Wednesday, August 01, 2007
How NOT to Communicate with your Customers!
I received an unsolicited electronic newsletter from a company that is represented in a local networking group of which I am a member.
I guess the person who represents the company in this group apparently thought it was okay to just add me to their mailing list without my permission.
NOT!
Anyway, there are three "opportunities for improvement" that I immediately identified that will benefit anyone who publishes an electronic newsletter, ezine or other marketing communications.
First, the font size of their newsletter is waaaaay too small, making in nearly impossible to read. Font size for body copy text should be at least 10 points.
Second, the contents are nearly 100% "inner-focused," meaning centered on the COMPANY rather than on the READER.
For example, the main content is written in an attempt to look like a press release. It talks about a "new" virus: W32.Sobig@F.mm, circa 8/19/2003. Well, today is November 5th, so this "news" is nearly three months old! The "release" then rambles on about how the company's service combats viruses in a way that was intended to look like a news story but instead, blatantly resembles a sales pitch.
Most business people are too smart to be fooled by this kind of transparent ploy.
If this HAD been a press release, it would have been immediately trashed—because it lacks the single most important ingredient the media looks for: newsworthiness.
Newsworthiness means something interesting to the READER, not the company or its employees. Far too many press releases—and most marketing communications in general—are filled with self-serving platitudes and hyperbole that have little or no meaning or value to the audience.
At the bottom of the main content area they include an announcement that they just signed up a new customer, which they name, and they include a pointless quote from a person at that company.
WHO CARES? Why is the fact that they signed up a particular company important to me, another customer or prospect? It isn't. It's just fluff.
Third, there is a NO offer or call to action. There's nothing in it for me, the reader, to make me want to contact the company for more information. There's nothing whatsoever to keep me interested.
In short, the piece is a bunch of self-seeking drivel that has little—if any—meaning or value to the reader.
Ironically, the sidebar of the piece trumpets the company's apparent relationship with a new "communication consultant" that has been helping them with their marketing. This is a classic example of the blind leading the blind.
The lesson? Your marketing communications MUST:
• Be readable
• Be meaningful and relevant to the audience
• Have a compelling offer or call to action
Otherwise, you're just wasting their time and your money.
If you want your marketing communications to help you MAKE SALES, instead of putting people to sleep, call me, Nick Nichols, at 702-227-5877.
"NOT hiring Nick Nichols will cost you a LOT more than hiring him!"
I guess the person who represents the company in this group apparently thought it was okay to just add me to their mailing list without my permission.
NOT!
Anyway, there are three "opportunities for improvement" that I immediately identified that will benefit anyone who publishes an electronic newsletter, ezine or other marketing communications.
First, the font size of their newsletter is waaaaay too small, making in nearly impossible to read. Font size for body copy text should be at least 10 points.
Second, the contents are nearly 100% "inner-focused," meaning centered on the COMPANY rather than on the READER.
For example, the main content is written in an attempt to look like a press release. It talks about a "new" virus: W32.Sobig@F.mm, circa 8/19/2003. Well, today is November 5th, so this "news" is nearly three months old! The "release" then rambles on about how the company's service combats viruses in a way that was intended to look like a news story but instead, blatantly resembles a sales pitch.
Most business people are too smart to be fooled by this kind of transparent ploy.
If this HAD been a press release, it would have been immediately trashed—because it lacks the single most important ingredient the media looks for: newsworthiness.
Newsworthiness means something interesting to the READER, not the company or its employees. Far too many press releases—and most marketing communications in general—are filled with self-serving platitudes and hyperbole that have little or no meaning or value to the audience.
At the bottom of the main content area they include an announcement that they just signed up a new customer, which they name, and they include a pointless quote from a person at that company.
WHO CARES? Why is the fact that they signed up a particular company important to me, another customer or prospect? It isn't. It's just fluff.
Third, there is a NO offer or call to action. There's nothing in it for me, the reader, to make me want to contact the company for more information. There's nothing whatsoever to keep me interested.
In short, the piece is a bunch of self-seeking drivel that has little—if any—meaning or value to the reader.
Ironically, the sidebar of the piece trumpets the company's apparent relationship with a new "communication consultant" that has been helping them with their marketing. This is a classic example of the blind leading the blind.
The lesson? Your marketing communications MUST:
• Be readable
• Be meaningful and relevant to the audience
• Have a compelling offer or call to action
Otherwise, you're just wasting their time and your money.
If you want your marketing communications to help you MAKE SALES, instead of putting people to sleep, call me, Nick Nichols, at 702-227-5877.
"NOT hiring Nick Nichols will cost you a LOT more than hiring him!"
