How to capture wary consumers

Joanna L. Krotz writes about small-business marketing and management issues. She is the co-author of the "Microsoft Small Business Kit" and runs Muse2Muse Productions, a New York City-based custom publisher.

By Joanna L. Krotz

"We're inundated with information," says Jack Burke, who runs Sound Marketing in Branson, Mo., and is the author of "Relationship Aspect Marketing." "Between 1980 and 1995, to get into someone's mind took about seven messages," he says. "Today, to gain top of mind, experts say it's doubled to 12 or 14. But I think it's more like 20."

That's the geometric dilemma. The more messages out there, the faster the consumer backs up. The more resistant the customer, the more furiously marketers deliver messages.

Then there's that bad reputation. On the consumer continuum, direct marketers rank somewhere between snake oil salesmen and car dealers. Despite the vast majority of credible and transparent direct marketing, it's rip-offs that get profile. For obvious reasons: Fraudulent schemes typically target the most-vulnerable citizens, such as the elderly or families on fixed incomes.

So between the rock of consumer skepticism and the hard place of government protections, how do you get to permission-based marketing and cut through suspicion?

First, get smarter. Don't promise what you can't deliver.

"The biggest trouble direct marketers have is failure to fulfill," says Doug Wood, who leads the advertising and marketing practice at Reed Smith LLP law firm in New York. "They get too many orders for an offer and can't deliver."

Wood also advises caution before drafting policies about how you collect personal data from customers. "Direct marketers post opt-in and opt-out policies to be politically correct and put a straitjacket on their data," explains Wood. "Later, they want to revisit the issue and can't change the contract with the customer."

Next, run — don't walk — from spam and junk mail that doesn't offer your customer more than a generalized sales pitch. Targeted e-mail newsletters are effective marketing tools, but only if the customer trusts your business and feels you are addressing their needs. To learn more about Microsoft e-mail marketing services, see this page.

Most important, make it worth your customer's while to listen to your pitch. Here's how:

1. Offer instant rewards.

The way to get customer buy-in, says James Christensen, president and CEO of Ernex Marketing Technologies, based in Vancouver, B.C., depends on:

Ernex offers a real-time marketing technology based on credit-card authorization software. But instead of approval at the end of a transaction, Ernex provides clients with ways to reward loyal customers. At an Eddie Bauer store, for instance, Ernex technology can identify a frequent customer at the moment of purchase and print out a 10% discount coupon for her along with the receipt. Part of the impact is the immediate reward.

Such technology, according to Christensen, can be cost-effective for even a single restaurant. But you don't need to install software to extend special thanks to repeat customers. "People like to be recognized," says Christensen.

2. Prove you care.

"You can't knock on the door or send a piece of mail asking for business until you warm up the customer," says Burke. "The best way is to give something for free that's of value to your target customer."

Working with Bellevue, Wash., marketing consultant James P. Cecil, for example, Burke was hired to help an insurance broker client break into the trucking industry. Research into trucking showed that staff turnover was rife; government regulation was intense; and CEO peer interaction was nonexistent. Plus, truck owners tended to be stubborn.

So Burke and team decided to warm things up.

They planned a six-month campaign, tapping three top-level experts who could speak to each of three issues: How to recruit, train and retain drivers; how best to deal with regulatory issues; and how to motivate lone-wolf CEOs.

Each expert taped a talk, offering strategies and advice on the issues. The cassettes went out in six-week intervals, each accompanied by a letter from the broker simply saying the owner might find the cassette worth a listen.

"Only after sending the tapes and providing value did salespeople make calls," says Burke.

Before any direct marketing, Burke suggests you find positive answers to these questions:

3. Make your campaigns relevant.

Even when campaigns demand mass-market coverage, make sure you craft appropriate incentives. Then see that the messages get in front of particular customers you want to reach — no matter how large the group.

That goes for every channel. If the message isn't right in the offline world, it won't work in the online world, either.

Nobody gets something for nothing. If you want customers to give you the time of their day, give them something of value first.