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I received a direct mail piece today that left me scratching my head. It’s an oversized, folded, full-color postcard for a company that I’ve never heard of.
The address panel says, “Congratulations, Shari – You’re a preferred quilter!” So far – so good. They got my name right. I’m a wannabe quilter. But who’s sending this to me and what’s the offer?
It’s from a company with a non-descript name and the product it’s touting is “Blank Quilting Fabric.” What?
The other side of the still closed card offers (in big block letters) a FREE TOTE* AND $10.00 in fabric savings inside! Note the asterisk. More on that in a moment.
The photo of the tote looks nice and although I have no idea at this point why I’d want to purchase a Blank anything, I’m really curious as to where this shop is located. After all, I’m a preferred quilter!
So I open the card, find FREE this and SAVE that, accompanied by an abundance of exclamation marks and disclaimers, but where’s the store?
* The “Blank Quilting Tote” is FREE with any Blank purchase to the first 24 visitors to their shop who show this ad (while supplies last).
$10.00 in fabric savings accrues by having seven thimbles punched out of a coupon at a rate of one thimble punch per yard of Blank Quilting fabric.
Wait, there’s the address – in a size 12 font, smack dab in the middle of the coupon for “Bland fabric” that I’m supposed to cut out of the postcard and carry with me to a store that I’ve never heard of, in a city 45 minutes away.
And yes, you read that right … not only was the brand “Blank Quilting,” but the coupon had a typo and it wound up as just “Bland.”
Now maybe I’d better offer my own disclaimer and repeat that I’m unfamiliar with Blank Quilting fabric. Its tagline is “the fabric of inspiration,” and it might be just that. But the image it brings to mind is of a bland, blank canvas. As a wannabe quilter, I want color and texture. Quilting fabric correlates to paint ON a canvas.
Missed Opportunities
To begin with, this was an expensive piece to produce and mail. We’re talking four-color process, digitally imprinted with the store name, recipient name and address. Why spend all that money to send out a card without …
- a real offer?
- a prominent physical address? Better yet, with a tiny map?
- a web site URL?
- a phone number so that I could find out their hours, if I was so inclined?
- telling me, or better yet, showing me what’s so great about Blank Quilting fabrics?
- proofing every single word so that your brand doesn’t show up as “Bland?”
I don’t want to see two photos of the same tote that will only be available to whoever might show up before me … and newsflash … I’m not going to drive 45 minutes to be one of the first 24 people in line for a tote.
What would have hooked this wannabe quilter? Those very same missed opportunities, especially a web site, where I could have had all of my questions answered. I’d have gone to the trouble to look up their web site.
Once there, I’d have signed up for a newsletter, if they had one … maybe one offering tips for the beginning quilter. Tie those tips in with a product that I can order online, and I might just do so. Provide quality content and quality products with good customer service, and the next time I’m in your fair city, I’ll probably pay you a visit.
If this mailing had directed recipients to a specific landing page on that web site, the retailer would be able to track response to the mailing. Each of the next steps could be easily tracked and analyzed and the retailer could adjust his marketing strategy, test new ideas, repeat the profitable ones and discard the rest.
As small business owners, it’s vital to our survival that we make wise use of our marketing dollars.
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Thousands of dollars are spent on highway billboards each year by small businesses hoping to make a big impression. Sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t. Yet 50,000 people a day drive by Acuity Insurance in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and form a positive impression of the company because of its flag pole.
Christina Trombley, director of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Small Business Development Center, says she’s often asked if there’s a formula that businesses should use to determine their marketing budget for the year. That question alone, she says, “uncovers an inherent problem in how a small business owner views marketing and its role in the organization.” Marketing is not an operational cost, but an investment in the business.
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