Nextdoor's A+ Postcard with Sneaky Tactics
Nextdoor is a social media network for your neighborhood, created for the purpose of building stronger neighborhoods. Their goal is to be your go-to "neighborhood app", and also a "private social network" for you and your immediate neighborhood.
Nextdoor users also use the app to find a last-minute babysitter or dog walker, broadcast local events like block parties and local business openings, sell things, or report suspicious activity to their neighbors or police like a modern neighborhood watch system.
Additionally, with Nextdoor you can learn about what your neighbors REALLY think of your lawn care skills (hint: they aren't impressed).
However, before new users can utilize the full functionality of the Nextdoor app, they must match their address with their corresponding Nextdoor account by entering a verification code sent via postcard. For instance, the only way to see your neighbors' comments on your Christmas decorations (hint: you could be doing worse) is to verify your address with via postcard.
So, what's so cool about Nextdoor's address verification postcards? They are wicked (read: extremely) custom.
In tech, this is what we call "great user experience". It's nearly impossible to do with EDDM mailing campaigns, but with direct B2C postcards you can have a ton of variables that change with each recipient. You can see some of Scout's personalization variables here.
Nextdoor makes things easy, personal, and secure for their users with their address verification process.
If you've ever registered your local business with Google My Business, you know the drill.
{{Your Name}} Gets You to Read, Kyle
This card is really custom and is refined. Here's why it's perfect:
- It has YOUR name in bold. Kyle always reads things addressed to Kyle. Real names are important here.
- It mentions that you took an action. This isn't some random postcard - it's a special postcard Tg
- In big bold huge green letters it says your name and your neighborhood. I'm definitely reading now.
- The code doesn't look like this, 918083190UJFOO. It's SO simple. That's why they expire.
- Notice the simple URL and a big red thing that tells me act now, or else, KYLE!
This isn't a marketing postcard, but it fulfills a key function in the Nextdoor platform. It may not necessarily be the only way to verify a street address, but it's certainly one of the most secure. Best practices like these are crucial in an age when online privacy and the safeguarding of personal information by companies is paramount.
Otherwise, complete strangers from anywhere on earth could tell you to tone down the Pink Flamingos :-)
A perfect back, too.
The back is great too and like any good postcard it repeats, repeats, repeats. Here we go:
- It reminds me of my name again on the flipside of the card.
- The Nextdoor neighborhood is repeated twice, further customizing the message.
- The thing you need to do is in red. Perfect for a postcard or distracting for your neighbors.
- It reminds me of my login email without giving it out to anyone who could find the postcard.
Let's take a step back and learn from the pieces that make this postcard an A+.
- It has an expiration date, all good cards should! Act now, or else
- It has my name all over it, such personalization 2-5x postcard conversion rates
- It has other key personalization features, like my neighborhood.
- It has three steps. No one believes anything takes 2 steps, and 4 is way too hard.
- It doesn't have a bunch of bullshit. People love to put way too much bullshit on their postcards.
So, steal these postcard principles from Nextdoor (who obviously have refined them a bunch). But, whatever your political beliefs... don't steal your neighbor's lawn signs... they have cameras.
Do you use Nextdoor, and looking for further information regarding doing customer address verification for your business? Give us a shout via our contact page!
