Hail Mary Marketing; Does the Long Pass Work in the Real World?
It’s the end of another football season and The Steel Curtain of Pittsburgh barely prevailed after a hard won victory. I noticed several times both quarterbacks launched Hail Mary passes, a long high spiral thrown in the direction of the end zone with the hopes and prayers that someone will catch it. Nothing connected- they were almost intercepted. Hail Mary’s do not work. They’re a last ditch effort launched out of desperation.
The most successful game plan involves a simple set of steps. A running game that advances five yards or a ten and out series of passes that marches the ball down the field is a key to winning.
At one of my marketing contract jobs, the boss wanted to do a mass mailing postcard campaign to 5000 people. His plan was to saturate the market and inundate it with the name of the business. I argued for a series of 5 mailings to a smaller list of 1000 people. Same mailing cost, but it would return a higher percentage as the repeated exposure could bust through the advertising clutter.
I lost and the Director threw up a Hail Mary pass with 5000 postcards and that was the budget.
The response? One. Abysmal.
And the Director thought so too. Of course it was the postcard’s fault and the list’s fault, and ultimately my fault as the marketer.
Hail Mary’s do not work in marketing unless a unique set of circumstances are in place. (Let’s face it, we call wish we could have one “pet rock” scenario!)
I had the opportunity to work in the same industry (education) in the same market for a different company for my next gig.
We purchased the first 1000 names off the same list with the exact same parameters and followed a five step contact process that offered:
1. A guide on financial aid for responding
2. An OPEN HOUSE with food and a toll free RSVP
3. A Free Backpack for enrolling
4. A Free Back to School Kit for enrolling
5. A Free Laptop for staying in school
All the offers had limited quantities and a hard and fast deadline going to an identical list as the first offer. I argued for the same postcard to go out 5 times with subtle changes, such as a handwritten notations or other methods to test.
The results: Hail Mary mailing from school #1
5000 postcards = 1 response
The cost of mailing, design and printing was $2000, and the money earned from the enrolled student was $16,000. (based on total number of credit hours needed to complete a degree)
So while the Hail Mary would seem to be a financial success, that profit has to cover the cost to provide the education over two years (professors, salaries, classrooms, etc.) So it was a loss.
The 5 postcard campaign produced a different set of results.
The First Mailing produced 237 requests for the financial aid guide, and set up a marketing relationship to continue to provide information in the future. One person enrolled into the college.
Cost: $1170 for printing, design and mailing.
Enrolled student: $11,000.
The Second Mailing for the Open House had 42 people respond and attend. From the Open House, 35 new students enrolled.
Cost: $1170 for printing, design and mailing.
Enrolled students: $385,000 for tuition.
The Third Mailing had twelve respondents that enrolled.
Cost: $1170.
Enrolled: $132,000.
Two Students enrolled from the Forth Mailing.
Cost: $1170.
Enrolled: $22,000.
The Fifth Mailing produced 5 additional students and $55,000 in tuition.
So clearly a series of well planned contacts with a smaller list is highly more effective than one giant blast to a large list.
Repeated contact establishes credibility and reliability. It also provides valuable information about future mailings.
Based upon the higher response rate to the OPEN HOUSE postcard, I was able to recommend a series of 5 postcards to the remaining 4000 on the list with equally impressive results.
The bottom line: NEVER allow a HAIL MARY attitude into any of your marketing. A series of smaller planned steps to remain in contact with your market and invite them to gather more information or to remain in contact with you is 10 even 100 times more successful than a desperate one shot at success.
The most successful game plan involves a simple set of steps. A running game that advances five yards or a ten and out series of passes that marches the ball down the field is a key to winning.
At one of my marketing contract jobs, the boss wanted to do a mass mailing postcard campaign to 5000 people. His plan was to saturate the market and inundate it with the name of the business. I argued for a series of 5 mailings to a smaller list of 1000 people. Same mailing cost, but it would return a higher percentage as the repeated exposure could bust through the advertising clutter.
I lost and the Director threw up a Hail Mary pass with 5000 postcards and that was the budget.
The response? One. Abysmal.
And the Director thought so too. Of course it was the postcard’s fault and the list’s fault, and ultimately my fault as the marketer.
Hail Mary’s do not work in marketing unless a unique set of circumstances are in place. (Let’s face it, we call wish we could have one “pet rock” scenario!)
I had the opportunity to work in the same industry (education) in the same market for a different company for my next gig.
We purchased the first 1000 names off the same list with the exact same parameters and followed a five step contact process that offered:
1. A guide on financial aid for responding
2. An OPEN HOUSE with food and a toll free RSVP
3. A Free Backpack for enrolling
4. A Free Back to School Kit for enrolling
5. A Free Laptop for staying in school
All the offers had limited quantities and a hard and fast deadline going to an identical list as the first offer. I argued for the same postcard to go out 5 times with subtle changes, such as a handwritten notations or other methods to test.
The results: Hail Mary mailing from school #1
5000 postcards = 1 response
The cost of mailing, design and printing was $2000, and the money earned from the enrolled student was $16,000. (based on total number of credit hours needed to complete a degree)
So while the Hail Mary would seem to be a financial success, that profit has to cover the cost to provide the education over two years (professors, salaries, classrooms, etc.) So it was a loss.
The 5 postcard campaign produced a different set of results.
The First Mailing produced 237 requests for the financial aid guide, and set up a marketing relationship to continue to provide information in the future. One person enrolled into the college.
Cost: $1170 for printing, design and mailing.
Enrolled student: $11,000.
The Second Mailing for the Open House had 42 people respond and attend. From the Open House, 35 new students enrolled.
Cost: $1170 for printing, design and mailing.
Enrolled students: $385,000 for tuition.
The Third Mailing had twelve respondents that enrolled.
Cost: $1170.
Enrolled: $132,000.
Two Students enrolled from the Forth Mailing.
Cost: $1170.
Enrolled: $22,000.
The Fifth Mailing produced 5 additional students and $55,000 in tuition.
So clearly a series of well planned contacts with a smaller list is highly more effective than one giant blast to a large list.
Repeated contact establishes credibility and reliability. It also provides valuable information about future mailings.
Based upon the higher response rate to the OPEN HOUSE postcard, I was able to recommend a series of 5 postcards to the remaining 4000 on the list with equally impressive results.
The bottom line: NEVER allow a HAIL MARY attitude into any of your marketing. A series of smaller planned steps to remain in contact with your market and invite them to gather more information or to remain in contact with you is 10 even 100 times more successful than a desperate one shot at success.
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