Every company needs customers to stay in business. No customers means no sales; no sales means no revenue; and no revenue means no business. But customers don’t just come out of the woodwork the second you set up shop.

No, you have to spend money to attract prospects and convince them to become customers. You have to “buy” customers.

There’s only one problem.

You Can’t Afford Your Customers

Are you paying too much for customers? Here’s a clue: if what you’re paying to attract and keep customers outweighs what they’re paying to be customers, then you’re losing money.

[notification type=”alert-warning” close=”false” ]Cost of acquiring and retaining customers > Lifetime value of customers = Loss[/notification]

If it seems simple, that’s because it is. But the challenge isn’t in the understanding; the challenge is in the application.

Customer acquisition:

• Pay per click rates for your most important search engine keywords have increased. Should you pay the higher costs?
• The competition is setting a new standard by spending more on wooing prospects. Does it make sense to increase your marketing budget to fight fire with fire? If so, how much more can you afford to spend?
• You’ve been considering running a promotional offer to attract more first-time customers. How much money can you put towards the campaign and still make a profit?

Customer retention:

• Your customer support team is unable to keep up with the large amount of service requests, so you’d like to hire additional representatives. How many more can you hire and at what salary?
• Customer attrition is at an all-time high. Can you afford to offer loyalty discounts to increase repeat business? If so, what kind of money are you able to put towards the incentives?
• The sales team is shopping for new CRM software with more advanced features. How much can you afford to spend?

Many businesses answer these questions blindly. By the time they realized they’ve bitten off more than they can chew, it’s too late and the damage has been done. And the damage from a single, ill-informed decision may be just enough to cripple a business permanently.

What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You

The good news is that this customer acquisition and lifetime value calculator tool gives you the information you need to make confident decisions in the future. Follow the link above to explore the online version or even better, download the calculator to have a copy for yourself:

Once you download the tool and enter in your variable inputs, you can learn what adjustments to the variables will improve customer acquisition costs, retention costs and lifetime value.

Want to decrease customer acquisition and retention costs? You could…

• Broaden marketing reach
• Decrease marketing expenses
• Improve the conversion rate
• Increase workforce productivity
• Reduce CRM expenses
• Renegotiate outsourced marketing/customer service contracts

Want to increase customer lifetime value? You could do all of the above, plus…

• Increase the average spend amount per purchase
• Grow the average number of purchases per customer
• Improve the average gross margin per purchase
• Raise the customer retention rate

It’s empowering to have so many options available for addressing the same problems.

Armed with this tool, it’s key to regularly monitor your customer costs (acquisition plus retention) and lifetime value so you can track progress. Always go back to the original equation to see how the metrics compare against each other. At what year does the customer lifetime value exceed the acquisition and retention costs? If it takes five years to be profitable, is that acceptable?

That all depends on your cash flow. Will you have enough cash to float the company for five years while you wait to make your money back? Five years is a long time; your business may not be able to last that long without a positive net cash flow. Many businesses can’t survive unless they become profitable in their second year.

Obviously, the sooner you can make customers profitable the better, so tweak your variable inputs and find out what metrics you need to improve to reach your profitability goals. Knowledge is power!

[notification type=”alert-info” close=”false” ]Have you successfully managed your customer acquisition costs and improved customer lifetime value? Share your insights in the comments section below![/notification]

Image Sources: Extreme Couponing via Yoel Ben-Avraham Flickr, What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You Cartoon by Jeff Parker via NDItech DemocracyWorks

Is there anything brands would love more than a fanatical, cult-like following of customers? That kind of support brings profitability and, perhaps more importantly, consistent revenue to help outlast the worst of droughts. Unfortunately, there’s no exact formula for becoming the Kleenex, Chapstick, and Coke of your industry. And trying to artificially dub your brand “iconic” is akin to giving yourself a nickname: it just doesn’t work.

There are, however, five strategies that can help position your brand to reach iconic success. Each approach is unique but not mutually exclusive; you could even implement all five at the same time. Just know that certain strategies may work better than others based on your brand and industry. So it’s your call to decide which ones are best for you.

No brand can artificially manufacture a gaggle of groupies, but these steps will build momentum in the right direction.

Exclusivity

2014 marks the 30^th anniversary of Nike’s Air Jordan shoe brand. Without question, the early and ongoing success of the brand can be attributed to Michael Jordan’s illustrious basketball career. But it’s been 11 years since MJ’s retirement and Air Jordan is still as popular as ever. In 2013, Air Jordan brought in $2.5 billion in sales in the United States alone! So what’s keeping the engine running?

