Instead of putting a 39-cent stamp on an
envelope, put
39 1-cent stamps on the front of an envelope. One of
the principles of direct mail is to stand out to get the
attention of the receiver so your mail isn’t thrown away
or ignored. Attention, interest, desire and action lead to
a successful direct-mail program. And anything you
can do to get attention increases the probability of
action being taken. Best of all, in this case, you won’t
even rack up any additional costs.
Every month, give customers a chance to win
a free
lunch, compliments of your business. Everyone likes a
chance to win things. An incentive like a $10 gift card
for lunch at a local restaurant might be enough to
influence a customer to order from you now, rather
than later, or choose your business instead of your
competition.You could also consider other offers, like
a Starbucks or gas card. You’ll probably want to offer a
full tank of gas, though, which would mean upping
your price a little—a few gallons doesn’t sound all that
appealing.
Make a donation to charity for every purchase
made
during a particular month. If your orders average more
than $100 each, donate $10 per order. If that doesn’t
make sense for your prices, find another dollar
amount that’s a good fit. Your donations will be well
worth it if they accelerate orders or increase volume.
Use lottery tickets as incentives for referrals.
You could
market your giveaway as a chance to win a million
dollars (or whatever the grand prize is for the lottery in
your area) for all referrals received during a particular
period of time.
Hold a contest for prospects and customers.
How
about “Guess the serial number on a $10 bill and it’s
yours”? It’s not a lot of money, but people who stop by
your place of business will have fun and will
remember the contest. And if they win, they’ll tell
people about it--even for just $10.
If there’s still penny candy available, $10 will
buy 1,000
pieces. If not, you can still get quite a bit for a small
investment. Including candy in your invoices makes
companies remember you. Typically, the people who
handle accounts payable don’t get the attention buyers
get, so even the least little bit of attention could go a
long way in a company. Include two pieces--one for
the receiver and one for the receiver to give away. This
isn’t huge materially, but it’s the thought that counts.
For $10, you can hire a student, a niece or
nephew, or
a friend’s teen to picket your business with a sign
protesting something positive. It may sound silly, but
having a picketer outside your place of business with
a sign that reads something like, “We’re protesting
good customer service at this location!” or “This place
is full of nice people,” will get you noticed. You may
even get coverage from the local media.
On a toll road, pay the toll for the car behind
you, and
ask the toll collector to give your business card to the
car’s driver and tell him or her you paid the toll. Sure,
it’s a crapshoot, but you never know who might be on
the road. And it’s a low-cost tactic that has imagination
written all over it. If the toll is $0.50, you can do this 20
times for your $10 marketing budget. Chances are
good that at least one or two of those 20 people will
contact you.
Show up in person with a cookie for the
receptionist at
a client or prospect’s office. The thing is, customers
and prospects love attention. Drop in and visit a few of
your customers and just say you’re stopping by to
brighten their day. You can’t do this with 1,000
customers, but you can do it with 10 or 20. And
sometimes those 10 or 20 can be enough to supply
you with just the right orders to meet your monthly goal.
Advertise using fliers. At an average cost of 2
cents
each, $10 will buy 500 printed fliers. You can use them
to canvass a targeted area, include them in packaging
and delivered orders, hand them to walk-in customers
or mail them to a targeted list. Better yet, get your fliers
to 100 people, five times each, and the power of
frequency will increase the probability of a response.
But make sure you have the right message, the right
offer and the right target. Also keep in mind that many
printing or office-supply companies often offer
specials on copy pricing. If you can’t find any specials,
offer a fusion marketing arrangement to do a joint
promotion with a printing supplier.
The above was reprinted with permission from Al
Lautenslager. The article first appeared in
www.entrepreneur.com. Be sure to look for Al's book
Guerilla Marketing in 30 Days at Amazon.com
or your favorite bood store.
