A great way to combine lead-gathering with brand recognition might surprise you… Calendars!
Offering free calendars to your target market not only speaks of your generosity, it puts you and your company front and center every day of the year.
Since your prospects don’t have to do anything to receive a calendar from you, on the surface it’s a totally altruistic move, yet with a bit more sensitivity, they can be a highly cost-efficient way to market your business and generate increased positive responses.
Okay… so what do I mean about being ‘a bit more sensitive’? Well, you’re sensitive enough to know that people like ‘free’ things and that a calendar is a universally useful tool. But lets consider a few additional factors:
Speak to you audience
As with any kind of marketing, it’s important to be clear about who you’re speaking to and what message you’re sending. So you want to put your calendar in front of a very well-defined and highly targeted audience in a very personal way. (Think sub-niches here).
For instance, if you’re an insurance company, you probably offer insurance for a wide variety of things: business, house, boat, car, etc. While you might decide to print up a 12 month calendar focusing on each of twelve such areas… think how much more personally you will touch your client/prospect if, for instance, that person who buys motorcycle insurance received a calendar filled with classic motorcycles. Or the business owner received a functional business marketing calendar.
Of course, if you’re looking to reach a broader group of people you could also consider a calendar created from a common theme such as a local sports team or local landmarks or something along those lines. Just remember your goal is to engage your audience with your calendar. Let it inform, involve or inspire people!
Promote yourself
You’ve probably received a free calendar or two in your life. No doubt it featured some company logo… yet I’ll bet it was little more than that logo along with the same old rows of dated squares. But what if you give away a calendar filled with icons and images to highlight special sales, products, discounts and/or events throughout the entire year? Offer a ‘Product of The Month Club’ and highlight each month’s product.
If you sell any seasonal items you could provide a related list for each applicable season. For example, if you sell cleaning supplies include a spring cleaning list in April and winter preparation checklist in October.
Give a steady Call to Action. The idea is to encourage your customers to think about what they need and tell them you can provide it.
Make it measurable
Here’s another option to consider when using calendars as a marketing tool. Most businesses fail to see beyond the simple logo branding on a calendar yet why not harness the power of a daily message and use your calendar as a direct-marketing piece. Doing something like including cut-out coupons each week or month is a win for the customer and a win for you while allowing you to track your returns on investment.
In fact, with such a high value you could easily offer the coupon-filled calendar itself as a lead-generating piece by offering it through a website to people for the mere cost of shipping and handling. That way, you’ve covered the mailing cost while at the same time gathered names and addresses of people who see the value of your products.
The idea here is to think outside the boxes… and provide your customers with beautiful and useful calendars… giving them value and something to talk about is bound to keep you top of mind and lead to a significant return on your investment.
Happy connecting!
