"2004 will be the year of junk mail," says Bill Glazer, marketing consultant and president of BGSmarketing.com. Between the recently passed "Do Not Call" laws and the CAN SPAM Act, which goes into effect January 1st, many companies are now hesitant or forbidden to use telemarketing or email marketing to win new business. As a result, many are making increased use of traditional "junk mail" advertising. "You're going to get so much more junk mail you'll need to buy a bigger trash can," says Glazer. "And to work, it'll have to be better junk mail than ever."
Crowded mailboxes mean businesses will need to be much more creative to ensure their mailings stand out from all the clutter. "It's no longer enough to simply send out standard promotional flyers, letters, and brochures," says Glazer. "95 percent of the mailings most businesses send out don't work because they're just plain boring. You've got to be willing to do fun and outrageous things to get a potential customer's attention. To make your junk mail work, you've got to make it so engaging people don't perceive it as junk."
For example, Randy Hall owns The Bicycle Connection in Cockeysville, Maryland. Following Glazer's advice, Hall sent his 500 best customers an invitation inside a water bottle announcing his store's 30th anniversary. "The store was packed literally from wall-to-wall that day," says Hall.
Advertising / marketing efforts will need to be creative and attention grabbing during the next year if you want your company to stand out from the rest.
Source: BGSmarketing.com
