Junk Mail

Every day I go to my mailbox (okay, every few days because I'm lazy and my husband seems to be immune to the freezing cold temperatures). Every time I do so I am inundated with paper. It's like an entire forest was slaughtered and not for a good cause because I'm not moved by any of these postcards. I quickly glance through each piece, separating my mail from the "junk". It is such a depressing daily ritual because let's face the facts - at the end of the day, a mundane day of sitting and working your ass off, you want to be rewarded with something that will surprise you in a good way.

Every time we go to that mailbox we subconsciously are hoping to receive something special, something just for us. Something besides bills, insurance information and the usual crap ads that have no relevance to our lives. It is depressing because instead of that surprise we were hoping for, it's just the same old ritual with no reward.

This evening my husband leafed through our mail and handed me, as he normally does, the "junk mail". To most of you, receiving the leftovers of mail from your partner would probably come across as more of an insult, but truth be told, I love advertising and I enjoy looking through it to see what resonates.

My husband after a few minutes asked "so, can I throw this stuff out?" and instead of giving my approval as I normally do I quizzed him on why certain pieces looked like junk compared to other pieces. His response was the following:

1) Too many pages (Go Pages)
2) Cheap deals that I don't feel are worth my while
3) I want something tactile like gift cards that give more credibility. (Milestones)

My husband wasn't far off, in fact I would bet that he sits in exactly the same spot as most people when it comes to their direct mail or "junk mail". It is far too complicated or busy, there is too much focus on discounting a solution that the prospect does not even know about, and the company fails to create credibility. So they all create a reputation for themselves as "junk" because they have failed to educate the consumer of WHY their solution, HOW it would benefit them and WHY the company deserves to be chosen over their industry peers. Most companies assume that the person reviewing the collateral are looking to buy now when most people are only just being introduced to that brand and still need time and information before they can commit.

Committing, for any of us, is hard. I like to use the analogy of dating when it comes to marketing. You catch the eye of that special someone and instead of running up to them and proposing that you get hitched, have 5 kids and run away to some foreign land, you smile. That smile captures their attention and they smile back. From here you walk toward each other and say hello, introduce each other and on each date from there, learn about what makes them tick and what makes the two of you compatible. Sounds a lot like marketing actually. Marketers who are experienced understand this concept, they know that they don't need to drop their pants to get the business, it's about interacting with the customer, understanding them, engaging them on a higher level and then finding that fit. It's called a mutualistic relationship. It's called standing out from everyone else and catching your audience offhand by being that wonderful and unexpected surprise.

What resonates with you in your mailbox? Wouldn't it be amazing to get something that surprised you and invited you to the dance?

Oh the possibilities.