Whenever they are enrolled by means of an iZigg sales rep, corporations are able to deliver SMS text messages that come in the form of special deals, coupons, vouchers, raffles, and countless other applications. This can be a very cost effective strategy to get your message out to the general public. Advertising campaigns may be sent to clients straight to their mobile phone devices, and is altogether permission based since the end-user originally opted-in to the retailers list. This type of marketing is great for the small business owner. It’s really a win-win for both those doing the advertising as well as clients. Advertisers get their message out producing a boost in business, while consumers gain super deals on goods and services.

Mobile marketing utilizing iZigg’s mobile platform and it’s incredibly well-known short code “90210″ has had great results in reaching end users. As one example; your neighborhood pizza merchant may have been noticing that they are sluggish on Mondays and Tuesdays and have been recently looking for ways to expand business on those days. Said pizza shop sets up an account with iZigg and gets their customers to text in the keyword “PizzaSlice.” From this day forward they can submit a text message to all of those customer’s mobile phones to bring their text message in to the shop on Monday or Tuesday night for a free pizza slice with any order. When the customers get the messages, sure enough, the special is simply too good to be able to ignore and it pulls consumers in and there you are; the neighborhood pizza merchant has just grown their revenue on what would usually end up slow days and nights.

2. Register with Google Maps and Places, Bing Maps, and Yahoo Local.
These are the top three search engines in the country, and their local search function is the new yellow pages. Modern consumers won’t go within ten feet of a phone book unless they need to reach the cookies on the top shelf. When they need to find a local business, they go online, type in what they’re looking for, and let the search engine do the work. If you are not listed where your customers are looking, then your business is going to your competition, period. 4 out of 5 of all business transactions begin with an online search. Be available in the place where your customers turn for information.

3. Restructure your budget away from print media.
There is an ongoing $77 billion shiftaway from print to online marketing methods. Take whatever money you’re spending on yellow pages, newspaper ads, fliers, and newsletters, and direct it towards developing your presence online. If you don’t claim your niche in the online market, you can bet your competitors will, and they’ll be more than happy to take your business from you.
Ask yourself: when you perform an online search, how often do you click on paid advertising? How often do you instead click on the top organic search results? Direct your marketing funds towards services that will secure a strong organic listing on search engines.

4. Take care of your customers.
This might not sound like a modern marketing concept so much as plain good sense, but when you take into account the way advertising companies have treated consumers for the last few generations, you’ll begin to see what I mean. How many hours of your life have you whiled away, pressing 1 for English, 2 para Espagnol? That’s because if you got frustrated and they lost your business, it really made no difference to them. You had no voice, and no means to have an impact on these enormous corporations. With social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, however, you now have the power to reach thousands of other disgruntled customers to affect change. But that door swings both ways! Make sure that your business is something people want to speak positively about. With social media, you also have a way to reach out on a personal level to customers like never before, so be nice, and be helpful. Consumers are turning away from faceless corporations like Walmart, and going online to see what independent, personable, small-business owners can offer them.

5. Deliver quality goods and services.
Consumers are creatures of habit, but they have high expectations. If your quality starts to drop, their eyes will start to wander, and what’s more, customer reviews are more accessible than ever before on sites like Yelp and Google Places. It’s as easy as jumping online and clicking one star or five, so shoot for five stars every time, or word will get around. Ask your satisfied customers to go online and leave a review. Most will be happy to oblige, but very few will bother without being asked.

6. Be yourself.
Back in the Pre-Megastore era, business owners had to interact with their customers one on one. Today, these exchanges take place online, but they are no less important. The more customers feel they know you, the more comfortable they will feel doing business with you, and the more loyal they will be. Take the time to connect on Facebook and to join communities where you can answer people’s questions and present yourself as an expert in the field. Internet forums are where today’s consumers go to get answers and information from real people.

7. Be honest.
Word travels faster than ever, and if you represent yourself as something you are not, you can bet people will find out about it and tell all 800 of their Facebook friends, who will in turn tell all 800 of their friends. The rumor mill runs twice as fast for bad news, and can go viral in an instant, so a key modern marketing concept is to be the personyou would want to do business with.

8. Relax. Have fun.
Unlike a faceless corporation, you’re promoting yourself as well as your business, so it’s important to let people know you have a fun side. It’s not always about closing a deal. Talk to your customers about things that have nothing to do with your business, like family or local news. Be a friend to them, and they’ll be a friend to you.

