Message & Media : Let the Good Times Roll
Use celebrations to boost messaging opportunities and sales
July 2011 By Pat Friesen
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• Half Birthdays. I just read in the Wall Street Journal that DSW honors its rewards members with special discounts on both their birthdays and half-birthdays. It's one more reason to communicate, celebrate and encourage customer engagement.
• New Additions. What better way to announce a product line extension, improvement or enhancement than with a "birth" announcement. Call attention to what's new-and-improved with a dedicated email, catalog cover or 3D mailing to your best customers. Celebrate the people, technology and customer input that contributed to making the new addition happen.
• Holidays. We all expect to hear from our favorite marketers around Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. But here's a way to make your company's holiday greetings stand out from the rest—celebrate less well-known events and holidays. For example, I once wrote a letter for a consortium of plumbers celebrating "National Toilet Tune-Up Week." It generated a flood of responses from both new and existing customers.
Tip: Looking for unusual holidays or events to celebrate that are guaranteed to capture more attention? Check out "Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months." This book is "the world's authoritative guide to special occurrences, holidays, anniversaries, celebrity birthdates, religious observances, and sporting events." You'll be amazed at the ideas it generates. Did you know July is National Blueberry Month? Or Aug. 6 is National Fresh Breath Day? If you're a dentist or mouthwash manufacturer, the latter definitely needs to be on your marketing radar.
• Welcome! Welcome is a powerful word—right up there with free and thanks. When someone signs up for your e-newsletter, send a welcoming email. Celebrate new customers and clients by sending them welcome notes, letters or postcards. Include an incentive to make a second purchase. Remember, your first-time buyers are actually first-time triers. A true customer relationship is established with the second purchase.
• Milestones. Have you just served your 100th pizza? Is your one millionth customer about to walk through the door? Are you now making deliveries on all seven continents? Make the most of your milestones by weaving them into all your customer communications, including your blog, on Twitter, even in your package and statement inserts. It's called, "the bandwagon effect." People love to jump on the bandwagon and be a part of the "in" crowd.
Celebrations are positive, uplifting reasons to stay in touch with your customers and clients. Use them to your marketing advantage.
Pat Friesen is a direct response copywriter and creative strategist writing for online and traditional media. She can be reached at (913) 341-1211, pat@patfriesen.com or by visiting www.patfriesen.com. Also find her at linkedin.com/in/patfriesen.
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