There's a lot of bad marketing out there, but could you guess what the biggest error is in direct mail marketing? Ok, I should have opened with the five worst mistakes. I could undoubtedly list ten times that many, but for this article let's focus on the most common mistakes that are out there.
Bad Materials
The 1st mistake I regularly see is enterprises marketing on plain blue paper with black ink. Yawn! No business will ever attract attention using blue paper. You may think you are original, but every business uses colored paper now. It isn't unique anymore. In the present day's marketing you must to be original. You probably wanted to hear something else, but I can't sugarcoat this - you have to be bold, brash, and brazen. You need design, gloss, and a steller image.
Do-It-Yourself Printing
Next up, the made-at-home look. Do not let your business flyers look like they were produced on your budget printer and done up in a Comic Sans font. That has no appeal. I see this all the time and it says to me that the business just doesn't see the value of professional marketing.
You have to consider what people will think when they see your materials. It might be true, you may not have a huge marketing budget when you are getting started. You are also right to believe that it is better to be sending than not sending. But your concern #1 is for you to be at a place where you're able to afford professionally designed marketing pieces as soon as possible. Not having a good marketing campaign is like getting ready for for a running-race without running shoes - you are not going to move really fast or for too long.
Terrible Pictures
Listen up! I have had it with awful business head-shots. This fellow looks like he asked his wife to take his picture at his desk. He's wearing an old shirt that doesn't fit, a cheesy moustache, glasses and a nerdy smile. People - you have to remember this is your business we are talking about. If you don't look professional, no-one will call you.
Be bold and unique without going overboard. Dress professionally, groom yourself and have a photographer that specializes in business photography take your picture "model style." They will take a series of quick pictures while you are moving around. This is how a great spontaneous photograph with a genuine and sincere smile is taken.
An Article that Teases
If you're sending out articles as an element of your marketing campaign, but you're only including a couple paragraphs and the rest is at your site, then you are just teasing your prospect. If you need a name and email address at that website before they can read rest of the article, think again. No way! Those are the two words which will pop into 99% of your prospects' heads if they even get this far. By making it tough for your leads to even read a simple article, you're letting people know that firstly you're a salesman and that you are way more intent on getting their names on a list rather than being truly beneficial.
You want your prospect list to be filled by people who took the time on their own to sign-up for whatever you have to offer. These are the leads you want on your mailing list, not the ones that you have tricked into being there. Trust is everything in business - don't give your clients the impression you're just sending them teasers so you can get them in your database.
Advertising Other Businesses
When your flyers go out do they include ad space for other vendors? If you are doing this, then your marketing is coming across as a cheap ad sheet at best - and if you are including the above strategy too - a sleazy salesperson at worst. Don't let this happen to you! Don't get into co-op deals with other local vendors, let the coupon-book folks handle that.
When you spend the time to have quality looking marketing collateral made for you, that you're going to put out there for the community to see, make sure that the focus is on you and the value that your company can deliver.
So, in a nutshell: Spend the money to make your business look great. That means fine quality design, printing and pictures. Are you a professional CPA? Get professional looking CPA branded marketing. Are you a real estate agent - get professional looking collateral with your real estate branding. Essentially, unless you are a print-and-design shop, that means hire it out and let the professionals do it.
Bad Materials
The 1st mistake I regularly see is enterprises marketing on plain blue paper with black ink. Yawn! No business will ever attract attention using blue paper. You may think you are original, but every business uses colored paper now. It isn't unique anymore. In the present day's marketing you must to be original. You probably wanted to hear something else, but I can't sugarcoat this - you have to be bold, brash, and brazen. You need design, gloss, and a steller image.
Do-It-Yourself Printing
Next up, the made-at-home look. Do not let your business flyers look like they were produced on your budget printer and done up in a Comic Sans font. That has no appeal. I see this all the time and it says to me that the business just doesn't see the value of professional marketing.
You have to consider what people will think when they see your materials. It might be true, you may not have a huge marketing budget when you are getting started. You are also right to believe that it is better to be sending than not sending. But your concern #1 is for you to be at a place where you're able to afford professionally designed marketing pieces as soon as possible. Not having a good marketing campaign is like getting ready for for a running-race without running shoes - you are not going to move really fast or for too long.
Terrible Pictures
Listen up! I have had it with awful business head-shots. This fellow looks like he asked his wife to take his picture at his desk. He's wearing an old shirt that doesn't fit, a cheesy moustache, glasses and a nerdy smile. People - you have to remember this is your business we are talking about. If you don't look professional, no-one will call you.
Be bold and unique without going overboard. Dress professionally, groom yourself and have a photographer that specializes in business photography take your picture "model style." They will take a series of quick pictures while you are moving around. This is how a great spontaneous photograph with a genuine and sincere smile is taken.
An Article that Teases
If you're sending out articles as an element of your marketing campaign, but you're only including a couple paragraphs and the rest is at your site, then you are just teasing your prospect. If you need a name and email address at that website before they can read rest of the article, think again. No way! Those are the two words which will pop into 99% of your prospects' heads if they even get this far. By making it tough for your leads to even read a simple article, you're letting people know that firstly you're a salesman and that you are way more intent on getting their names on a list rather than being truly beneficial.
You want your prospect list to be filled by people who took the time on their own to sign-up for whatever you have to offer. These are the leads you want on your mailing list, not the ones that you have tricked into being there. Trust is everything in business - don't give your clients the impression you're just sending them teasers so you can get them in your database.
Advertising Other Businesses
When your flyers go out do they include ad space for other vendors? If you are doing this, then your marketing is coming across as a cheap ad sheet at best - and if you are including the above strategy too - a sleazy salesperson at worst. Don't let this happen to you! Don't get into co-op deals with other local vendors, let the coupon-book folks handle that.
When you spend the time to have quality looking marketing collateral made for you, that you're going to put out there for the community to see, make sure that the focus is on you and the value that your company can deliver.
So, in a nutshell: Spend the money to make your business look great. That means fine quality design, printing and pictures. Are you a professional CPA? Get professional looking CPA branded marketing. Are you a real estate agent - get professional looking collateral with your real estate branding. Essentially, unless you are a print-and-design shop, that means hire it out and let the professionals do it.
About the Author:
The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding for real estate agents and real estate training, Denise is nationally recognised as the go-to for all things "real estate."
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