9. Give something for nothing.
Everyone likes presents. Even something as simple as a free magnet creates feelings of goodwill. If customers see that you’re willing to go out of your way for them, they will want to repay the favor. In Belgium, you might pay ?2.50 for a 6oz cup of coffee, but when they throw in a free cookie or a small chocolate, that 6oz coffee is suddenly way better than a 16oz Starbucks for the same price. Plus, when it comes to free chocolate vs. no chocolate, which caf are you going to return to? It’s that simple.

10. Stay in touch and stay relevant.
Give customers a reason to return to your website, and to keep you in the back of their mind. Interesting, relevant content is a great way to do this, and without it, your website is going to languish in some dark, forsaken corner of the internet. If your website is more like a graveyard than a bustling hub of public relations, potential customers are going to look elsewhere, so log in as often as you can, and post something fresh. It can be as simple as linking to an article you just read, or relating something interesting that happened during the work week. This lets your customers know you’re alive and that you care about your public relations.

Since marketing candy wrappers is easy and inexpensive, it would not cause a big dent in your budget dollars. For less than $2.00 each, including the candy, you can get started with high quality color wrappers. Handing out this wrapped chocolate bars to your prospective clients instead of or together with your business card will give you an edge as you can use a limited-time promotion or other call to action advertising on the wrapper to increase impulse or point of sale purchases if you’re in retail. Also remember that you are the one regulating the number of wrappers you hand out and how often you handout your message. One of our clients used candy wrapper marketing when he participated in a trade show, and he was thrilled as attendees would come up to his booth for the candy bar. He couldn’t believe how effective it was as it became a hit with the attendees as well as the exhibitors themselves.

Candy wrappers can also promote a healthy positive image as it can help correct a gossip or false report or help promote a cause or event. Since candy wrapper marketing is a simple process, you can launch your campaign sooner than you would with many other marketing programs, hence spreading the news is a lot faster and sweeter. Four years ago, a furniture company was rumored to be going under, and they promoted a sales event featuring a wrapped chocolate with certain prizes at the back of the wrapper to entice more customers to go to their store. I was one of those customers who visited their store on a weekend to purchase a sofa throw. Lo and behold, I won a recliner from that event so I went home with my sofa throw and a matching recliner with a big smile on my face as it was my first time to win in a raffle or a contest.

Get business prospects to remember you with candy wrapper marketing. Candy wrappers usually work best when the message is brief and to the point. This is like putting your message in a bill board but in a handy and more personal form. You’re assured that your candy bar would get saved or passed on to others immediately compared to some items with logo. How can someone throw away chocolates? Attending conferences in the past, I’ve had my share of these logoed items – from pens, frames, shirts, mini-flashlights, mugs, and stuffed toys, which usually ended up in my drawer or closet, then eventually donated to Goodwill or Salvation Army. But chocolates – I keep them until I get that sweet urge, which happens after eating meals or I share them so I won’t feel guilty of the extra calories.

You can also market with candy wrappers to generate traffic. Continuous traffic is the first step toward expansion of your base of buyers which often results to sales increase – this simply means that the more people who contact you, the more possibilities you make to close a deal. Candy wrappers multiply traffic themselves through additional word of mouth conversations hence your message gets talked about. Think of a wedding favor that you’ve received. There was a time in my life that I looked forward to wedding favors handed as a “thank you for sharing in this wonderful occasion.” This is like the dessert that I’m anticipating so it gets frustrating when I’m handed with a tacky souvenir figurine. For me, wedding favors makes or breaks the wedding party. Chocolate bars can’t be tacky they’re always yummy so you can’t go wrong with them except when you have an allergy to chocolates or you have diabetes.

Continuous marketing strengthens your image in the business place. Look around you – there are billboards, print ads and television commercials bombarding us with information about products – companies want consumers to remember their products. When you think of a thirst quenching drink, which product do you remember being endorsed? Is it Doctor Pepper or Pepsi or Mountain Dew? Almost everyone is a walking advertisement of something. Shirts would have the designers name plastered in front, some discreetly and some loudly. This proves that you have to continuously let the consumers remember your product or service. Candy wrappers can help you to be remembered because your message is in your prospect’s face, quite literally. Your message is right at the wrapper as soon as the prospect picks up the candy – not hidden in an envelope or a magazine. Candy wrappers are ready to read, and even people who usually throws out other types of marketing without opening them, would want to eat the chocolate, and in order for them to get to the chocolate, they have to unwrap them. As people are curious in nature, they would read the wrapper before throwing them away — or they might keep them as they love the design or they want to keep your information for future reference. For whatever reason your prospect may have, the important one is they have read your message.