Through limited quantity releases, international only versions, and unique special editions, the Air Jordan brand singlehandedly created a new shoe-obsessed subculture: sneakerheads. Ever since the release of the Air Jordan 1, sneakerheads have been forking over small fortunes to satisfy their cravings. To top off that $2.5 billion, check out the ridiculous sales figures just from eBay:

The thrill of snatching up an especially elusive pair of J’s. The sense of accomplishment after coming one shoe closer to completing the collection. The satisfaction of belonging to the “haves” club. These reasons drive customers to do some crazy, illegal, and egregious things to get their hands on Air Jordans.

Check out what one bystander witnessed while picking up his pair of Jordans:

Behavior like this is rooted in nothing other than pure idolism for the Air Jordan brand.

Yes, die-hard fandom is the goal, but this is a case of fanatical craze gone too far. So why hasn’t Air Jordan done anything to stem the violence? A simple increase in supply would likely end all the chaos that ensues when a new shoe drops, right?

My guess is fear. Air Jordan is afraid that an increase in supply will eliminate exclusivity and, without exclusivity, the appeal will be gone. As sad as it is, Air Jordan will only stop the terrible tragedies if it can still hold on to the cult following that keeps the brand alive.

Perhaps Air Jordan should consider the four other strategies it can employ to maintain its iconic brand.

Pride

There are a lot of reasons not to be a Cubs fan:

• The Cubbies have an unimpressive .477 cumulative win record over the last 10 years
• The team has placed second-to-last in its division the past 4 seasons (I bet the Cubs miss having the Astros in the NL Central)
• Loyal Chi-town fans can opt to cheer for the crosstown White Sox, who have a much better 10-year win record of .510 and a World Series title in 2005
• Worst of all, the franchise holds the record for the longest title drought in all of professional sports at 105 years

Despite the Cubs’ recent and historic troubles, for the past 10 years the ballclub somehow garnered the 3^rd highest home game attendance rate in all of Major League Baseball.

Just so you can appreciate this phenomenon, consider the following: only the Giants and the Red Sox have higher home game attendance rates over the past 10 years. Oh, and did I mention that in the same time period both teams won the World Series twice and three times, respectively? It’s easy to fill seats when you’re that successful!

Trailing behind the Cubs in fourth place is the Yankees who claimed the World Series in 2009 and maintained an incredible .587 winning percentage over the previous 10 seasons. It’s crazy that the most plagued team in baseball history has a higher rate of attendance than the most decorated team in baseball history.

Through a little good and a lot of bad, Cubs fans have remained faithful to their team and, consequently, earned a very fitting moniker: Loveable Losers. It’s actually the franchise’s storied history, no matter how trying, that fuels their pride.

The folklore, superstitions, and legends:

• Babe Ruth’s called shot in 1932 in Wrigley Field
• The curse of the billy goat in 1945
• The black cat omen in 1969
• The Steve Bartman incident in 2003
• Even the Cubs’ bad luck rubbing off on Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series

The traditions, rituals, and legacy:

• The Cubs are the oldest professional baseball team (est. 1870) and have played the most games of any team (20,613)
• Wrigley Field is the second oldest MLB ballpark at 100 years old; only Fenway is older (by just two years)
• Flying the White W flag after each victory (how ironic the team chose the color of surrender)
• The manual scoreboard from 1937 (who needs electricity?)
• The “Throw it Back” tradition
• The Eamus Catuli sign that (proudly?) displays how long the Cubs have gone without winning a division title, NL pennant, and World Series

The history of turmoil ironically serves as the badge of honor that true fans proudly display. Generations of fans have passed the baton to new generations who consider it a privilege to carry the torch for the Cubs organization. And on that fateful day when the Cubs are crowned World Series champions, there will undoubtedly be crying: tears of joy for the end of an era and tears of sadness for those who could not see the day.

For a century, the Cubs have formed a unique culture and heritage that instills pride in its fans, and this pride is what creates lifelong fans, generation after generation.

Service

Ever heard of In-N-Out Burger?

If you know anyone from the West Coast or Central Texas, then you’ve likely gotten an ear full about the burger joint’s greatness. Or perhaps you saw In-N-Out Burger rated as the best fast food restaurant in 2011 by Consumer Reports. Or, best of all, maybe you’ve had the opportunity to experience the famed fast food restaurant for yourself.

Since 1948, In-N-Out Burger has made quality its main focus. The restaurant prides itself on serving the freshest meals with the purest ingredients. In-N-Out Burger makes it a point to deliver on the promise in its company slogan: “Quality you can taste.”

While most patrons would appreciate 100% beef patties, fresh-baked buns, hand-leafed lettuce, fresh onions, thick-cut tomatoes, and real cheese, the food quality alone doesn’t actually explain In-N-Out Burger’s huge cult following. In fact, some food critics argue that the restaurant’s quality ingredients don’t necessarily translate to quality taste.

