On the one hand you have a postcard sent to a person's home that asks, ?Want to save money? Come on in today and start saving money by switching over to our business.? It might not be those exact words, but you get the picture, and I'm sure you've probably received something similar to it.

Or think instead about getting a formal greeting card in the mail that says instead, ?We humbly request your presence in order to help you find better savings and a better place to shop. We're sure we'll be able to provide you with service exceeding what you're currently able to get at other stores.?

The second one is less forceful, more humble, and requests something rather than specifically telling someone to do something. Furthermore, you don't see something like that as often. I get so many postcards in the mail, but I rarely receive greeting cards.

If you get custom greeting cards you can add an additional touch to make the cards uniquely yours. You'll of course have your company name and logo on them, but you don't need to shout your company name. Simply having them there will be all that you'll likely need.

Keeping your tone formal draws a stark contrast between what people are used to getting in the mail, and increases the odds of you being remembered long after you've handed them those custom greeting cards.

Now, before anyone gets the wrong idea, my point here isn't to say that postcards don't work, or that a direct message is counter productive. This isn't true at all, and postcards still remain as a wonderful and powerful marketing device.

However, doing something unique will always help you stand out, and since so many companies don't bother with greeting cards, you automatically stand out from the crowd.

But given the importance of postcards as well, your best bet is to make use of both of them. Don't use just greeting cards or just postcards, but a combination of the two.

One tact is to make a list of all the people who have shopped with you before to send postcards to while making a separate list of all new customers you're targeting and send your custom greeting cards to them.

Now you get the benefit of both to target the largest audience possible and gain the biggest benefit.

My real point here is to say that doing something unique will help you to stand out, but that doesn't mean you should also discard methods of advertising that you know are effective.

The best kind of marketing is the type that can find a good balance between the unique marketing tactics and the staples of the industry. Find a combination that suits your business well.