I’ve been doing some spring cleaning, going through boxes of stuff in my office that has been accumulating for years. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some things I strongly advise you to keep, such as binders filled with examples of previous marketing campaigns you have done along with records of how each campaign has performed. Keep old photos of your business, not just for nostalgia sake, but it often makes for interesting social media posts (such as throwback Thursdays).
One of the treasures I came across was a Staples ‘easy’ button. You remember those? You pressed it, and a mechanical voice said ‘EASY!’ It was tied to an ad campaign Staples was running to promote how ‘easy’ it was to order and buy your office supplies from them. Ha! How times have changed as it isn’t easy anymore, the last time I was in Staples, the largest supplies in stock on the shelf was the ‘out of stock’ tag advising you to order off their website…which could be an entire article on its own….
But back to the ‘easy’ button.
Looking at it, I wondered, why the heck did I keep this? It’s a useless novelty item. Better off going in the donation items box, or off for recycling.
But then when I tossed it in the donations box, it screamed: ‘EASY’! I couldn’t help myself, and took it back out and set it on my desk.
The next thing I found was a box filled with old pictures of me in my first drycleaning store. Remember what I said about keeping them, and sharing them? Well, hang onto your hats as I’m about to embarrass the heck out of myself.
Whoa, cheesy porn star mustache, permed hair, and gasp! Shirt and red leather tie! Definitely the 80’s!
I can’t recall being that thin, and it’s been a long time since I had a mustache, or a perm. Heck, my forehead is a lot longer now, and my waist is much bigger.
It was a different time then. In that picture, I’m 19 or 20 years old. Its barely 3 months into opening my first drycleaning shop. And, the reason for the picture is, I had hit a home run with one of my first major marketing campaigns.
Recall what I said about recording your marketing efforts, record results, and keep a catalogue with samples, examples, and results. Well, I’m not one to ask you to do as I say, I do what I advise others to do, and this photo went along with my notes for this advertising campaign.
My notes show, I spent hours folding up white bags like the one in the picture. I placed the folded bag into an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper folded over to form an envelope and printed with the words: ‘Stuff and save sale’ Fill this bag with drycleaning and we will clean and press everything for $14.00.
Now, please remember, this was 1986 or so. Prices have certainly moved on since then. But let me tell you, it was a very successful promotion.
According to my notes, I had prepared 5,000 pieces, and used the mail system to deliver my marketing piece to the 5,000 homes around my plant. This included the 2,500 houses on my competitor’s side of the road that divided us and the market into two.
According to my records, I had a 10 percent response rate, which means for every 100 bags I sent out, I had 10 orders come in. Sending out 5,000 offers, I had 500 orders come in. And, those 500 orders filled my plant feet deep in dirty clothes. I worked hard to get the work done, but after many long days, it was all finished and hanging on the conveyor to be picked up and cashed out.
Let me tell you, it was anything but easy.
It took a lot of work to prepare those mailing pieces. I had more time than money to sit and fold bags, and stuff envelopes, bundling for delivery to prospective customers by the post office. But, with few orders coming in, it filled the time. Once those mailing pieces were delivered, well, I got busy. People sure could stuff a bag. I asked for work, and I got it.
More importantly, it put my business on the map. My competitors hated me for running this offer. Eventually, they started putting up signs that said: Stuff and Save offers accepted here.’ I put up a roadside sign that said, ‘Stuff and save started here’. Yeah, I was an aggressive, impetulent, hyper competitive youngster, still am at 58.
But the best result was the number of people that became regular, repeat customers. Sure, many took advantage of the fantastic deal, but there were those that came back a second time, a third, a fourth. I can still name names of certain customers that became regular, weekly, full price paying customers for the entire time I owned my stores (16 years). And, that was the objective of the campaign, to build a base of regular customers.
So, there I was, first store, first major marketing success, and had it photographed. I hadn’t planned on this photo for the purpose of this article, I had no idea at the time I’d ever be a writer, an author, a marketing mentor or in the marketing business, but still…cheesy porn star mustache, perm, and all. And, let me tell you, it’s never been easy…which is probably why I kept that darn ‘easy’ button.