As blasphemous as this may sound, it’s not the burgers, fries, and shakes that make In-N-Out Burger so special. No, the secret to the restaurant’s success is really in its bend-over-backwards customer service.

First, In-N-Out Burger keeps its restaurants ridiculously clean. It may seem easy to shine above the competition in a market known for its lack of cleanliness, but In-N-Out Burger doesn’t just settle for average. In fact, the restaurant has such high standards that it created the Custodial Associate position to ensure that each location maintains a clean and welcoming environment for its customers. Believe it or not, cleanliness is one of the best ways to serve customers).

Second, In-N-Out Burger is renown for its friendly staff. Again, the bar isn’t set too high in the fast food industry, but In-N-Out Burger treats its customers unusually well. How many restaurants without a wait staff visit dine-in customers to ensure everything is satisfactory and address any outstanding needs? Only one. In-N-Out Burger.

Finally, in its biggest display of service, In-N-Out Burger gives customers complete freedom to customize orders to their hearts’ desires. Choosing burger trimmings is only the tip of the iceberg.

Certain selections were so popular that customers developed a secret menu that spread through word of mouth (eventually In-N-Out Burger posted the “secret” menu on its website to bring newbies up to speed).

But even with the secret menu published, the extent to which customers can make additional special requests is borderline absurd. There are, obviously, some limitations. For example, the infamous 100×100 burger shown above (100 beef patties with 100 slices of cheese!) is no longer available due to quality control concerns, but 49 Flying Dutchmen and a 2×2 is always a viable alternative.

In-N-Out Burger is an iconic fast food brand because it truly cares about its customers and demonstrates that care in meaningful ways. Simple as that.

Heroism

Though the beginnings of the organic movement trace back to 1920s Europe, America didn’t catch up until the ‘60s and ‘70s when the nation began focusing more on environmentalism, conservation, and natural health. Even still, the organic movement has only recently bloomed into a mainstream consumer interest and industry niche. There are many factors responsible for the organic movement’s transition from obscurity to ubiquity, but perhaps the greatest of all is the continued expansion of Whole Foods Market.

Early adopters sustained Whole Foods during its infancy in the ‘80s and its adolescence in the ‘90s. And at the turn of the millennium the early majority jumped on board to usher the supermarket into adulthood. This symbiotic relationship boosted the organic marketplace and Whole Foods in ways that neither could have achieved individually.

So why did the market choose to mature with Whole Foods instead of the other trailblazing organic grocers? Because Whole Foods turns its consumers into heroes.

Whole Foods makes sure that its customers know the impact each product has on their families’ health, their local economy, the farmers’ livelihood, and the environment’s conservation. Just look at the company motto: “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet.”

Whole Foods gets a lot of bad press for its premium prices, but customers aren’t just paying to eat, they’re paying to be a hero.

Shoppers aren’t just buying bananas; they’re supporting a family-operated farm in Costa Rica. Customers aren’t just buying free-range chicken; they’re advancing the humane treatment of animals. Patrons aren’t just buying organic tomatoes; they’re protecting the environment for generations to come. And last but not least, customers aren’t just buying dinner; they’re keeping their loved ones healthy and strong.

Social, environmental, economic, and healthful good are built into the value proposition, and consumers feel heroic when they spend money at Whole Foods.

Fun

To say Zumba Fitness is a craze is an understatement. After only 13 years of existence, Zumba already has 14 million weekly participants in 185 countries around the world. Sounds a lot more like an epidemic to me!

But success hasn’t always been part of the story. For the first five years after its start in 2001, Zumba Fitness floundered around in infomercials and DVD sales, trying to peddle an exercise program. The problem was that consumers couldn’t tell the difference between Zumba Fitness and its competitors. “Why should I try another workout routine?”

In 2006, CMO Jeffrey Perlman had an epiphany:

I called my brother [Alberto Perlman, the CEO of Zumba] and said, “You’re selling the wrong thing. You’re selling fitness when you should be selling emotion.”

I wanted to turn Zumba into a brand where people felt that kind of free and electrifying joy.

A new tagline was created: “Ditch the workout; join the party!” And with that, Zumba was no longer in the business of fitness; Zumba was in the business of fun.

For most people, working out is viewed as a boring chore. Zumba changes the entire exercise experience by making it fun. Of 1,000 consumers surveyed in a 2014 fitness trends research study, 97% of all who practice dance-fitness cardio are likely to continue Zumba classes in the next 12 months. People have found a way to really enjoy their workouts through Zumba.

To top it off, the American Council on Exercise found that Zumba is one of the leading workouts for burning calories:

Zumba’s powerful competitive advantage of making exercise fun has made them an industry leader in the fitness world and won them a huge cult following that only seems to continue to grow.