Advertise with candy wrappers to get your share of business or lose it to the businesses that do. You’ve got to market as your competition isn’t quitting anytime. Candy wrappers conceal your marketing from competitors as most advertising uses mass media where your competitors hear or see what you’re doing, then copy your marketing strategy. Candy wrapper marketing is more personal – only you and your prospects are aware of what you’re doing. It’s the rifle approach as you have a specific target or goal in mind. Candy wrapper marketing can work for any business as it can create the buzz so your business is remembered.

Being an ethical business converts to profit for your company. As a company, you want people to know about the ethical platform that your company is founded on. Your business wants to communicate to its customers that it is socially responsible and will do the right thing. This isn’t just a marketing tip, but is important for all aspects of a business. One way by which to create a platform upon which your company may communicate with its potential customers is through social media. Social media provides a platform upon which to build relationships between your business and your clientele. As a business you can tell your customers about your company, what you stand for, and how you are ethical and therefore the best company to fulfill their needs. Your customers are given the opportunity to respond to you as a company, to your products, and communicate with your other like-minded customers. When people build strong relationships they build trust in one another. If your customers trust you they will be more likely to be loyal to your product and recommend it to other people; therefore, increasing your clientele all as a result of being an ethical company and giving your customers a platform upon which to get to know you better, and to communicate their needs and desires.

This can be especially beneficial for small businesses. By using social media, small businesses can differentiate themselves from larger corporations. They have the opportunity to relate to customers and create a “real” relationship. If you’re looking for small business marketing help, this is an aspect that small businesses should capitalize on. Small businesses can set goals to increase awareness of their business by ten niche specific people per week. With such an increase, they will be able to focus on the relationships they build while at the same time increase their patrons.

Social media is your friend. Utilize it to build relationships with your customers and to increase your clientele. Make sure to stay on top of it, checking your profiles at least three times per week. You want to keep your information up to date. Also, make sure to respond to customers’ questions – especially to any potential negative feedback your business or products may receive. Keep up to date, and be honest. And remember, people like ethical, socially responsible companies.

However, the onset of these online techniques has put a halt on traditional marketing. Business owners think that to save money and get a better market share, they will invest solely on web-based marketing methods. What they don’t realize is that not everyone is online these days or if they are they don’t easily trust ads they receive through their email or any other online means. This requires careful understanding of the target market in order to come up with a good strategy that will put both online and traditional marketing into good use.

Say, you have been sending letters and postcards for a month now, but it seems that your effort is not materializing. Even though you have obtained the help of the best online printing companies to print your postcards and letter, you are still not successful. Why don’t you cut back on your mailings? Instead of sending hundreds of generic mails, why don’t you create more personalized letters and cards? Then follow up with a phone call. You can even connect with them through social media such as Twitter and Facebook and tell them that you have sent them a letter or postcard. This will encourage them to look at their mailbox and open your letter. This will also help make the follow up call much easier and comfortable.

By combining traditional marketing with modern strategies, you are pushing your business to new heights. You will see a significant difference on your campaign and even achieve your goals in record time. This will help you keep up with the changes in the market while addressing the need of your conservative customers. You will also reach a wider audience without spending a fortune. The marketing process will be so much easier for you and, eventually, be more favorable on your part.

Keep in mind that knowing who your target customers are is still the key to effective marketing. No matter what changes happen in the process, your customers will remain the same. It’s best if you start every campaign by knowing and understating your customers so you make the most out of your campaign. Before you print online or send emails to your customers, find out what your target audience prefers best. Figure out the best strategy that will help you get your message read clearly and instantly.

It’s best if you familiarize yourself first with the modern marketing strategies before you do them. This way you will know how to use them to your advantage. But don’t easily discard traditional methods yet. They are still effective today as they were in the past. Instead of discarding them, find a way to make these two techniques complement each other. In doing so, you can easily achieve the best of both worlds.

