An entrepreneurial cliché is to start with what you have. This of course drives home the fundamental principle that you have to start somewhere to get somewhere. Although this might instill inspiration and the motivation needed to get up off the proverbial couch and get something done, when translating that to direct marketing, starting with what you have is not always the best choice.
Take, for example, the following case:
A business owner has products and services very beneficial to real estate agents. MediaDyme worked with the client to create a comprehensive direct marketing campaign that was targeted specifically at prospects identified through real estate shows, events and other conferences. The campaign yielded a great response and great business and was successfully reproduced with variations using combinations of email, print, and SMS with predictable and repeatable results.
When the marketing message is personal and relevant to the target market, and provided in the right channel (email, SMS, or print, etc.), the return on investment for direct marketing is overwhelmingly positive.
Based on the success of existing products and responses, the same business owner launched a new product that was more generic and which appealed to a different group of people—job seekers. Although the new product was designed for a different market, he initiated a comprehensive direct marketing campaign using the same techniques and base product principles that appealed to the real estate agents. This campaign was then sent to the same list of recipients as his previously successful campaign—real estate agents. As you can imagine, the results were not as stunning as prior experiences. The business owner was left scratching his head and grew frustrated with the direct marketing effort. When asked why he had targeted the real estate leads with the new, more generic product, his answer was, “It is all I have.”
This exemplifies a clear misalignment with one of the two most important factors of effective direct marketing: relevance. If starting with what you have is not relevant to the prospect, then starting with what you have is a bad option and alternatives should be sought to generate recipients that are more relevant. This seems like common sense, but you would be surprised how many companies cast a much wider net than what is good for them in hopes of getting a nibble.
You don’t need to abandon “what you have” in order to pursue alternatives, but a different message and call to action is needed to make your message as relevant as possible. For example, generate awareness and potential viral leads by asking your more non-relevant list for unbiased feedback and offer compensation or discounts if they pass it along to others they think are interested. This is not an original idea by any stretch of the imagination, but it is effective nonetheless.
The core message here is: remember to apply the basic principles of marketing by considering the relevance of your offer to your target market and engage as many direct marketing channels as necessary to reach and converse.
Friday, March 26, 2010
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