The Snow Day That Almost Was

In general the tone I try to take on Marketer Synergy is casual, but I also try to stay on the path of professional. So with the casual theme in mind, let me tell you about The Snow Day That Almost Was.

Indianapolis was supposed to get hit with roughly 8-10 inches of snow this morning. It was going to continue through rush hour, so a lot of people thought today’s commute was going to be miserable and a lot of kids expected to not have school today. In fact, I was hoping to have a day off too. I live and work on opposite sides of the north end of Indianapolis and in order to get to work I have to drive across town. In normal rush hour, it’s not a fun experience, but in icy, slick, snowy conditions it’s even dangerous. Now I’m from Florida, didn’t see a snow flake until a few days before my 21st birthday, and therefore have no idea of how to drive in the snow. I’ve slid across the street a few times in those low priority areas where a plow and salt don’t go (like neighborhood roads). So you can imagine I’d rather just work remotely today (I can log in to my work PC from home).

Well, little Marketer Synergy rex decided today was the day when she wanted me to get up at 4:45 a.m. and take her out (my wife’s out of town on business, so no dice on that option). So I try to get her to go back to sleep for at least a half hour without luck. When I do get downstairs and let her out, I find about an inch or two of snow on top of a layer of ice. I knew two things 1) we weren’t getting a snow day and 2) driving across town over a layer of ice was going to be horrible. Thankfully one 1 of those two was accurate. The temperature on my drive was actually about 34, so instead of ice, it was mostly slush and water. So here I am, at work, and safe. The morning got started off nicely, someone brought in Krispy Kreme and we had an Anvil rep come in and discuss his line and changes to the ’08 catalog. Hopefully the drive home is just as safe. If so, I’ll be back on Monday!

Create A Successful Promotion – Part 4

Today I wrap up my 4 part series “Create A Successful Promotion.” Over the first 3 posts, I introduced Promo-smart, PMRT, which are the keys to a successful promotion.

1. Product
2. Message
3. Recipient
4. Timing

I already explained the first 3, and in today’s final installment I’ll cover the last one, Timing. For a quick recap, in the first post, I said it’s not enough to have a good product, you have to have the right product for the person you’re trying to reach. In the second post, I let you know that an effective message isn’t your logo alone; rather you must include a call to action. And in the third post, I gave you an example of how targeting specific groups to deliver your message is the most effective way to do a promotion. The final essential is:

4. Timing

What’s the difference between the latest, hot tech product and a piece of junk? Timing. It wasn’t long ago that we carried around floppy disks to transport our files. Now there are online storage sites, flash drives, portable hard drives, and even Blu-Ray burners. And in a few years Blu-Ray will be laughed at by the next generation they way you laughed as you used your Tandy, Apple II, or Commodore 64 while your parents did their resume on a typewriter.

Timing is also vital to your promotion. Sending out a promotion that doesn’t arrive at the right time is a waste of resources. Think about a floral shop. A promotion in June might not be very effective since Mother’s Day is in May. On the other hand, a promotion in January might give them a chance to get husbands and boyfriends to place orders for Valentine’s Day. The florist can better forecast what resources they’ll need to meet demand and the men don’t have to worry about picking up wilted flowers from a gas station on their way home from work on February 14th.

I’ll give you another example. A car dealer wants to sell more service. Knowing how much mileage the average driver puts on their car in a year, the dealer can offer promotions to get people to bring in their car for the expensive regular maintenance, such as the 30 and 60,000 mile check ups. If a promotional product shows up when you’re at mile 55,000 you’ll likely be a lot more interested in a 60,000 mile service than if you’re at mile 80,000.

“Better late than never” isn’t always true. A Christmas card from your insurance agent in March will actually make you think twice about keeping your business with that agent.

As always, feel free to comment. I’m sure you’ve all done something with bad timing, so I won’t ask you to relive the embarrassment.