The primary line of services offered by A&M Auto Bellevue include tech inspections, overall service and repair, brake and suspension upgrades, performance upgrades, and interior and convertible top repair. Customers are also welcome in the shop’s facilities where certified automotive techs and representatives are there to give the most appropriate assistance anytime within the operating hours. Each of the services offered by this auto shop is delivered through by leading edge technology guaranteed to involve only original equipment parts with optimal quality.

Customers can also choose among an array of service packages given at affordable prices with special discounts and offers. Plus, all services come with an 18-month or 18,000-mile extended warranty support to assure the best customer care.

A&M Auto Repair Bellevue boasts its full range of sophisticated and highly reliable auto equipment used in its repair, diagnostics, and other services. Some of these equipment tools are smart sensor simulators, lab scopes, alignment machine with laser heads, lab scopes, ignition analyzer, combustion testers, communication protocols, AC recovery and changing stations, computer-based diagnostics machines, online repair systems. The auto shop currently cater prominent automobile brandslike Ford, Chrysler, Toyota-Lexus, Honda-Acura, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nisan-Infinity, Suzuki, Audi, Lincoln, Vokswagen, and Isuzu. Other than its auto-related technical services, A&M also provides to its customers special services like rental cars, fleet service, and towing service. In addition, customers can also avail a free ride in the auto shop’s shuttle service while waiting for their car to get fixed or serviced.

In an earlier article we reviewed Beckwith’s second book: The Invisible Touch. This first book, Selling the Invisible, is sub-titled: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing. Sound practical? Sort of like a book you would toss in your rucksack before you go out on a long hike in unfamiliar territory? That’s exactly the type of book this is.

This is a great read to stick in your car or briefcase for the next few weeks and read in ten minute bursts. If you are out shopping and find yourself logjammed in a long queue at the return counter or stuck in a parking lot of the mall pull out Beckwith and get re-energized as a marketer or a small business owner. You won’t feel quite so alone. Harry gives us the feeling he’s been there with us before, selling in the trenches.

Again, Beckwith focuses on those of us who sell Services, rather than Products. Most of us in small business are in the Service business. Our deliverable to the customer is, in effect, invisible. This is the theme running throughout Beckwith’s book. The challenge, then, is to make the invisible visible, and he has several different clues and ideas on what to look for. His 45 page section on Communicating and Selling alone is worth the price of the book.

Also, please don’t let the title throw you off; this is a great book for both marketers and for salespeople. And yes, we realize that in small business we often are required to be both. One thing we really like about Mr. Beckwith; he understands how hard it is to sell the intangibility of a service. As he points out–often customers only see the results of a service decision when something goofs up.

This book is just over 200 pages, but it is a quick 200+ pages that allows for today’s busy marketer to quickly devour some needed information. If you are like us, you will absolutely catch yourself shaking your head and saying: “Yep, I’m doing just that in my business now and I’ve got to change it.”

Now, you can. We strongly recommend reading Beckwith’s Selling the Invisible so you can find out where you are going wrong and what you can do to correct it. This will give your business a burst to propel yourself forward even more.

What is institutional advertising? Here’s a definition: “Promotional message aimed at creating an image, enhancing reputation, building goodwill, or advocating an idea or the philosophy of an organization, instead of sales promotion.” (BusinessDictionary.com)

Institutional advertising promotes the name of the business and the brand but is not used to create sales. Large advertisers use institutional advertising to increase their name recognition and, hopefully, market share. With a larger market share, increased sales are expected to follow.

Most of the advertising we see everyday on television comes in the form of Institutional Advertising. It’s the big companies with household brands working hard to entrench their brand even further into our brains. While that may be an effective strategy for billion dollar, multi-national companies, it’s a devastating plan of action for smaller, local businesses.

Very few small business owners have a grasp on marketing. When they do advertise, they simply do the same things others are doing. Media salespeople do an excellent job explaining how advertising works when they’re selling the advertising. They also are great at explaining why an ad didn’t work. The number one reason: The business owner didn’t buy enough time or space. The number two reason: The ad wasn’t run for a long enough time period.

Beware of the Advertising Sales Representative

Ad sales people are not marketing experts. They actually do not know much about marketing at all. They have been trained to do one thing: sell ads. In that respect they are formidable. Ironically, most small business owners believe that ad salespeople are indeed marketing experts. Ad sales reps use this to their advantage and often help small business owners actually create the ads that will run on their network, publication, billboard, etc.

