:

Bill Bishop The Golomb Group 7664 Plaza Court Willowbrook,IL 60527 Phone: (630) 887-7339 Toll Free: (800) 679-5856 Fax: (630) 887-7347

What Bill says holds true for a lot of businesses. A lot of people cut back on marketing during times like these. But this decision can prove fatal to your business.

So, I implore you: Please, please, PLEASE don't reduce your marketing now. Instead, do what the crowd isn't doing—increase your marketing. You don't have to spend a fortune, and you may find yourself laughing all the way to bank.

If you'd like some guidance on how to use your marketing funds wisely, check out the Postcard Marketing Secrets manual. It's in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format, which means that you can download it and put it to work right away.

Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder," hails from Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is the author of Postcard Marketing Secrets, a downloadable PDF manual will show you how to put postcards to work for your business—profitably. Learn more about it at: http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com