The power of a steady drip
It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon, a perfect time to unwind after a long day. As the sun
began to set, we stood drenched in a kaleidoscope of emeralds, pomegranate and
cobalt.
A garden is a place that stirs the senses, but who would have guessed I was in
the middle of a desert surrounded by lush greenery, a pallet of vibrant colors
and the sweet smell of flowers in the air. In fact, it was my brother
’s backyard in the mountains not far from Reno.
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The secret was an almost invisible irrigation system that Paul had installed
when he built the house. All of the trees, plants and flowers were linked by
tiny water lines hidden below ground and directed to the root system of each
group of plants.
He led me into his garage where the control system was mounted. It was from
here, through a combination of timers, water valves and servos that Paul
programmed the water feed system for his entire property.
The key to growth, he said, was his drip irrigation system, which supplied small
amounts of water to his plants on a regular basis.
It’s common sense that if you fail to water plants, they die. Too much water all at
once, however, or a single, random prolonged watering is also of little benefit
since the excess water will either drown the plant or simply be absorbed into
the ground and fail to sustain long term growth.
In many ways, the very same principles used to grow a lush garden in the middle
of a desert can be applied to growing a business.
Every spring, for example, a local drycleaner mails 10,000 postcards to his
extended market area. (I know, because I do it for him). He makes a very strong
offer with an attractive mailing piece to both his customers and his potential
prospects and in so doing, thoroughly
“waters his entire garden.”
The results are fantastic. His regulars appreciate hearing from him and the
campaign always brings in new customers, as well. But, like a heavy watering
followed by a drought his efforts are short lived, as his market will see
nothing from him again until next year. Still, a one-time heavy watering,
although costly and wasteful, is better than doing nothing at all.
Cleaners who do nothing, in terms of watering, often have the luxury of living
at the
“bottom of a mountain range” (in an area of high traffic or next to a magnet food center) and are able to
benefit from the water that flows down to them. Even so, they must wait until
it
“rains” and customers are attracted to the center before they can realize any benefit.
Still, despite having an excellent location, a cleaner in this situation would
do even better with an
“irrigation system” in place.
Instead of flooding the market with a one-time, costly all out sales blitz, a
small drycleaner will have more success with a
“drip marketing” campaign in which multiple promotional messages are sent out at regular
intervals over an extended period of time.
Drip marketing carries two major advantages.
First, a smaller budget is easier to manage since it’s not necessary to come up with a large sum of money to wage a full-scale
marketing program.
Second, by sending out information at regular intervals, your customers and
prospects will see your name often and begin to associate you with the service
you provide, which can
’t be said of most businesses.
The kiss of death in any marketing campaign comes from a lack of communication
for extended periods of time. If that happens and your customers stop hearing
from you regularly, they may conclude you are no longer in business or at least
unavailable. The goal of drip marketing is to keep communication going until
you've achieved total market domination.
The key to an effective drip marketing program is to have a written plan of
action. However, it
’s not enough just to write the plan… it must be consistently implemented.
Ideally, a marketing campaign of this scope should be laid out at least a year
in advance and should include a variety of low-cost, easy-to-apply marketing
tools such as postcards, newsletters, door hangers, email, personal letters and
promotional brochures. To maximize the effectiveness of your program, plan to
do something at least every month.
Here are three points to consider when putting together your drip marketing
campaign.
1. Develop a consistent look and feel. After determining which format and medium
to use, it
’s time to edit the content. Be consistent. Develop and stick with a look that
your audience will recognize each month. It will help them cut through the
clutter and improve readership and recall.
2. Keep it interesting. Look for ways to build communications that are fun and
informative. Add helpful hints, industry information, or other non-sales
oriented material. You should still communicate the strengths of your company
and specific services, but do it in conjunction with meaningful information.
3. Be patient. Drip marketing takes time. If you send out the first month's
communications and don't get a big response, don't make the mistake of
impatience. Remember, this is a steady plan of action that takes time to
develop results.
So, at this point, how does one begin a drip marketing campaign? Is it possible
to jump in at any time or is it best to wait until the beginning of the year?
The answer, of course, is that you can start any time and the sooner the better.
Actually, November and specifically Thanksgiving offers the best opportunity of
the year to make contact.
Many people think that Christmas is the most celebrated holiday.
In fact, Thanksgiving is more celebrated than Christmas primarily because
Thanksgiving is widely recognized regardless of a person
’s nationality or religion.
If you’d like to start your drip marketing campaign off on the right foot and get a big
impact for a small cost, send out a thank you note at the end of November. If
you don
’t know how, call me.