The entire system represents a conflict of interest. The goal of advertising is to increase sales for the business owner. But the ad sales rep’s goal is to sell advertising. The ad sales rep acts on behalf of his or her employer and does not maintain a fiduciary relationship with the client. So the advice of advertising sales reps is never given for the benefit of the small business owner. When they urge their clients to buy ads, they do not have the expertise or training to know if the ads will have any positive impact on sales or profitability. They are not qualified to suggest when an ad should run, how long the ad should run or even the frequency rate. They can not suggest other forms of advertising or marketing that might be more suitable because they are employed by a single media outlet.

This conflict of interest is unique to ad sales. Imagine if you had a medical condition; let’s say Acid Reflux. Instead of going to a doctor, you consulted with a drug sales rep. Like the ad sales rep, the drug rep works for one company. If she worked for Pfizer, she would recommend Viagra to treat your acid reflux condition. When you found this to be ineffective, the drug rep would suggest increasing the dosage or advise that you simply continue taking the drug longer and give it some time to work. Once you’ve run out of money, the drug rep would move on to the next patient.

Small business owners must learn that ad sales reps do not have their best interests at heart. The ad sales rep hopes that the ad works so that the client will buy more ads, not because their goal is to increase sales for the client. Only independent marketing experts have the ability to act objectively on behalf of their clients. This is an important distinction. They actually represent their clients’ best interests when it comes to marketing. As experts, they provide valuable insight as to which marketing program (or mix of programs) will generate the greatest return on their clients’ marketing investment.

Traditional Advertising is often Institutional Advertising

Most traditional advertising, be it local or national, is a form of institutional advertising. It is done with such repetition that people will remember the product or service when the time comes. The products or services are so commonly used that people have an easy time remembering the message. But local business can not afford to advertise in this manner. When they do advertise, they can only afford to run the ad for a short time, at an infrequent rate. Therefore, Institutional advertising does not work for small businesses. When it comes to marketing, local business owners need to market themselves in a modern fashion and expect a tangible return on their marketing investment.

So next time an institutional ad sales rep comes knocking on your door, remember, they are there to sell you something that is ineffective and does not provide a positive return on your investment. They do not understand marketing, they are sales people. Don’t trust their facts or figures. They are based on data that can not be analyzed easily and is only used to back their statements. Instead, search for a local, independent marketing expert. Not only are they much less expensive, they will be able to advise you based on your best interests, not their own.

Of course, too many ‘old-school’ photographers use ‘old-school’ small business marketing activities and ‘refuse’ to adapt to the conveniences of ‘modern marketing tools.’ As an example: there was a time when people were ‘confused and mesmerized’ with cell phones! Many couldn’t conceive how the telephones worked without wires! Many refused to get a cell phone – figuring that they were a ‘fad’ and they could ‘get by’ with what they’ve been ‘getting by’ with for all of this time! Is this familiar to you?

‘Old School’ Tip #1′Old-School’ Has A Place In ‘Modern’ Times

Your photography marketing activities should include the ‘old-school’ basics – with ‘modern’ adjustments for efficiency and professionalism. To start a photography business without using modern tools is like trying to successfully run a business without a telephone – wireless or ‘old-school/wired-to-the-wall’ type!

‘Old School’ Tip #2 – For The Foreseeable Future – ‘Technology’ Won’t Replace People

As advanced as technology is and is getting, and as convenient as technology is making everyday life for people, and as time-saving as technology has become – people ‘still’ prefer, and gravitate towards, ‘other people’ – the human touch. Photographers that can remember and build their photography marketing strategy on ‘people-still-needing-people’ strategies and activities are the consistently successful photographers – no matter what their photography niche.

‘Old School’ Tip #3 – Cyber-Space Has It’s Pluses – But, The Masses Still Prefer Literature

Yes, that’s right. Most of the world ‘aren’t’ online all of the time! Oh sure, the numbers (of people online a good deal of the time) are growing, but, an all-time ‘old-school’ photography marketing favorite is still a favorite of the masses – literature. After all, that’s how most photos are seen. Modern technology has made these tools even more effective in marketing for photographers. For example, with the quality of ink-jet printers, I can make business cards on an ‘as needed’ basis. Also, I can change my business card whenever I need or want to. As a photographer, not only should I leave them everywhere, I should do so regularly. Likewise with other ‘old-school’ photography business marketing staples such as brochures, fliers and circulars, for example. Ink-jet technology allows photographers to produce ‘customer-specific’ calendars and greeting cards – that’s ‘old-school’ photo marketing at the next level.

