There are many smart people out there writing and speaking about marketing your business. Today the voice you shall hear is my own. But I will not necessarily speak as one business to another. I will instead be one customer to businesses and people who are in charge of the marketing of that business.
In case you did not notice, it's a pretty noisy world out there. I don't care if you live on a mountaintop in Greenland. If you have a business and are actively marketing that business, then you are using a lot of the same tools everyone else is using - TV, radio, social networking, newspapers, some even still use the Yellow Pages because it works for them. Maybe you are vending and networking face to face to build relationships. Maybe you are networking screen to screen. If you stop to visualize all these places, what do they have in common? Your ad is next to someone else's. Your TV or radio spot has to say it all in 30 seconds. Your social networking page has tons of people on it that's hard for you to sort out, so imagine everyone else.
It's a noisy world today compared to just 10, 20 years ago; basically one to 1 1/2 generations ago. It's no wonder people ignore their calls and let them go to voice mail. They don't necessarily respond to emails quickly, if at all. I know I do this and again, I am talking to you as a consumer.
I see your emails and I am annoyed because there are SO many of them from SO many people so I mostly delete, sort, or save for later. In any of these scenarios, your immediate deal goes unnoticed. Yeah, I get those tweets. But I get too many of them so I may glance, I may never read, I may miss them altogether. Where is my safe haven? Personally, I have two children so my car is one of my favorite places and thus radio is still somewhat effective for me. But I don't live in my car so you've got me for a limited amount of time.
No. My safe haven is home where I can turn all that noise off. Businesses and even everyday people have gone wild with the power of instant connection so I have to go invisible for a little while. But how can you still reach me, dear business owner, when I am screening my phone calls? What is one place where even you can still enter my quiet world? The U.S. Mail.
Oh yes, dear business owner. I am still reading my mail. I still come home and sort looking for something other than a bill I am going to pay online anyway so I doubt I'll open. (Gotta go paperless. Note to self.) My eyes are still looking for pops of color because I am attracted to that. That's why even if I don't plan to order a thing, catalogs still grab me. As I chill and do nothing, I'll peruse those and by the end, who knows? I may just be dog-earring a page for future use. I may even be checking out my bank account to see if I can swing this unexpected expense (so you better make it good!).
The mail, dear business owner, is no longer fun for people. I just heard a statistic yesterday that ever since the Internet came along, over 70% of people no longer write letters. I still do, though not as much, and everyone I know appreciates it. Think of the holidays. We are still scrambling to send cards and we love to get them. The mail has become a place of mainly bills and overdue notices, but there is still some soliciting going on. People are still reading even the solicitations of companies they are interested in if the mail is interesting enough.
So make yours interesting for me!
Once in my whole life, so far, have I received a puzzle from a company. Did I open that unusual package? Sure I did! Ok, yes, this was pre-anthrax days, but I think we're back to safe mode now. Even today I REMEMBER that puzzle. It was for a car dealership, so no I wasn't buying. But I remember it! My kids took it to play with right then and there. Jigsaw puzzles are memorable, dear business owners! And people tend to keep them as well. Imagine how much your message is getting through over and over again!
You can use jigsaw puzzles to:
If you want to be different and new right now, go old school. Try the mail and make yourself stand out from the crowd.
This little beauty is a 2x2, 4-piece puzzle that just says hi. Interested? They start at $1.75 per puzzle for a minimum of 500. Check it out!
I agree this is a busy world! Almost too much to soak in in one day!
ReplyDeleteI do love the puzzle ideas though and think they are memorable!