Why do we receive junk mail? I think about this every time I get to my mailbox, usually on a weekly basis, maybe longer, depending on my willingness to tolerate this waste of my valuable time.
What is junk mail? Well, I’ll tell you what junk mail is not:
- Personal letters
- Customer communications
- Ads (yes, I said ads. I’ll explain.)
Every time I check my mail, it’s often junk. So much so, it has soured my view of the medium. I remember when it was once noble to receive letters from businesses and looking forward to the mail. This time was when I moved into my first apartment and had my own mailbox. It wasn’t long for the contents to become 100 percent junk. I think about a few weeks, if I recall.
If you’re a business who pays for those mailers, I am throwing your garbage away. You’ll never reach me. I’ll never find you.
Luckily, the advertising and marketing industry is evolving. Soon, it will be costly to produce such mass communications by city or ZIP code. Soon, it will become commonplace to think about printed marketing assets as a costly medium to get business.
I love ads. At least, I love the opportunity for businesses to showcase their creativity. Every time I look at an ad, I see it as an opportunity for them to persuade me with being unique. But time after time, I am disappointed because it’s more of the same boring, untargeted and lame offers.
Here’s what I want to see.
I want an advertiser to be creative. Be dangerous. Take risks and try to go above and beyond in telling their message, their story and why I need their services. Coupons only go so far. I want advertisers to go beyond direct response and go for what I term, direct relationship. Invite customers to try something, learn something and contribute to a greater cause.
Sure, direct mail is easy. Just put money in and you get leads out of it. But I’m telling you, this methodology is dying. Social media isn’t the answer. It’s having a unique selling proposition; it’s about uniquely going after your customers in ways they haven’t experienced.
Yes, I am jaded. I have justifiable cause. I don’t need a bed, I don’t need weekly grocery coupons, duct cleaning or my carpets cleaned. I don’t need a water purification system; I don’t need an alarm system or want to get into a five-year car lease.
Come up with better offers, better engagements and better services tailored to me. Sure enough that data is somewhere I don’t want it to be. Go after it and use it. Better yet, bribe me with $5 for a survey to tell you. That would be a nice thing that no one has done yet.
[Image credit: charlesonflickr]