‘Old School’ Tip #4 – Tie-ins With Other Businesses

This strategy is especially effective these days. I think it’s because so many ‘old-school’ photographers are leaving the photography business and taking successful marketing techniques with them. Tie-ins work with many type ‘people’ businesses such as hair salons, spas, local restaurants, etc. One strategy that works for me and some of the other photographers that I work with is approaching small business owners, introducing myself as a photographer, and offer them my services. My opening question to them is something like, “Do you have a need for photos of your merchandise in your advertising, in your business literature or for your catalog?” Most of them have had such a need for some type of photos in the past six months, or so. I specifically word my question to “plant the seeds” of any photo ideas that they may have been thinking of, but just didn’t know what to do next. Often, their answer is no, they do not have a need – at that time. I leave my contact information with them. With business owners, I leave a business card and a post card sized brochure (displaying work that I’ve done for other businesses and “planting more seeds”). Sometimes, if I’m carrying a camera, I take a few snapshots of their business and send them to the businesses as a follow up, with my contact info on the photos. This strategy doesn’t provide fast money, but, it does produce good, long-term revenue. Slowly, more and more businesses are recognizing the need to have photos in their businesses. This strategy works extremely well for part-time photography business, also.

‘Old School’ Tip #5 – Show What You Got!

And then, there’s the ‘granddaddy’ of all ‘old-school’ strategies; the ‘never-fail,’ ‘fool-proof,’ ‘never-let-you-down’ best of the best – “show them that you’re the best!” In other words, display your work. Online isn’t the only place to display your work.

Your display can be as simple as a few small portraits at a store. You can create large contemporary displays in malls or events or arts & crafts shows or trade shows. What’s important is that you only display your best work. I want to offer this lesson learned from me displaying my work without giving consideration to who the audience I wanted to appeal to. I had enlarged some beautiful and finely detailed flowers and had them on display. Many people would stop by, look at the display, and ask for more information. Photo session follow ups were so-so. Then, one day, I stopped displaying the ‘finely-detailed’ photos and replaced them with great portraits of ‘regular’ people – business literally exploded. Lesson learned: my target audiences (women) don’t want ‘finely-detailed’ photos – no matter how beautiful the flowers are. They wanted ‘softer-focused’ photos of very regular people. And they didn’t ‘tell’ me this until after I changed the displays! Changing my ‘old-school’ displays and practicing ‘old-school’ human interaction taught me valuable lessons and increased my photography business.

But how does postcard printing differ from other marketing tools? There are quite a few answers to that:

First of all, postcards are easy to read. Because they do not need an envelope, people can easily read them at a glance. Despite being buried under numerous bills and letters, an attractive post card will easy catch attention. No need to open it up to read it. Just flip the card and people understand your message instantly.

Compared to emails and other forms of sales letters, postcards are not pushy. People can read postcards anytime they want. They can leave it on a table top or attached on the fridge for later reading.

Postcards have less competition. With many businesses going for modern marketing, a postcard will distinguish you from the rest of your competition. Just create an exceptionally creative postcard and you can effectively stand out in the crowd.

Postcards can be created in any design, size, color, or image. You basically every chance to design your postcard in any way you want it to be. Your imagination is your limit. You can bring out your creative juices in any way you can.

Postcards are timely. If you have an upcoming sale or event, you can let your customers know about it through postcards. You simply print a postcard, send it, and they will likely receive it on time. You can consider placing a discount coupon at the back to encourage your customers to take part in your upcoming event.

Postcards are two sided. Unlike emails, post cards can be printed on two sides. You can one side to print your message and contact details and the other side to place your products or services. As mentioned earlier, you can also consider printing a discount coupon on one side of your postcard. This way you are giving your customers an irresistible offer.

Postcards are multifaceted. A postcard printing can serve a lot of purpose. Aside from being used as a marketing material, it can also serve as a gift certificate, event ticket, or coupon. People can present your postcard upon visit to your store to claim an offer or avail of a discount. This will allow you to measure the effectiveness of your postcard campaign with every person who comes to your store with your card in hand.