It’s Only Junk Mail If It Doesn’t Work
Do you love when your mailbox gets crammed full of junk mail? The stack of flyers for shops I do not frequent, and for items I do not need, does become a nuisance at times. Even a note to the postman on my mailbox barely seems to stem the flow.
As a matter of professional curiosity I will occasionally browse through the variety of materials to see what stands out. Sometimes I even hang on to an example of what — or what not — to do as handy fodder for my marketing workshops.
While it’s usually just annoying, in one particular instance I found a postcard announcing the opening of a retail store in my neighbourhood. It offered a free sample or a more valuable gift with a minimum $5 purchase. I was intrigued.
As a matter of professional courtesy, you understand, I went down to check it out…and ended up purchasing $40 worth of product. The sales clerk was even nice enough to throw in both the free sample and the free gift.
It proves the point that sometimes “junk mail” does work — even on an experienced marketer like me. Which is why we continue to get so much of it. The million dollar question is always which times does it work?! In this case, the program was structured well in a number of important ways:
- There was action required and it could be tracked
- The reward (incentive) had tangible value
- Getting the reward required minimal investment
- More than one option was offered
- The in-store experience was very positive
Judging from the large stack of returned postcards behind the cash desk, the campaign worked for a lot of other people, too. Getting people in the store was clearly the goal and they succeeded. Given the great, friendly service, and the opportunity to sample via free product, I’d venture a guess that they’ve sold product too, whether then or at a later date.
And that, my friends, is what good return on (marketing) investment looks like.