The Not So Obvious Takeaway

I’m not sure if you noticed, but one very interesting finding from examining these iconic brands is that none of them have the indisputable best product in their respective industries.

Air Jordans probably aren’t the highest performing basketball shoes available. The Cubs definitely aren’t the most successful team in Major League Baseball. It’s debatable that In-N-Out Burger boasts the most delicious hamburger. Whole Foods Market may not carry the freshest produce. And Zumba isn’t the most effective workout.

Don’t misunderstand. These brands provide great products and services. A valuable core offering is the foundation on which success is built. But the five strategies discussed above are what pushed these brands into iconic status.

If your products and services deliver true value to customers, then consider baking these strategies into your offering. You might just end up with a cult-like following.

[notification type=”alert-info” close=”false” ]Know of some other brands that became icons using these strategies? Leave a comment and share your insights![/notification]

Image Sources: Air Jordan 1 via Nice Kicks, Air Jordan eBay Sales via Quartz, Curse of the billy goat via Florida Standard, Eamus Catuli via Ballpark Chasers, In-N-Out Burger’s 100×100 via Man Eat Food, Whole Paycheck Market via The Owl’s Skull, Zumba Kids via Army Medicine Flickr, Zumba Calorie Burn Chart via Ace Fitness

In a recent post examining the true meaning of inbound marketing I proposed that successful marketing “has infinitely more to do with the execution than the marketing channel.” Certain channels may be better suited to particular messages, audiences, and industries, but every single marketing channel can be a conduit for delivering value. And cold calling is no exception.

Stop Using the Right Tool the Wrong Way

During my junior year of college I had an internship with a broker-dealer who managed companies’ 401(k) plans. For less than minimum wage I analyzed the performance of financial securities, took care of various administrative tasks, and cold called businesses to find prospective clients. After several unsuccessful days on the phone, my boss could see my frustration and gave me a little pep talk.

Cold calling is a numbers game. For every ten businesses you call, you’ll speak with one decision maker. And for every ten decision makers with whom you speak, you’ll schedule one meeting. So keep at it and you’ll find success at least once in every one hundred phone calls.

Not very inspirational, huh? Expecting to fail 99% of the time didn’t exactly help my morale. Imagine rejection 99% of the time.

Knowing that you’re playing against the freak athlete that is Blake Griffin wouldn’t make you feel any less discouraged every time he blocked you. Getting swatted 99 times out of 100 would get old pretty fast no matter who was doing it.

So I decided to step up my game by adopting the most successful cold calling techniques. I learned to smile and convey confidence over the phone. I learned to bypass gatekeepers and overcome objections. I learned to follow a script and control the conversation. But even the best cold calling tips and tricks only minimally improved the success ratio.

It wasn’t until after my internship that I realized I was using cold calling incorrectly. All the experts say the goal is to set an appointment, make the sale, or see if the contact is a “good fit.” As it turns out, these objectives are exactly why cold calling maintains such an abysmal success rate. The right tool employed with the wrong methods will always yield poor results. It’s no wonder so many companies have given up on cold calling.

When used properly, the athletic cup is a very valuable piece of protective gear (just ask any baseball catcher). But when used improperly, it’s a really disgusting facemask (just ask any mother about her son).

Here’s how to start using cold calling the right way.

Don’t Sell Anything

A person at a busy intersection soliciting donations is no uncommon scene. But how many times have you seen someone offering donations?

That’s exactly what Doug Eaton of Oklahoma City decided to do to celebrate his 65^th birthday.

Doug’s random act of kindness was a huge success because he extended value to strangers while requesting nothing in return. Consider how different the results would have been if Doug was only asking strangers to give value to him.

Marketing and sales begging for business is what has given cold calling a bad name. The right way to cold call isn’t about getting a prospect, getting a meeting, or getting a sale; it’s about giving.

Stop trying to convince others that you offer value and just give them something valuable already! Offer consumers a taste of what you can do and let them decide for themselves if they’d like to do business with you.

Think of how pleasant it would be to receive phone calls from businesses giving away truly valuable products and services with no strings attached. No hoops to jump through, just an honest, free offer to benefit the person on the other line.

That kind of cold call sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Give the Perfect Gift

I personally know sales people who strongly oppose giving away anything. They argue that making something free is a reflection of its value. It must be worthless if the price is nothing, right?

Tell that to Dropbox, Evernote, Skype, MailChimp, and others who built their success by offering solutions to real problems at no charge. The entire business model is based on free users who experience value and, in turn, become paying customers for the premium levels of service.

The tricky part is choosing what to give away. If users don’t experience enough value, then they can’t justify paying for the premium service. On the other hand, if users experience more than enough value, then they’ll see no reason to pay at all. The aim is exactly “enough” value, which is relative to the business.

