Missed Opportunities in Small Business Marketing
I’ve got a quick story about a missed opportunity in small business marketing for you … and a simple, but often overlooked bit of advice.
When I get home from work each night, the first thing I like to do is check the mail. Inevitably, the mail pile is filled with credit card offers, grocery store circulars and other junk that goes directly into the recycling bin. However, yesterday I saw something that caught my eye. It was a plain #10 business envelope with the return address of a dental office written in black script, and my name and address handwritten on the front in blue pen. I figured a company willing to take the time to personally write my name and address on a mailing deserves my attention. (Hey, I like to reward effort … that and I wanted to make sure someone wasn’t trying to bill me for services I never received.)
Seeing as I was opening the piece, in my mind, I was praising them on their direct mail marketing technique. After all, they cleared the first direct mail hurdle with my breaking of the glue strip seal.
Inside the envelope was a sales letter, nothing fancy, just a simple color logo on top, and the message in black Helvetica type. The letter began telling me how they were welcoming me to the neighborhood, and wanted to introduce their “family” to my family. The letter went on to talk about how they offer warm, friendly service at a location close to my house in a “family-like” atmosphere.
The one thing missing? THE OFFER.
That’s right. The direct mail piece didn’t have an offer! There wasn’t any 10% off, 20% off, free x-rays, discounted rate for first-time customers … nothing at all. So, let me get this straight, you want to treat me like family, but give me nothing? I’m not sure how things work in your family, but I’m fairly certain if I went to a relative for dental work, they would not charge me full price.
Look, you had me! I opened the letter, I read the letter … all I needed was a decent offer and there’s a good chance I would’ve at least done some research on your practice and considered making an appointment. However, none of that happened.
A simple offer that makes sense will work. For instance, there’s a dentist that has a inexpensive little sign on the sidewalk that I pass everyday, it says, “new patient special: $60 for an exam, x-rays and cleaning.” It’s not a sign that’s going to win a design award, but you know what? It works. Sure, that dentist could be worse than Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors, but for a deal like that, I’m at least going to inquire about it. And, seeing as I’m in need of a new dentist, I will.
The point of this post is to alert those of you with small businesses to think before you spend money on marketing. Whether you have an accountant or do your own books, take some time and go over the numbers and see what you can afford in terms of an offer. You don’t have to give up the farm, but there’s bound to be something you can offer to get people in the door … find it, use it, test it, if it doesn’t work, test others until you find what works. Don’t give up until you find success! It may just be the difference between your business being around for 6 months or 60 years.
Good luck!
