Clutter-Busting in Surprising Ways

Clutter is a real problem in marketing today.  So I’m always impressed with thinking that busts clutter and delivers a marketing message in a very positive way. 

Now, not everyone thinks airplane food is that great, but FREE food makes everything taste a little better.  One advertiser thought it would be a good idea to offer people on selected flights a box lunch for free.  All that is required is the opportunity to read the marketing message.  The idea is perfect:  The audience is captured and can’t move; people feel like everything costs extra on a plane; and it doesn’t take much in this environment to provide a memorable moment that will endear the company to the potential customer.

Gilt Group, an online, members-only luxury retailer, offered the box lunch through a new company called Air Advertisement.  First they researched and learned that select flights are full of their potential target audience.

Imagine the positive feeling when the snack box arrives free of charge.  I also love that the company was really thinking about its target audience and its needs.   It’s a real clutter-buster.

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The Best Resume

After more than 30 years of hiring people, I’ve seen my share of resumes.  To me, a resume is pure advertising.  In most cases, it is simply direct mail. 

Over the years, I’ve saved a few resumes to use in speeches to college students.  I’ve saved plenty of bad resumes to show,  but there are only two good ones that I hold up to students.  One that I show is from one of our writers.  There is a cover letter and a typical resume, but there is also a ‘benefit page’ that I love.  The second resume in my file was added this year.

The resume is for a graphic designer position.  What sets this resume above the rest are two things: 1) there is a Quick Response code that takes you to the designer’s website; and 2) there is a chart that graphically shows the designer’s skill level in key areas.  I’ve never seen a chart on a resume, so this one caught my attention immediately.

The real benefit of the chart is that it told a great story about this designer.  It told me she thinks graphically (which is a real benefit for a designer) and that she thinks out of the old box.

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How Many Times Should We Email You?

A frequent question I’m asked is, “How often should you contact someone you’re trying to sell?”

It’s a touchy question for any situation.  And we all have our strategies.  We know that frequency is a powerful tool and that most unsuccessful salespeople stop contacting people after the first no.   But what about when you can send unlimited contacts at no cost?  How much is too much?  

New research in a study titled, “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” from ROI Research and Perfomics, found that 28% of people would prefer contact once a month and 26% would prefer it once a week or less.  So I would say twice a month is going to work for most people.

About half of all people say they are likely to post content about products and services.  60% of people said they are likely to act on product or service information friends post on social networks.

So the key is to send a limited amount of content, but encourage people to forward the content to friends.  Word of mouth, no matter the medium, is the most powerful marketing.

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Don’t Call Me

Pamela Paul, writing in the New York Times, identified a new trend–people just are not calling anymore.   Ms Paul says that it use to be , “Don’t call after 10 pm, and now it is don’t call at all.” 

It is the same at home:  If I want to reach my teenage daughter, the best way is texting. She will not answer my calls.  Nielsen Media, according to Ms Paul, shows cellphone voice spending is trending down with text spending expected to surpass it soon.  We already know that 1 in 4 households have unhooked their landlines.  Now those who have cellphones are not answering.

So what does this mean for marketing?

• Your writing must be on target.
• It will be harder to talk directly with clients, donors, and stakeholders.
• You will get less in-person sales presentations.
• Your direct mail must improve.
• You will need to find a way to make video work for you.
• You will need to learn to text and soon.

R U ready?

This from one of my favorite pickets, Jim Waterbury.  Thank you Jim.

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