In the previous two articles, we have been discussing some marketing tactics that fall under the strategy of "piggyback marketing."
With this method, you have the opportunity to "piggyback" your marketing message with other products, sales messages, a service, or a bill.
Your marketing "piggybacks" with something else that is going to be delivered anyway and can be thought of as a "bonus" or gift by the prospect.
Another way the implement piggyback marketing is with inserts. Inserts can take many different forms including:
- Product flyers with a "cutout" offer (you've seen the dashed lines and little scissors icon surrounding a box that lists a discount on a product or service);
- Free samples of a product;
- An offer to be placed on your exclusive mailing list for valuable information and other product offerings;
- A free information booklet that offers valuable advice;
- Free gift or premium (like the popular refrigerator magnets, free pens, golf tees, paper clips, etc) that advertises your business;
- CDs with valuable information about your niche and how your business can help solve the customer's problem;
There are many other inserts that can be given - the limiting factor is your own imagination and budget for such things.
Paper and print based inserts, as you might expect, are best for letters and mail billings. Limit your insert to one sheet so that its inclusion does not require additional postage.
Premiums and other "physical" item gifts are more appropriate for insertion in package and product mailings.
Again, try to keep the weight down so that including your insert does not increase the postage cost. (Physical item inserts are sometimes called "ride alongs" and they can be great response inducers because they tend not to be thrown away with the packaging.)
The same rules and principles apply to insert piggybacking as we discussed in previous installments.
Make sure you target the mailing audience, include a way for the prospect to contact you (and a reason why he would want to do that), give him something of perceived value and worth, partner with a mailer that will give your business some credibility, be unique and creative in your approach, and make the insert light enough that additional postage is not required.
Of course the challenge for your business is to find the perfect insert and marketing message so that you draw the highest response possible. That will come over time as you experiment and test your marketing results.
When you have identified what works best on a small or limited scale, roll out additional campaigns with new partners and an ever expanding customer base.
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