Conducting a direct-mail campaign can be risky business. What can be done to make them pay off? After all, no one wants to go to all the effort to do one of those mailing and not get any customers from the effort. No one needs "negative cash-flow."

I hear a lot of talk about such campaigns being "a numbers game." The idea being that if you are not getting results, the problem is you simply are not repeating the process enough or your mailings are too small. I have even heard it takes seven communications to the same person before you can expect to get any feedback. Wow!

Well, I have done large and large campaigns and actually had worse results the second time around. Having been burned by such advice as previously mentioned, I no longer buy into it. Instead, I am thinking "small, targeted and exceptionally nice." In fact, I am considering sending out laminated invitations that are suitable for posting in an office. The idea here is to not only reach out to select businesses but encourage their assistance in spreading my message to their employees and patrons.

How is this process supposed to work? First, I call each prospect before the invitation goes out to let him know a very nice invitation is on its way and be sure to be on the lookout for it. Next, I mail out the invitations. The following week I call all prospects again to verify the invitation has been received and inquire if it is now on display.

Rest assured, I am not sending these invitations out to hundreds or thousands of addresses. That would cost too much money. I am only sending out 50 invitations. But, my hope is that my prospects will be so impressed with the beautiful invitation - the fact that it is laminated and even comes with a plastic hole for convenient thumb-tacking to a bulletin board - that they will post it for all employees and patrons to see.

If you have ever done anything like this, please share your experience. I would like to get some feedback on this approach.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Joni Garcia

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Scott,

Excellent question. The invitation is to visit a convenience store and try its new chicken product, Broaster Chicken. You need to understand the surroundings here. This is a convenience store in a small town. In fact, the convenience store is right across the street from the local high school and the only place to get gas in the entire town. To see what the place looks like, visit Middletown, CA.

Each one of these invitations goes to a business - not a residence. That is not by accident. It is by design. Each invitation will be printed in color on sturdy card stock and laminated in plastic. Why is it laminated in plastic? So, it can be pinned to a bulletin board or put on display in an office. The idea here is that one invitation impacts many individuals, not just the recipient. Perhaps this is somewhat bold, but the prospect is not only being asked to use the product, but to promote it. And, for that reason, the invitation needs to look too nice to simply disgard.

Before the invitations go out, all prospects are going to be called and told to be on the lookout for the invitation. The week following the mailing of the invitations, each prospect will be called again to see if he received the invitation and asked if the invitation was put on display. I need to be able to measure the effectiveness of this effort. If people are offended, I want to know. If people are impressed, I want to know that as well. I need both the good news and the bad.

On Saturday of last week, a promotion was done in the town for the convenience store's new chicken product. At what was a small trade show in a high school multipurpose facility for an event called "Christmas in Middletown," free coupons for the new take-out chick product were circulated. This invitation mailing is a follow-up to that promotion. There will also be articles in the local newspaper as well as ads regarding the convenience store's outreach to the community.

Since the product has not arrived in town - and there is no take-out chicken place in town - the hope is this promotion will create a positive buzz for this new take-out chicken being provided by a convenience store, 24/7. The take-out chicken should be here in about two weeks.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

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Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Kurt,

Why mail? Because out here in California gasoline is expensive. We are not talking about 50 companies that all reside in the same building or even in the same block. We are talking about a sizeable rural area. Hand delivering all 50 invitations would take a considerable amount of time. And yes, time is money - outgoing money. The idea here is to create anticipation for the take-out chicken BEFORE it is even available. That is why I plan to call each business and tell them to be on the lookout for the special invitation. I also plan to follow-up after the invitation is delivered (via mail) to see if it was in fact posted.

You make a good point that some businesses may have a policy against such invitations being posted. In that case, it might be a good idea for me to include a little Post-It not stating that if company policy forbids the posting of invitations, please call XXXX and the invitation will be picked up.

From my perspective, this invitation is exclusive. Not just anyone is going to be sent this invitation. However, if some of the folks being sent the invitation do not want to be bothered with it, I should be willing to take it off their hands and give it someone who will appreicate it.

Fifty, sturdy, laminated, color cardboard invitations mailed in large gold leaf invitationmay not sound like much. But, if major businesses display the same attractive message to their employees and patrons for three months, I believe some amazing marketing can be accomplished.

Please keep in mind this is just one phase of a marketing campaign. There will be ads and citizen journalism articles in local newspapers and magazines, plus an online lens.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Joni Garcia

Joni,

You make a good point. Why promote chicken take-out dinners before you have them? Well, we are dealing with a small town that only has two major community events a year. One of them is in June, the other was last Saturday. It cost the convenience store all of $10 to be a vendor in this annual event. While people may trash the coupon they received between now and the time the chicken arrives later this month, it is hoped they will not forget about the chicken take-out between now and then. My display was outside the front door. Everyone coming into the building had to go past me and my tri-fold table display. I had Pocket Pal day planners and 2007 convenience store calendars to give away. I even had a brass raffle drum for conducting a free raffle. While the main focus of my presence was to promote the upcoming take-out chicken dinners, even more important was to promote the convenience store overall. By the way, the convenience store was located right across the street.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Kurt,

There will be display ads with chicken coupons in the local papers and magazines. There will also be newspaper articles in the paper about the convenience store when the ads run. Therefore, you will have the added reinforcement. There is no local radio station in Middletown, CA. That is why there is no radio advertising.

