Get your customer's attention and give them an incentive to act now!
Your marketing piece should have a clear call-to-action that expresses to the customer exactly how you want them to respond. To implement a call-to-action, simply ask yourself how you want the recipient to react to the piece and include it in the creative and messaging.
A call-to-action can take on many forms. It could be to respond to a personalized URL or generic URL, go to a website, call a phone number, contact a representative, attend a trade show, or go to a retail location. Ask the recipient to act now! Include this call-to-action in an obvious and noticeable location in your creative. Perhaps bold letters, in the headline, or in a star burst.
The call-to-action seems to go hand in hand with an incentive. Infomercials utilize this tactic regularly to get buyers to have a sense of purchasing urgency. Call in the next twenty minutes and receive an additional ______ free! Incentives give the receiver reason to act on your call-to-action. It can be in the form of a giveaway, a discount, a contest, or a free gift with purchase.
Again, you must think like your consumer. Is a free $5.00 Starbucks gift card enticing enough or would they prefer to be entered in a drawing to win a new iPod Touch? Some offers can be pertinent to your business or others can be fun items that you think your customers will appreciate.
In any case, a call-to-action linked to an attractive incentive will give receivers all the more reason to react to your marketing piece.
Amanda Moore
Think outside the box!
This is usually where most of the thought and work goes into a marketing piece, and rightly so. Eye catching, colorful, and meaningful creative will get the receiver’s attention more than a dull piece (but the message will keep their attention).
It is important that the creative reflects your company and what you are trying to advertise. First, you might want to choose a mood for your marketing strategy. If you were to characterize the tone of your marketing, what would you call it: professional, playful, informative, dependable, light hearted, comedic, testimonial? Is complex graphic design going to enhance your piece or might photos help you convey your message more effectively?
Branding is also very essential. The receiver should immediately know who sent the piece and how to contact you for more information. Your company logos, color schemes, and slogans should be prevalent on everything you distribute. It is also helpful to design a campaign around a particular theme, gimmick, character, or slogan that is static in all of your marketing efforts.
Good branding and creative will allow you to build brand awareness and protect your company’s integrity.
Amanda Moore
Timing is everything...especially when your marketing is involved!
Timing is everything, and sometimes a successful campaign can be completely dependent on when it is distributed. Be sure that your marketing is time effective if it corresponds with a particular holiday or season. If you have a marketing campaign that is relevant year round, even better.
Bakeries that are busiest in the spring would have more success marketing in the late winter or early spring when customers are preparing for events. Likewise, advertising clothing a school supplies during the late summer will be well received by parents who are anticipating sending their children back to school.
Recently while driving in my car I heard a radio jingle that included a Christmas song. The advertisement caught my attention because it was the middle of August, so I listened. Turns out the advertisement had nothing to do with the holidays but it stood out. That advertisement would not have caught my attention if I heard it in December on a radio saturated with holiday songs and advertisements.
Frequency is one of the most overlooked aspects of marketing. For a marketing piece to be effective it must have several touch points or follow-ups. I often hear customers who say they have had absolutely no response on their annual post card campaign. I am never surprised by this statement.
As a consumer, ask yourself if you remember something you got in the mail six months ago, six weeks ago, or even yesterday…chances are you don’t. It only makes sense that the more often you contact a buyer, the more likely they will be to remember you and show interest in your product or service.
Try doubling or tripling your marketing frequency. Instead of yearly mailers, consider mailing quarterly. Now before you cringe at how much it would cost to quadruple your mailings consider this: 4,000 post cards mailed once a year will cost nearly the same amount as mailing 1,000 mailers four times a year. Qualify the leads ahead of time and increase frequency; chances are you will get a better response.
Amanda Moore
Make sure your message helps you stand out in all the clutter!
The message and copy on any type of marketing piece is the most important component. Messaging should be clear and concise while communicating your offer to you buyer.
First you must decide what it is you are marketing. What is the single most important message that this project must communicate? Is it a specific product, service, event, or special? Be sure that the receiver will have a clear understanding of what you are advertising.
Next, you need to examine the content of your marketing piece. Is it meaningful? Does it add interest or value to the piece? If not eliminate it. Nothing kills a marketing piece faster than too much text (the receiver will overlook it).
Your buyer is just like you and will respond similarly to marketing. So think like a consumer and ask your self would I care enough to read this? Would I skim it and throw it in the trash? If you don’t care enough about the copy then chances are, your customer wont either.
Amanda Moore
