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Hi Winston;
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This greeting card business is a little different though. I've been having a hard time in figuring out "who" to market it too with any degree of targeted approach.
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You're right. The greeting card business is different than a lot of niche markets. I'll throw a couple of ideas at you.
For business services, I'd make a list of business types that typically have high 'long term customer value'. The kinds of companies that don't want their customer to go elsewhere the "next" time as well as businesses that depend on recurring fees and, thus, want to retain their customer database.
If I was in your business, I'd create a very simple brochure or postcard with this on the front:
68% of consumers "take their business elsewhere" because of perceived indifference on the part of the company.
[excerpt: "Fabled Service"]
Helping you keep your customers
is our business.
You can probably see where I'm going with that.
For the personal cards, your target market probably isn't male. lol. Almost every guy I know signs a card because his wife bought it. That includes my brothers, too. lol So... female.
Women do a LOT of their buying based on word of mouth. Probably WAY more than men would realize. We'll look at something five zillion times and we're not sure if we really have all the details yet. But, should a friend say "oh, you gotta see this..." - and we're right there. lol Just being honest.
If I was running your site, here's what I'd do. I'd look for really neat holiday oriented story. The first valentine card ever sent. Who is St. Valentine. Why is Jan 1 New Years. The first Christmas Card ever sent. How Mothers Day came to be. Why are roses the most popular wedding flower. That sort of thing. Like "emotional" trivia. Along the chicken soup idea, but themed to the occasions people would send cards.
I'd build an entire section of those stories on the site. At the bottom of each one, I'd have a "send this to a friend" form. not a button that includes an extra step - but a form right ON the page. (You can see that in action at KoaCoffee.com - click on recipes. It's at the bottom of each recipe.)
As you're writing the stories, make sure they only take up 2/3 of the page in width.
On the right hand side of the page is a column that shows sample cards and brief testimonials. Things like "My family LOVED the photos in the cards I sent out - and I didn't have to pay for prints! Thanks."
As people read the stories, they'll see the right column in their peripheral vision. And you KNOW women are going to pass those stories around.
Then I'd start posting them at article databases in the "women" section. In the sig file, don't link to the main page. Say "for more stories like this one, click here" and the click here goes to the main stories/articles page. What you'd be doing is "feeding" a viral marketing plan. They go to the stories, find one they like, pass it on to a friend ... and word spreads.
It's a LOT of work - yes. But it's what I'd do. For that matter, I'd look for old, old stories from days gone by - and I'd submit those to women's magazines 6-9 months in advance of the holiday. One big women's magazine picks up a story to fit with a holiday theme issue and you're laughing.
: )
Linda
Dang I post long. Sorry. lol
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