Steve Cone, author of Steal These Ideas! Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star (2005) said, “The profession of marketing is at an all-time low because clients don’t want to take risks and really try to break out of the pack – which results in category advertising which all looks and sounds the same.”
This is precisely the reason why much of advertising doesn’t work. It all looks the same. Even our stores look the same, promoting CLEANERS without differentiating or positioning our businesses for success. The same applies to online and offline marketing. Dry Cleaners purchase “stock” or “template” websites which provide the bare minimum of information, data capture capability and uniqueness.
The reason why direct mail pieces aren’t read is they aren’t exciting enough to even glance at. Email subject lines don’t grab the attention of the reader to make them read further. Then, when they do read further, it’s the same old boring 10% off offers.
Cone continued to point out the single biggest mistakes companies make in advertising their services:
• Website, postcard and newsletter type is too small for any human on this planet to read.
• There is too much type and the eye refuses to read it, especially grey website type.
• The promotion is void of any personality
• There is no deadline or compelling reason to respond!
Every moment of your business life you choose an attitude which reflects the personality of your business. If you always wear dark glasses, everything will appear dismal. If you wear rose colored glasses once in a while, things begin to appear brighter. You can either cling on to your old circumstances or occasionally continue to fall down the deep hole in the sidewalk or you can alter your attitude and begin to walk down a different street.
So many dry cleaners have asked me for new ideas to attract new customers and frankly new ideas are pretty difficult to come by, especially if a client is not willing to do something a little outrageous. It seems that the old ways of just sending out a color card with a nice picture of a guy in a suit and 10% off are not working as well as they used to. Some of the world’s highest paid marketing consultants say “the deciding factor for getting people’s attention in advertising, especially direct mail is to become a little outrageous.”
One of the ways humor can be used successfully is to simply present the unexpected. An unusual picture or a shocking headline that grabs attention, weaves a hypnotic story using humor and an unusual twist at the end. Mark Twain said, “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” Humor has to be kept in perspective and give over a lesson to the reader while making a point.
There is no better way than in a paper or e-mail newsletter format. People love to read stories and news. Newsletters are not perceived as advertising. They are a “soft-sell” mechanism; a combination of humor, news and an offer. With thousands of messages bombarding them daily, a bit of satirical humor always grabs their attention and keeps them reading. The news element should contain stories about employees, customers or a new plant or location. Your offer does not always have to be a discount. You can mention specialty services you offer, unusual customer service events, employee news and even technical cleaning tips.
Here’s how to make this work:
1. Take out ads in your local newspaper website to build web traffic and get sign-ups for your newsletter. Have a sign up sheet in your stores. Remind customers with e-mail.
2. Remember that newsletter content reflects the needs of your clients. Editorial pieces give fashion tips, cleaning tips, articles on how to look your best and dress for success.
3. Clean American flags and other patriotic, religious or cultural items, leverage the publicity and use business intelligence to give the newsletter more purpose.
4. Embed surveys in the newsletter. Use it to gauge satisfaction with your service, what would make them more satisfied, and their opinion on your company and employees in general. You can find out what the public thinks are your specialty services. You can also glean personal information on age, marital status, occupation and income, with permission.
In newspaper ads, postcards or online, humor and outrageous advertising can be used effectively as long as it does not offend anyone to the point of losing their business. Outrageous advertising includes promoting those services no one else will or can’t do and making sure everyone in your market knows it.
Leaving out a simple word can make all the difference. For Example: “Drop Off Your Pants At XYZ Cleaners.”