When you think of marketing, what comes to mind? Slick brochures, expensive ad campaigns, and catchy jingles?

What about postcards?

Of all the direct mail marketing methods, postcards actually have been proven to deliver the biggest bang for your advertising buck. They are the ultimate cost-saving marketing weapon for small- and medium-sized businesses like yours. Postcards cut through marketing clutter to give your message more impact and the power to generate more interest and response. And, they deliver a top-of-the-line "call to action" while allowing you to keep your bottom line intact.

For the small to medium-sized chiropractic office there is just no better way to make your first mark on the marketing scene than with a strategically-positioned postcard campaign.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, Americans spend over $250 billion each year in response to direct mail…and the numbers are rising!

But the good news doesn't stop there.

When it comes to your return on investment (ROI), you can expect to see a staggering $10 in sales for every dollar spent on your direct mail campaign. That's twice the return of a TV ad!

To put this in chiropractic terms, if you spend $100 on direct mail postcard marketing, you can expect to see a return of $1000 on your investment. Perhaps this return on investment comes in the form of new patients, additional visits from past patients, new relationships with attorneys, or sales of product that you are co-marketing at your clinic. However you look at it, when you create a well-positioned, well-written, and strategically targeted postcard campaign, you can almost always start counting the chickens before their hatched!

It's true-the results of postcard marketing have been proven over decades and decades of extensive research by direct mailing houses and corporations. For these businesses, it's not a matter of whether a postcard looks "pretty" or sounds "nice," the proof is in the pudding…or, in their case; the proof is in the sales. A postcard "works" when it does what the sender wants it to do (e.g., increase sales, have consumers visit a website, make a call, tell a friend, and so on).

"I'm a Chiropractor. Do I Really Need a Postcard Campaign?"

If you're like many chiropractors, you've already asked yourself why you would need a postcard marketing campaign in the first place: "What would I really use it to do?"

This is a great question to answer before we proceed. It's always a good idea to have a clear vision of the possibilities and need before heading deeper into the specifics of setting up a campaign.

There are very few (if any) times when a postcard marketing campaign is not advisable. In fact, I can't think of any situation where a postcard campaign would have anything but a positive effect.

Since they are so inexpensive and easy to produce, postcards can be used effectively for countless applications within your chiropractic office. Here are just a handful of uses:

* Target new patients

* Remind new patients of the need for regular check-ups

* Announce holiday or seasonal specials

* Introduce new staff, techniques, products, or services

* Offer discounts, coupons, or time-sensitive offers

* Introduce yourself and your practice to local attorneys and businesses

* Announce your new website, easy payment plans, or common needs for your services

* Educate residents in your service area as to what services your office offers

As you can see, even with this short list of uses, the value of postcard marketing can't be denied.

It offers you an opportunity to put your name, your services, and your reputation right in the hands of people anywhere you want. An effective campaign will get results-those people viewing your postcard in their daily mail will respond and your return on investment will likely astound you.

Do you have a better sense now of the value of postcard marketing campaign to your practice? As one of the least expensive ways to market locally and nationally, postcard marketing is a tremendous way to target a specific audience with a razor-sharp message to achieve the results you're looking for-no matter what you're objective is. So, get busy on your first postcard campaign today…you'll be glad you did!