Duct Tape Marketing

The goal of printed advertising is to get the recipient to perform a certain task that will help you generate business.  Whether you want the customer to call you, return an information card, visit your store or log into a website, you are asking the customer to do something for you.  The obvious question in response from the average customer is:  “Why should I do something for you?”

That’s where the concept of an offer comes in.  The offer is your response to the question of “Why?”.  It is giving the customer something (aside from a chance to purchase your service or product) for their action in responding to your advertisement.   The following are several ideas about the types of offers you can make to entice customers to respond:

• The Free Consultation is not Enough!:  In most service/sales industries, the offer of a free consultation is not enough of an enticement since most companies are advertising some sort of free consultation.  You need to make a tangible offer of some service or gift other than just agreeing to talk to a potential customer. 
  
  Discounts.   This is the most common form of offer.  It’s self explanatory, basically it is offering the customer a discount on your prices to get them to take the steps towards purchase that you are asking for on your card. 
  
  Free Stuff.  Another self explanatory item.  You give your customers a free gift of some sort to get them to respond to your advertisement.
  
  Knowledge.  A good way to get customers to respond is by offering unique knowledge which you possess due to your professional status.  For example, a realtor can offer something like “10 Great Hints to Selling Your Home” or a stockbroker can offer generalized information about investing.  The key is to offer unique knowledge which the potential customer does not have.  It should also be noted that using knowledge based offers are a great way for a business to show its professional acumen and knowledge. 
  
  Team Ups.   You can think outside the box in regards to your offer.  You can enter into a business relationship with another person to offer combined services, like a realtor agreeing with an interior decorator to offer some free interior design to purchasers.  This sort of team up not only makes your offer more appealing, but presuming it is reciprocal, it gives you access to a whole new group of potential clients, namely the customers of the party you’ve teamed up with.  
  
  The bottom line is that if you want someone to do something for you and respond to your advertising, you need to make sure you’re offering to do enough for them to make it worth their while.