While the ads in the newspaper and magazines have the potential to reach a lot of people, it is a "here today/gone tomorrow" deal. However, if the businesses end up posting the chicken display ad invitation as requested in public view, it could last the length of the campaign - three months. Think of it like a billboard on the highway that you see every time you travel back and forth to work. Only, here in my scenario, you are not on the highway, you are in an office or store. In fact, you might go into 50 different stores over a three-month period of time. And, at each store you visit, there is that invitation reminding you to taste "the world's best chicken."

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer

Private Reply to Althea Garner

Kurt,

You make a good point. There needs to be a reason for the other businesses to care. Why should they bother to post the laminated display card in their store or office? Here are some reasons: 1) It alerts their employees and patrons to a worthwhile bargain that is available only for a limited time. 2) It's attractive and adds to the ambiance of the workspace. 3) I can throw in a few free coupons for chicken, along with the invitation.

With regard to follow-up, I will be contacting all business prospects BEFORE the invitation goes out to alert them that it is coming and to be on the lookout for it. I will also be contacting each prospect AFTER the invitation should have been received to find out what was done with it.

There will be Broaster chicken coupons in local newspaper, gated community magazine and online. These coupons will be designed to draw traffic to this convenience store for this take-out chicken. The store itself will be handing out chicken coupons to every person who purchases gasoline. Keep in mind this convenience store is the ONLY place to purchase gasoline in the entire town. Each coupon is coded to reflect how it was received - at the convenience store, via the local newspaper, through a magazine or online. Obviously, the 50 laminated invitations will simply direct folks to the convenience store. But, I believe this greatly ads to the overall buzz when you have high-traffic businesses displaying your promotion. In fact, I think it lends credibility to the promotion.

Perhaps the most powerful marketing tools is the personal referral. If so, what I am attempting to do is engineer it. When I got a well-known television network to visit my small town earlier this year, I did not make that happen by myself. I made an appeal to many others for assistance. The overwhelming majority of those folks happened to be Ryzers. Most were not even local residents. I did not have to monetarily entice these folks to help me. I simply needed them to believe in the idea I presented to them and act upon it. Have you ever done something simply because you believed it was the right thing to do? People - even businesses - often take action because they believe in a cause - not because the cause pays them. A good example of this is the Special Olympics. People get involved with it because they believe in the good that it does. They don't get involved because there is a monetary kickback. Ryzers around the world demonstrated passion for an idea I shared with them because they happened to believe in it. They helped make "magic" happen for a small town for the first time in the 45-year history of an annual festival. They responded in such massive numbers that the television network - having only four production units with which to cover the entire Western United States - responded. Now, that's amazing. That I believe demonstrates the power of the personal referral when focused and multiplied by a large group of people.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Althea,

Yes, you and I may be the only ones on this network familiar with Middletown, CA. You know that this town is pretty much a drive-thru on a state highway. We have in fact talked about this problem many times before. The town of Calistoga is south of Middletown on the same state highway. However, because the town has a very different design, the traffic stops and people shop. People just drive through Middletown. They don't stop to shop. The layout of the town is simply not amenable to it. Sometimes I think this is more an oddity than anything else. And, I am not the only one who feels that way.

While a billboard might work, I don't think that is a top priority with my client. Why? Because the huge canvas banner at the center intersection of town, which brings together Hwy. 29 and Hwy. 175, does not seem to do any good. It promotes our town hall meetings every month. After more than a year using that banner we still have a difficult time getting folks to attend. Either people are not paying attention to what is in front of their face; or, they simply just don't care about this place. I suppose the truth could also be a combination of both of those reasons.

My client wants specific businesses prospected - especially the county's top wineries for his take-out chicken. There are no wineries located in Downtown Middletown. They are all in outlining areas. It would take considerable time to visit all of the Lake County wineries. Monday through Friday (and sometimes Saturday), I am not freely available to visit anybody between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. So, you can count me out when it comes to traveling to 50 businesses to deliver a laminated invitation. But, I am more than willing to make phone calls - both before and after the invitation is delivered - before the hours of 9:30 a.m. and after 4 p.m. (By the way, tomorrow it is going to take me nearly two hours just to pick up printing in Clearlake, because there is no printer in Middletown that can do what I need done.)

Your suggestion about the purchasing of magnetic white boards is excellent. As soon as my client decides what his chicken menu specials are going to be throughout the week, I think those magnet white boards could come in very handy. Think about it. Broaster Chicken Take-out menus printed across the bottom of magnet white boards. I am going to make that suggestion, anyway. I believe the high school across the street from the convenience store has about 50 classrooms. One magnetic white board per classroom could go a long way toward reminding students that Store 24 Express is the chicken place.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

Private Reply to Althea Garner

Althea,

Even if I wanted to show up at the wineries as you suggest, I could not do that. Why? Because I am not available to do that between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. - which is the time most wineries host their wine tastings. There is no real point in making an appearance after the crowd has gone home.

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
1-877-238-2280
Power Networking - http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=18

Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901

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Marilyn,

I think your chicken suit idea is awesome. Of course, it would have to be a Broaster Chicken suit. I wonder if the franchise has such suits on hand? I think it would be worth a call to find out. However, you know where that suit would really come in handy is during my town's annual festival, "Middletown Days." However, that does not happen until June. You could have the Broaster Chicken walking up and down the parade street prior to the parade handing out 2 for 1 chicken dinner coupons. Then, during the parade the chicken is riding either in a float or in a convertible waving to the crowd.

I think parades can be outstanding marketing opportunities - if handled properly. Since I live in a small town, I might even be able to write an article "about the Broaster Chicken coming to Middletown for its annual festival for the first time ever!"

Lamar Morgan
CDMM
http://www.squidoo.com/CDMM
Attract more customers!

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