I’ll use a B2C example, but understand that this method of cold calling also works with B2B.

A car manufacturer can’t give away cars (too much value), and a guide comparing the manufacturer’s cars to its competitors’ cars won’t cut it (no value). The sweet spot would be giving away a free three-day rental for one of the manufacturer’s cars that never expires. And it can be made even more fun by letting the recipient choose the car. Three days driving around in a free rental car may be exactly what prospects need to fall in love and become new customers.

Oh, and make sure prospects are falling in love with the product and not the gift. That is, the gift shouldn’t be anything other than the product (or a portion of the product). Otherwise all the value and brand affinity is misplaced.

A car manufacturer giving away $50 restaurant gift cards gets recipients way more excited about the restaurant than the car manufacturer. Plus, people can tell when their love is being bought (and usually they’ll take the gifts, but still withhold their love!). Giving away a three-day car rental gets recipients excited about the trip they will take AND the car manufacturer. And if the car really is up to snuff, then prospects will realize the value of the car during their rental experiences.

This allows your product to do the marketing for you.

Think Before You Jump

If you had written off cold calling, I hope that you’ve reconsidered how it can be a powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal (when utilized properly!). But there’s an important caveat to heed before picking up the phone just yet.

Cold calling’s effectiveness is directly related to the gifts’ compatibility with the recipients.

The more you know about the contacts you are cold calling, the better you will be able to match them with gifts that they will find valuable. Not enough information about the audience is the biggest reasons brands should not engage in cold calling.

I know, I know. Yes, I just made a case in favor of cold calling, but that doesn’t excuse anyone from exercising some sound judgment before jumping in too soon.

Most American households travel and drive vehicles, so cold calling could actually work very well in the car manufacturer example. But let’s say the manufacturer is Cadillac.

Without knowing anything about the names on the cold call list, Cadillac could give a ton of free rentals out to people who aren’t even able to afford a Cadillac. The experience may earn Cadillac droves of new fans, but fans don’t keep the lights on – customers do. Knowing demographic information is important in matching contacts to the proven buyer personas that make up a customer base.

Of course, no amount of demographic information will be able to completely qualify cold call contacts (it is cold calling, after all), but it will help increase the chances that your investment will provide a worthwhile return.

And perhaps the most attractive feature of cold calling is that you can start by dipping in a toe, gradually deepening the commitment as you see positive results. So give cold calling an honest examination and see if it could work for you. By starting small, you can reduce risk and test the waters before diving in headfirst.

[notification type=”alert-info” close=”false” ]So what do YOU think? Do you agree that cold calling can still be an effective marketing channel? Or do you think it simply can’t be salvaged? Share your thoughts in the comments section below![/notification]

Image Sources: Protective Cup via WikiHow, Blake Griffin Block via gifrific, Pokemon Gift Meme via CHEEZburger, “Jump Over Lyon” by Ravassodr Thierry

Yep, that’s right. Inbound marketing is dead. And no, this isn’t some gimmick headline. Inbound marketing really has gone the way of the dodo. Sad day.

But before discussing the cause of death, let’s take a moment of silence to pay our respects and reflect on the life that was taken from us too soon. Here are three beautiful statements made by industry leaders about inbound marketing’s short, yet highly acclaimed existence:

Moz

[Inbound marketing] earn[s] attention organically, without interrupting anyone’s path.

HubSpot

[Inbound marketing means] creat[ing] quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By publishing the right content in the right place at the right time, your marketing becomes relevant and helpful to your customers, not interruptive.

Marketo

Inbound marketing earns the attention of customers and makes the company easy to be found. Traditional marketing tactics based on “renting” attention that others have built – and interrupting the buyer in the process – are becoming less and less effective.

Earning the attention of prospects and customers by creating relevant, helpful resources that they find on their own, without interruption marketing methods, sounds amazing. Too bad it’s no longer possible.

You may think what I’m saying is poppycock, but don’t eel slap me just yet; hear me out first.

There’s No Such Thing as “Earning Attention”

Inbound marketing died when search engines vanquished keyword stuffing once and for all. Keyword stuffing was the only true form of inbound marketing to ever exist. Out-stuff your competition and you’ll earn a higher rank in the SERPs where your customers and prospects can find you without any interruptive marketing. Simple as that.

But when search engines changed the rules of the game, ranking factors became more about building links than stuffing pages with keywords. And how do you generate links? By producing high quality content your audience finds valuable and worthy of sharing. And how do you get an audience? By promoting yourself and your content (how else are they going to find you and learn what you’re about?).

Earn is just another word for promote, and promote is just another word for advertise. You don’t expect anyone to stumble across all that great content you’re creating without any kind of promotion, do you?

