My headline might make you snark, “Duh, who would send an empty envelope?” Obviously, that’s not what I mean. Here’s my example.
Mixed in a large stack of mail one weekday was a #10 window envelope from a travel magazine.
A trend in the magazine trade is to enclose a payment form that resembles a payment-due invoice. It’s one of those trickster techniques that gives marketing a bad reputation. The 3.5 x 8.5-inch invoice is part of a folded form. The lower portion lists six “editorial highlights” with stars indicating reader ratings. No explanation of what either means, but all categories get five stars. On the reverse is a list of the magazine’s executive staff (Should I be impressed?) and a few testimonials.
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It’s easy to cut through the direct mail clutter when there is no clutter.
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Recently, the Discovery Channel Store ran a sale and promoted the event to past customers. Just as the store’s different customers each have their own preferred ways to place their orders (mail, phone, online), individuals are motivated by different offers. This Discovery Channel Store (DCS) used targeted email marketing offers with this sale to spur the largest number of people into action.
For banks and credit unions, a similar targeting strategy…without email…can generate greater results.
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They’ll regret not having read the AMI Research first!
It appears the days of being customer-focused and customer-centric are over for a growing number of banks.
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“Yes Man” is a comedy film that stars Jim Carrey. His character, Carl, has a negative attitude toward life, which is reinforced by his job as a bank loan officer. Daily, he stamps “Denied” on customer loan apps.
One night, Carl attends a rah-rah type seminar where he publicly vows to say yes to all opportunities and never say no again. His decision turns around his life, even at work where he begins approving every loan that crosses his desk.
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Holiday shopping isn’t far behind us. If your local newspaper is anything like the one I subscribe to, on most days leading up to December 25, the ad circulars made up more than half the volume of the daily delivery.
We all know why retailers print those circulars — so the special offers entice shoppers to come to their stores instead of visiting the competition. They all want the biggest share of the consumers’ wallets.
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“The marketing team should have read the AMI research first.”
This was the first thought that entered my mind as I glanced at the headline and subheads of the bank ad appearing in the January 15, 2010 issue of the Sacramento Business Journal.
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The search is over. I believe, even if you explore piles of newsprint, stacks of magazines and bagfuls of mail, you won’t find a more inane and useless headline than the one I found in a recent newspaper ad.
My blogging colleague Steve Topper understands the importance of an advertising headline, which is apparent in the number of blog posts he’s written about the value of a good headline and the problems a group of poorly-chosen words can create. (See references below to Steve’s related posts.)
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I’ve noticed lately that the word “frugal” is being used more frequently to describe consumers’ new approach to choosing the products and services they acquire.
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Recently, the last major independent new-book seller here closed its store. It had three locations at one time. Around the middle of 2009, Waldenbooks left town. We’re left with two Barnes & Noble locations. Another two bookstores in my favorite shopping mall in Omaha also disappeared during the past year.
These brick-and-mortar bookstores are falling because of competition from online retailers. Not just heavyweight Amazon. There are plenty of booksellers online.
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The end of every year brings out lists of the best, the worst, the most, the top, and they’re usually compiled with numbers like the 50 best, the top 10, and so on. (Don’t worry. This isn’t another one of those lists.)
An Advertising Age article compiled the 10 nastiest comparative campaigns of the past year. You’ve seen ads like this for a long time. One brand claims it’s better than the competitor it names…Mac and PC…Verizon and AT&T…Coke and Pepsi…coffees, soups, sandwiches, pizzas, beers, cars, trucks, and on and on.
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Here’s an important marketing tip to remember: In an effort to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one.
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Here’s another one for your idea file. In the span of about a week, I found two examples of an advertising format used by area financial organizations.
It’s nothing revolutionary, but since I don’t recall seeing this format used for this purpose recently, I’ll tell you about it. Never hurts to spread ideas that might come in handy for someone.
The format is simple…an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of lightweight glossy paperstock printed in four colors on one side and three on the reverse (4C/3C).
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Join the consumer movement – take your savings and checking money out of Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citibank and move it to your local community bank or credit union.
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(Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of blogs related to the training of financial institution employees. If appropriate, please pass this information to the training staff)
On December 21, 2009, Joe Swatek wrote his blog, “Customer Service as an Offer,” which talked about the risk in treating your perceived level of customer service as part of your marketing offer. Then, on December 22, 2009, Steve Topper cautioned against using customer service as a marketing tagline in his blog entitled, “Customer Service as a Tagline.” As Director of Training for ACTON, I couldn’t agree more with these assessments and I want to talk about this particular topic from a training standpoint.
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The warnings are ominous…
- Banks roll out new checking fees
- Free checking could be the next casualty
- Watch for sneaky new bank fees
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You know you’re a New Yorker when you take a taxi to get to your health club to exercise.
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, “Hey, y’all, watch this!” stay out of his way. These are likely the last words he will ever say.
The classic cover of the New Yorker and the response from a Texan pretty much sums up their equally skewed views of the country. Read more…
Why do some digital marketing purveyors continually attack direct mail marketing? Is it because direct marketing makes them feel inferior?
I saw an article from a popular advertising magazine where the writer claimed direct mail marketing is “reviled” by people in the advertising industry and suggested the term be forever banished, probably exiled to the era of “Mad Men.”
The article writer gushed about the brave new world of brand marketing using digital. Not surprisingly, his company is a digital consultant.
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I’m not much on making New Year’s resolutions but one I feel strongly about for bank and credit union management is focusing on checking account acquisition and retention in 2010.
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