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• Breakfast, lunch and cocktail receptions for attendees can then use the reverse side of the card for additional offers and other content, making scratch-off postcards a powerful marketing piece.”

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Plastic postcards, with the feel and thickness of a credit card and a shiny or glossy finish, are another solid option, Davis says. “They provide the ability to create pop-out offers that are the exact same size as a credit card and fit perfectly in a wallet or billfold, while key-tag offers can be popped out and put on your customers’ keychains.”

The Offer and Call to Action

To sell more pizza, any direct mail piece should include a strong offer and a clear call to action, Davis says. For coupons, you need to think strategically. “Many times, pizzeria owners want to run coupons only offering large bundle deals that include very specific items, the reason being to create a larger ticket. However, most markets consist of singles, couples and smaller families, not just large families that a large bundle deal would likely only appeal to.”

Instead, Davis adds, “It’s a best practice to reduce the number of bundle deals and add other offers, such as a generic tiered dollar-off offer, that would appeal to anyone—singles, couples, small families and even large families that want to order what they want without being forced to purchase the specific items in the bundle deal.”

High-value deals that get results include offering $3 off any order of $20 or more or $5 off any order of $30 or more, he says.

Once you’ve hooked them with the deal, you want them to act on it. “We recommend this call to action be something like driving customers to place an order online, joining a rewards program, downloading your app if you have one, etc.,”

Davis says. “All of these actions lead to gathering important customer info. It’s critical that you try and gather your customers’ data” so you can keep marketing to them.

“Because all of these actions call the customer to go online or to their phone to download something, it’s a best practice to include a QR code that easily takes them to the destination you want,” Davis adds. “Just remember to always include verbiage that explains the purpose of the QR code, like ‘Scan Here to Order Online.’”

Heaney recommends incorporating social media into your overall strategy as well—he calls it the “social match” approach. “People are more inclined to take action when they’re seeing a multimedia hit, whether a postcard and then social media; or social media before, during and after a direct-mail campaign. As people see the offer multiple times in multiple places, you’ll get a better result.”

Another great thing about direct mail marketing? It’s built to last. “Many consumers also hold on to their mail for long periods of time, giving your direct mail marketing message longevity and the ability to create repeat orders,” Davis says. “We have call tracking data from a direct mail menu sent out by a local mom-andpop shop that shows multiple repeat calls from the same menu over time and calls coming in over one year after the menus were sent out. This is the power of direct mail and is a win all around.”