Good Marketing is a Gift to Your Prospects

Like many of you, over the last few weeks I’ve exchanged a lot of gifts. I have two small kids, and the fallout from Christmas Day was epic. There was wrapping paper, ribbon, and cardboard shrapnel flying as, in minutes, my kids tore through everything my wife had spent weeks wrapping and arranging perfectly under the tree. (Unfortunately, Santa doesn’t stick around to help with the clean-up.) But this year I noticed something with my kids that really got me thinking about deeper human nature.

As they frantically ripped through their gifts, the ones that gave them the most pause and (at least for that moment…) an air of true appreciation were the ones their mom and I had shown particular interest in them while picking the gift out. They’re getting older (5 and 8), so they’ve reached the age where we can’t just get by with anything that’s shiny and makes noise like in years passed. They both have their own unique likes, dislikes, passions, and interests now. It doesn’t necessarily mean the gifts must keep getting more expensive and flashier, but it does mean the better we know and understand our kids the more special Christmas will be.

But this is deeper than, “Carter likes dinosaurs, and Harper likes dolls.” Christmas and the custom of gift-giving should never be as much about the gift as it is about showing someone we care and are invested in our relationship with them. The most memorable gifts I’ve received over my lifetime were things so specifically shopped for or made for me that I felt KNOWN and loved by the simple fact that person knew ME well enough to give me something so perfect. Yes, we can do the bare minimum and fulfill our role in the gift-giving process by just handing someone a gift card, but to show true love and care in gift-giving it takes more investment into the PERSON on the other end. And I think there’s a tremendous lesson in marketing to be found here, too.

The more invested your company appears to be in knowing who your prospects are and what they truly want, the more successful you’ll be in getting a response. It’s that simple, and believe it or not, you’re better equipped now than ever to make them feel seen, known, and loved.

Let’s start off with the basic statement that you can’t know your entire service area like you know your kids – but I’m not asking you to buy all of them Christmas gifts either. What I am asking you to do is create a connection, and there are ways you can use available data to make them feel like you know them with your marketing – even if you’ve never actually met them.

First, let’s talk about how getting the messaging wrong can DAMAGE a relationship or even get you into a relationship you didn’t want to be in at all. Ever received a gift that was so far off you thought, “Was the wrong name on this box? Do you even know me at ALL?”

I was watching TV the other day and was shown an ad for Littman Stethoscopes. I noticed immediately how odd that was. Then, a few days later I got a follow up piece of direct mail trying, again, to sell me a stethoscope. Now, I’m sure some random YouTube video I clicked on or an obscure search got me added to a marketing list, but I will promise you there’s a 0% chance I’m the market they’re after for selling $1,500 stethoscopes. Someone’s algorithm is wrong and it’s costing that company money. A quick search of the Jacobs family income demographic would have shown them I’m not in the medical field.

That example may not be relatable to you, but I’d be willing to wager you’re also spending advertising dollars in some areas that make homeowners go, “Wait, what? Was this meant for me?”

Do you do any marketing on the radio or online? How much of that is being displayed outside of your service area or is not clearly defined? I listen to iHeart Radio every day and hear contractors begging me to call them… from hundreds of miles away. Waste. Look at your PPC spend versus your bounce rates, and ask yourself what’s the likelihood that what the customer was originally Googling was CLEARLY the same thing your ad was offering? Very often, HVAC contractors are appearing in searches for vehicle A/C repair or even showing up in the list when someone is searching for restaurants… Waste. How about EDDM – direct mail that’s delivered as cheaply as possible by entire carrier routes to everyone with a mailbox? Everyone with a mailbox is not a candidate for your services… Waste.

It's one thing to lose someone that wasn’t really a potential customer of yours in the first place – it’s another when your messaging drives away existing customers or potential new ones. That’s not just wasted marketing dollars, that’s lost revenue.

Have you ever received an advertisement from a company you thought you had a relationship with but they were giving you a “new customer” special? Ouch. How about getting a coupon in the mail for a service you JUST HAD DONE last week… Or (this one hurts me every time I hear it) when a contractor sends out a special to their entire database that is CHEAPER than what their maintenance agreement customers pay. You’re going to get some calls from that campaign, but not the ones you’ll like.

Most of the information you need to speak directly to your homeowners is already inside your database. It just needs to be organized and used effectively. It can be as simple as calling them BY NAME in your emails, newsletters, and direct mail pieces so they know that message is specifically for them. Build on the relationship and market toward their next logical upsell based on your tech’s notes or what they used you for last with verbiage like, “Have you thought any more about what we talked about last summer?” Even simple inferences like, “Several of your neighbors on Green Drive have made this upgrade,” can be effective.

Truth is, when your company is able to meet the right market with the right message it’s like you’re speaking directly to them and a lightbulb comes on. It’s a change of philosophy for some, but effective marketing really is less about SELLING and more about helping people buy. People will always rather buy from people they know, and the more you can give the impression of knowing them and their needs, the more trust you have built with them immediately. And when a customer sees you helping in their buying process, making logical suggestions and seeming to know their unique needs and circumstances, it really is the perfect gift.

Hudson,Ink has some exciting new technology and variable data printing options to give you unique and personal contact with your customers and prospects. We can target your direct mail to get very specific marketing messages to the exact audience you need and help you speak to your database like every one of them is a valued friend. Click here to email your coach and start the conversation!