Marketing that makes sense
Christopher Brazy
REVIEW: Marketing with Card Emergency
What are we up against as spa owners? Well, there's the health club spas, hotel spas, resort spas, medspas and giant salon/spas. Now there are even massage and facial franchises. A practicing owner (or any owner) has a lot to deal with. How do you do so? If you're one of the few that went into the business prepared with funds to run your business, great. If not, you need to watch your bottom dollar. Even with advertising dollars, in this economy, you need to market smartly. That starts with a properly written ad (see link at bottom of page). But what can you do further? We found an amazing service that helps ...a lot! Getting read
What's the main problem with advertising? It's ADVERTISING! People don't want it. They see it and they toss it. But can you really address thousands of envelopes by hand in hopes of them getting opened? And once opened, will your piece be read? Probably not. So, what does get opened? Think of yourself and what you open. And for myself, if I get a greeting card, I open it and I read it. And if it's humorous, that's even better. Card Emergency does just this. What CardEmergency is exactly
Card Emergency is an online service that prints greeting cards (in your own handwriting) of their -or- YOUR design (with your own picture and headline if you like), stuffs the card in an envelope, addresses it, stamps it and sends it ...all for you. You can even add in gifts (gift cards, cookies, books, etc). And it does so for MUCH less than the cost of a regular card. Simply put, you upload clients addresses, design a card and send it to one person or a thousand, in under a minute. Simple, cheap and best of all, effective. A little bit each day
Most grand plans get put aside and never see the light of day ...this doesn't get pushed aside. With a service as easy as a few clicks online, you can stay on top of your marketing and actually get it done, which is what's really important. We do a little each day, sending birthday cards, thank you cards, referral cards or even planning a large mailing. It's easy to add in gifts for clients who have referred us and strengthen our relationships with business partners. When times are tough, it's a lot easier to spend $5 to send a few cards to clients than to spend $5,000 to send out a postcard campaign that just ends up in the trash. Ease of use
The learning curve is very low, but there. The hardest part is joining! But once signed up, you just go to the card catalogue, search through the categories (there's even a beauty/spa category) and choose a card. You can choose a postcard, greeting card, or tri-fold (these you can use for menu's). You type your message and can adjust the font color, type and layout. Images are easily added too. Creating your own card with your own image and headline is even a fairly simple task. Getting your own handwriting font setup is simple as well. You just print out the alphabet on their form (cursive doesn't work), create your signature and mail it in. They scan it into your own font so your letters truly are hand written. You're even allowed four signatures, so you can have a personal one, business one, formal and informal. The cost?
Technically, nothing. It's free to use. You'll pay retail and won't get the bonus features (like adding in pictures and your own handwriting font), but if you buy "points" to pay for a card and put a little money into your account to cover postage, you're set to use it. A retail point is .49 and 1 point covers a postcard, 2 a greeting card (so .98 each) and 3 a tri-fold. For a $99 setup fee you can create your own cards with the "picture-plus" upgrade. If you're going to do a lot of mailings you can even buy down the cost of points to wholesale pricing of .31 each (a 37% discount). This wholesale setup includes your own handwriting font and is an additional $199 (so $298 total). For $100 more you can be an "entrepreneur" and get paid for everyone you tell about it who signs up underneath you. So if you work it, you'll earn residuals that will add up to a nice monthly paycheck! All the details are online at www.sendoutcards.com/cardemergency
 Changing people's lives, one card at a time. 
|
|
- Send Out Cards
|
|
|
The REAL glue
As their slogan says, you literally are changing peoples lives, one card at a time. By sending out heartfelt messages to your clients, colleagues, friends and family, you're making a world of difference. I get a big smile on my face each time I send a client a birthday card, knowing that I'm probably one of maybe two or three people that even remembered. I get an even bigger smile sending a card and adding in a gift to anyone who refers me. By showing our clients, friends and family that we truly care about them, we create a bond that cannot be broken. Not by glitzy advertising, not by cheap rates, not by anything. And THAT is marketing that makes sense.
Customer Comments
Most Helpful Customer Comments
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this service with us. Doing this online (especially our whole list at once) has saved us a good $100 per week in labor.
And you're right, our clients are loving it. We're seeing an increase in sales already, these cards are coming back in more than our $2,000 coupon magazine advertising!
Just give a call or signup online for a free guest account. It really does make a difference.
|
FREE Sample Articles
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
Reddit
Twitter
Comments (0)