To draw attention to yourself and your content you email influencers, become a syndicated blogger, attract more Twitter followers for a larger audience, and drop a chunk of change on Facebook ads. All of this is outbound marketing.

The confusion comes when we notice the viral, hands free after effects.

“A few tweets to my 1,000 followers and now my e-book has over 10,000 downloads! I love inbound marketing!”

No, you love the results of outbound marketing. If you never promoted your e-book, you’d never get over 10,000 downloads. If you never promoted yourself, you’d never get 1,000 Twitter followers. It all goes back to outbound marketing.

“But my tweets only promoted the e-book to my 1,000 followers, so really I did very little outbound marketing. Most of the marketing came from my followers, my followers’ followers, and so on who retweeted and shared the e-book with others. I love inbound marketing!”

No, you love referrals and viral marketing. Using your 1,000 followers to spread your content is nothing more than effectively leveraging your circle of influence on Twitter. You only had to advertise to 1,000 followers, and those who found the e-book valuable took it upon themselves to advertise to their own followers on your behalf. You are renting their audiences. Referrals and viral marketing are outsourced advertising, not inbound marketing. Advertising is still advertising regardless of the person doing it.

“Rented? Outsourced? I’m not paying them. They are promoting the e-book on their own volition.”

Of course you’re paying them. You pay them in the value of the e-book. There’s no formal contract, but the terms are implicit. “If you find my e-book valuable, there are a few compensation options: do business with me, subscribe to my newsletter, share the e-book with others, or do nothing.” It’s essentially a Pay What You Want transaction. And if what you offer is truly valuable, then you might find yourself on the better end of the deal (just ask Radiohead how their release of In Rainbows went).

The snowball effects of referrals and viral marketing always begin with outbound marketing pushing the ball down the hill. And every retweet, like, share, forward, word of mouth mention, etc. is another push from outbound marketing to keep the ball rolling. Outbound marketing is both the cause and the effect.

Still don’t believe me? Without the help of any advertising, try to drum up business for a brand new company through referrals and viral marketing alone. You can blog, but you can’t promote it. You can write a book, but you can’t tell anyone about it. You can upload a video to YouTube, but you can’t email it to your contacts. You can make a Facebook page, but you can’t post on walls or reach out to users.

Good luck with that.

“Okay, so inbound marketing requires some outreach. Big deal. The key is that when I promote my e-book on Twitter, my followers are seeking the information that I’m providing. I’m offering relevant, helpful content that isn’t interruptive.”

Really? Let’s talk about that.

“Interruption Marketing” is Relative

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, obviously my tweets were helpful and not interruptive, otherwise 10,000 people wouldn’t have downloaded the e-book!”

In reality, though, the majority of users who saw the tweet about the e-book couldn’t have cared less. If asked, they would have actually preferred that you hadn’t tweeted at all. Just another non-relevant tweet cluttering up users’ feeds, getting between them and the tweets they really want to see.

“But they chose to follow me and gave me permission to send them tweets. Some even followed me first, so really they asked me for permission to receive my tweets!”

All of that may be true, but it’s also true that not everything you tweet will be helpful and relevant to all of your followers. Just like every blog post you write won’t resonate with every subscriber. Or every video you produce won’t be interesting to every viewer.

Most fans chose to download Radiohead’s In Rainbows for free. What made the Pay What You Want model successful for Radiohead was the minority who placed a very high value on the new album and paid accordingly. Likewise, only a small portion of your followers found the tweet about the e-book valuable and “paid” with a retweet. Then, a small portion of your followers’ followers found the retweet valuable and “paid” with another retweet. And so on.

But for the majority of your audience (and your audience’s audience), the content you share won’t be valuable and will be considered an interruption.

“If most of what I share is an interruption, then why do I still have followers, subscribers, friends, circles, etc.? Explain that.”

Put simply: the benefits outweigh the costs. Blog subscribers are willing to sift through the majority of posts that aren’t valuable for the handful of articles that they find highly valuable. Followers are willing to deal with the tweets of your latest meals and opposing political views in exchange for the e-book you include in a tweet that provides them with a ton of value.

But make no mistake; your fans will jump ship once they decide that the majority of what you share is an interruption and not a resource. It doesn’t matter that they “invited” or “permitted” the content: fans will unsubscribe from your email newsletter, unfriend you on Facebook, stop listening to your podcast, etc.

So does that mean that these fans also unsubscribed from ALL email newsletters, unfriended EVERYONE on Facebook, and stopped listening to ALL podcasts?

Of course not. Well, at least not yet, haha. If enough organizations botch email newsletters, Facebook, and podcasts, then eventually no one will ever sign up for them. This is exactly what happened with TV commercials, radio ads, and Internet banner ads. It’s why we have Netflix, DVR, TiVo, SiriusXM Radio, and AdBlock Plus. Marketers have flooded certain channels with way more bad than good, and, consequently, these channels have been dubbed “interruptive.”

