Copycat marketing is expensive and ineffective at best and can actually be counterproductive and damaging. This weekend I received a piece of copycat marketing category, and I think it demonstrates these points.
I received what appeared to be an article torn from a magazine sent to me by someone who knows me. The article had a Post-It note attached with this handwritten note: “Bill, Try this, It’s really good! J”.
Sending relevant articles to customers and prospects is a good marketing tactic. It shows you understand your customers’ needs, that you are looking out for their interests, reminds them that you exist, etc. Many people have used this tactic to great success. However, copying another’s successful tactic doesn’t guarantee success.
The title of the article was “Outfox Your Competition with Clever, Profit-Driven Strategies”. Ok, I know a “J” that would send me this type of article. However, as I read the article which discussed success stories of Absolut Vodka, UPS, and Best Buy, I became confused. Did “J” want me to try the Vodka? The magazine the article was in? A “profit-driven strategy”?
I looked at the envelope and noticed from the way it was addressed (it obviously came from a mailing list) that “J” was most likely who I thought he was. Back to the article – here’s some stuff about a newsletter name Fuel. Does “J” want me to try the newsletter? I flipped the page over, and there is a form to fill out to order something – is it for the newsletter or the magazine that this page was torn from? Ok, if I read really closely (which I would have never done if I wasn’t blogging this) I can see it is for the Fuel newsletter. I flip the article back over and now I notice that this is not an article at all but an advertisement (labeled as such in the top-right corner).
I’ve gone from having an expectation of reading something useful to being confused and becoming annoyed.
Let’s evaluate this piece of direct mail advertising using the Duct Tape Marketing definition of marketing – getting someone with a specific need to know, like, contact, buy from and refer you to others.
- Know – I still don’t know who “J” is, I barely know about Customer Focus Magazine and the Fuel newsletter. I know these people are more interested in deceiving me for their own self interests than they are in helping me.
- Like – Since my first contact with these folks was confusing and deceptive, I don’t like them.
- Contact – won’t ever happen, would not even return their call.
- Buy from – ditto
- Refer to others – I’m writing an extended blog entry describing them at manipulative and deceitful
To recap, someone spent a lot of money to send out a message that was anonymous, confusing, dishonest. In my case, they received the extra bonus of negative word of mouth. Hardly a recipe for success. Make sure that the tactics that you choose flow from your marketing strategy and help your ideal customers to know, like, trust, buy from, and refer others to you.
