Think inside the box, for a change
onsider this for a
minute. What was the best response you ever had to an
advertising campaign? Was it 15 percent… 30
percent… or maybe even as high as 50 percent? Did you
ever discover why you got such a great response? And were you
ever able to duplicate that fantastic return?
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While traveling in the Orient some years
ago, my friend, John, walked into a shop and immediately
noticed a beautiful hand-carved jade chess set. It was very
expensive. But it was exactly what he had been looking for, so
he bought it, as well as a dozen more.
Upon returning to the States, John decided
that he would send one of the chess sets to the president of a
particular company he hoped to make inroads with.
As John carefully gift-wrapped the set, he
strategically removed one of the two kings. The handwritten
note enclosed within the package explained that the jade chess
set was a gift from John. It was free.
He also mentioned that the set was not
entirely intact but it very easily could be with just a simple
phone call. In so many words, it stated, “If you want to
collect your missing king, make an appointment with me.”
The idea worked like a charm. John got his
appointment, the president got his king and a great idea was
born.
John sells consulting services to key
businesses and sometimes it’s very difficult to get in
the door. During the next year, he sent the remaining chess
sets out to select individuals from a list of target
businesses. He always used the same approach. He would hold
back the king when sending the set to a man and he would hold
back the queen when he was trying to secure an appointment with
a female executive.
His success rate was an astounding 100
percent! Every missing king and queen was ransomed and, in each
case, a handsome reward was happily paid.
Sometimes it pays to think
“inside” the box. If you really want to make an
impact and be certain your mail gets opened, make the package a
3-D mailer — something with dimension.
I’ve been on Ted’s mailing
list for over ten years. Ted is a marketing guru in Florida. We
met while we were attending a seminar together and ever since
then I have enjoyed his continuous stream of very cleverly
packaged direct mail offers. I say, “enjoyed,”
because it’s both entertaining and instructive to see how
he gets his message across.
First of all, he mails often — very
often, in fact. And he almost always uses 3-D packages. The
packages are usually big, colorful, awkward and sometimes even
lumpy. Lumps in your gravy are not good, but when it comes to
direct mail, lumps are just the ticket. You can’t ignore
a piece of lumpy mail. You just have to find out what’s
making it lumpy.
Over the years, Ted has sent me tubes of
every size, boxes, sheets of cardboard, plastic bags, tin cans,
brightly colored metallic paper envelopes, see-through plastic
bags and once, he even sent me a pitch in an honest to goodness
paper lunch bag. I think that one was the best ever.
Dimensional mail is, without a doubt, the
most expensive type of direct marketing you can do. It’s
generally used in business-to-business applications such as a
$1,200 jade chess set used to secure a $30,000 consulting job.
But 3-D can also be used by anyone who wants a great return and
is not afraid to spend the money.
Why would you want to produce a
dimensional mailer for your drycleaning business?
A recent study at Baylor University found
that dimensional mail can increase response rates by as much as
75 percent. It has 20 times the penetrating power of flat
direct mail and scores 80 percent or better in generating
positive opinions among recipients.
Plus, mail that’s sent in a package
is generally left unopened for the addressee. In other words,
the gatekeeper, or secretary, is not going to open it or dump
it but instead will pass it along to the intended target. In
short, it grabs the recipient’s attention and almost
always gets opened and read.
Can a drycleaner use dimensional marketing
profitably?
Yes! Bill and Ted (not their real names)
are good examples of drycleaners who are not afraid to try new
ideas. I’ve written about Bill and Ted before (see
September 2003 issue).
They embarked on a most excellent
adventure some two years ago and the results they’ve
received have exceeded their expectations.
One of the things they’ve learned on
their adventure so far is that when they spend money promoting
their business, it comes back many times over.
Just recently, Bill and Ted placed an
order for custom-made boxes, thousands of them. These are top
quality, high gloss, full color boxes with their logo
emblazoned on top. They look very, very sharp.
The plan is to pack interesting
information as well as useful items into the boxes and then
address them personally to customers. As this article is being
written, Bill and Ted are putting the finishing touches on the
first phase of this project and even though none of the 3-D
packages have yet been mailed, I predict this will be their
biggest success to date!
A cleaner in my hometown did a similar
mailing eight years ago. Shortly after his grand opening, we
helped him put together and send out a box to some 500
prospects around his store. He called it his Drycleaner’s
Survival Kit.
Among other things, the contents included
a lint roller, a compact sewing kit, several garment care
brochures and an express bag to get them started on his new VIP
service. At just over $6 apiece, it was the most costly mailing
he had ever done, but with a return of just about 40 percent he
was on cloud nine.
If you want fresh faces at your counter
and you’re confident that your work is as good as, if not
better than, any cleaner in your area, and if you’re
looking for a good way to get this message out, try a 3-D
mailing.
Sometimes it pays to think inside the box.
Bill Bishop has been a consultant with the
Golomb Group for the past 12 years, designing marketing and
promotional programs for drycleaners. He can be reached at the
Golomb Group at (800) 679-5856 or by e-mail at billbishop@golombgroup.com.
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