Here’s a nice infographic from Rand Fishkin of Moz that categorizes marketing channels into interruption or inbound:

The problem is that the infographic is wrong. The whole stinkin’ thing.

A marketing channel may have an overwhelming preponderance of interruptive marketing messages, but the channel itself is not inherently interruptive. Only individual marketing messages within a channel can be classified as interruptive on a case-by-case basis.

“But TV commercials interrupt my show. How is that not interruptive?”

The connotation of the term “interruptive” is that the marketing is irrelevant and unhelpful (see HubSpot’s definition above). So what do you call a commercial that interrupts a TV show AND is relevant and helpful?

Let’s pretend you’ve been on the fence about buying new furniture and while watching TV you see a commercial offering an amazing deal. You’d be happy you caught the commercial. In fact, you wouldn’t even think of the commercial as an interruption; it’d be helpful and relevant. This happens all the time. Here’s a really fun example:

I remember seeing the commercial for this crazy deal. Even though I wasn’t in the market for buying furniture, I still thought the commercial was really entertaining and intriguing. The truth, though, is that the vast majority of ads aren’t entertaining, or intriguing, or funny, or valuable, and that’s exactly why certain channels get filed under interruption marketing.

Isn’t it interesting that during the Super Bowl more viewers are excited about the commercials that are interrupting the game than the game itself? Why are so many viewers excited for interruptive TV commercials during the Super Bowl?

Easy. Super Bowl commercials are usually way more entertaining, intriguing, funny, and valuable than other television commercials. It has infinitely more to do with the execution than the marketing channel.

Execution is why the locally-run Super Bowl ad of Savannah, GA personal injury lawyer Jamie Casino can get an extra 5 million views on YouTube, coverage in countless news stories, and tons of backlinks to his website. Must not be all that disruptive, huh?

Here’s the thing. You may watch this commercial and think, “I wouldn’t want to see that during my favorite show,” and that’d be fine. The point is that interruptive is in the eye of the beholder.

Rand lists “influencer outreach” as inbound marketing. Do you honestly think emails, phone calls, direct messages, etc. introducing yourself/your content to influencers aren’t interruptive? Imagine being knee-deep in a project when you see three emails from people you’ve never met asking you to give them some of your time and attention. Doesn’t that sound like an interruption?

“Well, if you are offering them something useful and relevant, then the influencers would find the outreach beneficial.”

So you’re saying it comes down to the execution rather than the channel, right?

Great marketers can offer value through every channel. Ever been on a road trip and made dinner plans the moment you saw a billboard for a restaurant you love? Ever been at a trade show and made a great business contact because of an amazing trade show booth? Ever receive a door-hanger menu for a local Chinese restaurant and discovered your new favorite take-out?

Helpful, relevant content can be delivered through all of Rand’s “interruption marketing” channels, even cold calling (here’s a post on this for those who don’t believe me). And all of Rand’s “inbound marketing” channels have the same chances of being filled with tons of marketing interruptions.

“Why Should I Care?”

The major goal of this post isn’t to challenge marketing terminology (although that is a byproduct). The major goal is to call marketers to perform at a higher level. Don’t settle for easy and boring. The reason so many people want to tune out marketing is because most of it is terrible. If marketers started treating every marketing opportunity like a Super Bowl commercial, then I honestly believe there’d be fewer people calling marketing channels interruptive.

Choose the marketing channels that will give you the best reach and engagement for your particular audience. Then draft marketing content that will knock their socks off.

When I tell people that I work for an advertising specialties company, the conversations almost always culminate in the same final question: what promotional products work the best?

It’s a good question. People want to know what they should buy when they need some custom imprinted swag. And I always respond with the same answer: it depends.

Everyone hates that answer, but it is honestly the truth.

The industry, brand image, recipient, purpose, setting, quantity, budget, and deadline all play equally important roles in determining the most effective promotional items. Naturally there are certain products that have a broader application than others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those items are the most effective.

Most effective means most impactful. What promotional products will have the greatest impact? What will bring the audience to action (call, visit website, sign-up for newsletter, become a customer, etc.)? And what will make the most lasting impression?

For the following five brands, the most effective items may not be what you’d expect, and their clever executions demonstrate the incredible power of a well-planned promotional products campaign.

The Economist

A latex balloon is literally one of the least expensive promotional items available, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be the most effective. The Economist’s use of this balloon is nothing short of brilliant.

The obvious message The Economist sends with the balloon is that its subscribers will become smarter from reading the publication. But the balloon takes on a much deeper meaning when considering the magazine’s primary subject matter: economics.

