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The show notes

Marketing is all about staying top of mind with your existing and future customers!

You want to be one the customer contact when they are in the need of an incentive travel, an event, seminar, or conference.

In episode no 9 of the MICE FM podcast I share a very powerful marketing hack I would use myself if I was a travel agent or owner of one.

Backstory

About 13-14 years ago, I randomly got talking to a Danish businessman in a lobby bar in a 5-star hotel in Vilnius.

Turns out he is what you would call a “super-connector”. A person with a huge network of high caliber people a phone call away.

A lot of his business success, and value, was that he knew so many people in so many places all around the globe. He could basically get you anything or connect you with anyone around the world (almost).

As we are chatting, I notice a pile of postcards next to him.

I asked him about it, and he told me that this was his secret marketing hack.

He was traveling the World constantly and he had made it part of his routine to always send at least 5 postcards to people in his network, and always make sure they never forgot about him.

He had one of the first smartphones from Nokia that folded out and had a keyboard and a larger screen when you unfolded it.

He opened up his brick of a phone and showed me his Excel file with connections and how he would mark down destination and date next to the connections name from where and when he sent that connection a postcard.

He told me that he got so much positive feedback from his network and it was such a unique and awesome way to stay in touch and top of mind.

Does this work in 2020

This story and wisdom dates before Facebook and LinkedIn was a thing.

Despite the social networks of today, I think this hack is more effective and important in 2020 than ever!

Think about it.

How often do you get any mail in your postbox which is not an invoice from the government or some advertisement of sorts?

Not very often!

Right?

Or on a corporate scale.

How often does anyone get a postcard to their office desk, or any mail at all these days?

I would say almost never!

Standing out from the crowd

Marketing is about standing out, being remembered, being top of mind, as well as showing yourself in a positive light (and as an expert, of course).

Making a habit of sending postcards to your customers every time you are out traveling, sharing your wisdom and knowledge, and offering up destination ideas to them via a handwritten postcard will 100% make you stand out from the crowd, AND stay top of mind!

If you can send 2 postcards per year to all of your customers from various destinations, I guarantee you that you will not only build a unique and solid relationship with your customers, it will also be hard for others to come in an win their business from under your nose.

Stand out and stand top of mind!

This marketing hack will probably not cost you much more than a few hundred Euros or Dollars, and some hours of your time. But I can guarantee you that it will be ROI positive!

Stephen Anderson said it best: When everyone zigs, zag!

When everyone doing everything digital, Zag and send a postcard!

Thomas Danielsen

I am the host of the MICE FM podcast. It's awesome that you dropped by, and nice to meet you!

I am a MICE professional with over 15 years of experience in the industry. I am the founder, and co-owner of a DMC in The Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) called DMC Baltic. 

I also blog about the MICE industry over at my blog MICEnotes.com