Important and meaningful concepts such as economic bubble (also called a balloon) and inflation (get it? Haha) come to life through the use of this simple promotional product. By appealing to those who appreciate the ingenuity, The Economist attracts its ideal audience and communicates its identity as a deep-thinking publication.

Who knew a balloon could be so impactful?

Taking Woodstock

In an effort to bring attention to its theatrical release, Taking Woodstock mailed these brownie mix bags to movie critics and media companies. The comedy-drama film affixed a branded sticker to the bags and included a recipe that leaves room for a “special ingredient” (whatever that is…).

The off-color gift does a great job of grabbing attention and makes for a funny story that recipients can share with friends and colleagues. Best of all, the goofy promotional campaign gives a glimpse into the humor of Taking Woodstock and what to expect from the movie.

Promotional products don’t have to stand alone. In this case, the sticker provides the unique branding for the brownie bag. Maybe the most effective way to advertise is by coupling a promotional product along with a non-traditional promotional item? Or perhaps several promotional products can be bundled together to create a complete package?

Also, keep in mind that a promotional product isn’t some sort of silver bullet, especially when it comes to the actual product or service. While the brownie bags successfully attracted viewers, they couldn’t do anything to help the film’s ratings. Due to its poor reviews, Taking Woodstock only grossed $9.9 million at the box office, not even coming close to its $30 million budget.

Maybe viewers were supposed to eat the brownies directly before seeing the movie?

Shiner Bock

What good is an article with illicit drug references if it leaves out alcohol? Well, luckily, Shiner Bock gives us some great material thanks to its witty use of promotional koozies.

When Heineken became the official beer sponsor of Austin City Limits, Shiner Bock, the local favorite, felt snubbed. So the indomitable brewery took matters into its own hands and crafted a sneaky scheme to weasel its way into the music festival.

As attendees entered the festival, Shiner Bock gave out thousands of these koozies for fans to use during the concert. So guess what beer appeared to be the sponsor in all of the Facebook selfies, YouTube videos, and Instragram photos?

Shiner Bock not only garnered a ton of impressions and media coverage for its creative act of defiance, but the brand also successfully reinforced its surprisingly charming anti-establishment reputation.

This is a perfect illustration of how promotional products have the potential to reach audiences that are seemingly off-limits. It just takes some creativity and the right promotional item.

Greenpeace

Part of the mission of many non-profits is to raise awareness of its cause; people don’t get involved until they understand that there is a problem. So to help spread awareness, Greenpeace made customized “Do Not Disturb” signs and placed them in on the door handles of residential buildings and hotels in Brazil.

Greenpeace uses the “Do Not Disturb” message and applies it to the causes the organization cares about most: deforestation, whale hunting, and sea pollution. But this clever campaign is more than just a cute a play on words, it is also an effort to impact implicit association.

The goal is to change the connotation of “Do Not Disturb” from a door sign to an environmental conservation effort. Greenpeace wants those who see the promotional door signs to think of conservation every time they see another “Do Not Disturb” sign.

In this case, the door sign is very effective because it gives new meaning to a common term and changes what people will think about when they encounter the phrase “Do Not Disturb.” Changing how people think is a powerful thing. Remember what Norman Vincent Peale said: “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

Roland Semprie

For Personal Trainer Roland Semprie, the best way to advertise his service is to show its efficacy. And nothing says, “I’ll make you sweat!” like this promotional t-shirt that he gives to clients to wear during workouts.

When clients leave a session, the t-shirt broadcasts the results of Roland’s training services to all of the passersby in the gym. As an added bonus, the t-shirt motivates current clients to push themselves harder, which of course only makes Roland’s services that much better (pretty smart, huh?).

Most brands reserve promotional products for potential clients, but Roland Semprie turns this paradigm on its head. He gives his t-shirts to current clients and they do the promotional work for him.

Such a novel idea!

Turning customers into advocates is an important strategy for every business, and sometimes it may take a creative promotional product to do the trick.

The One Thing You Need To Know About Promotional Items

Just like any other marketing tactic out there, the most effective promotional products are those that are incorporated into a creative and memorable advertising campaign. No single advertising specialty is the panacea that works in every circumstance.

Learn from the above five brands who thoughtfully used their promotional items to accomplish their marketing goals. It’s not so much what you use, it’s how you use it. A well-planned campaign brings the best results and makes promotional products even more fun. So get creative!

[notification type=”alert-info” close=”false” ]What are some effective promotional item campaigns you’ve done or experienced? Be sure to share it with us in the comments section below.[/notification]

Image sources:Economist balloon by DirectDaily, Taking Woodstock bag by AV Club, Shiner Bock koozies by ImagineHQ, Greenpeace door signs by Osocio, Roland Semprie shirts by Behance