Permission Power vs. the Super Bowl
During Super Bowl weekend, while so much hype is on a bunch of $3 million
30-second TV spots, let’s step back and look at how advertising works for
the rest of us.
The big daddies who buy those Super Bowl spots splash their names in front
of millions (billions?) of viewers, unconcerned with direct returns via
sales. Most advertisers — especially local businesses — cannot afford
that luxury, even on a more modest scale. In fact, Super Bowl spots are
simply the most expensive and dramatic form of “interruption marketing,” a
costly and aging strategy that rarely works.
Almost ten years ago, Seth Godin wrote Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers. He foretold the demise of traditional mass (”interruption”) advertising:
You’re not paying attention. Nobody is. It’s not your fault. [p.24]
The clutter has only gotten worse. Try counting how many marketing messages you encounter today. Don’t forget giant brand names on t-shirts, the Miscrosoft start-up banner on your monitor, radio ads, tv ads, billboards, airport ads, bumper stickers and even the ads in your local paper. [p.25]
Almost no one goes home eagerly anticipating junk mail in their mailbox. Almost no one reads People magazine for the ads. Almost no one looks forward to a three-minute commercial interruption on must-see tv. [p.26]
Super Bowl advertisers spend mightily for a special “interruption” opportunity, buying name recognition, and hoping that the “buzz” will extend the impact beyond the game-day broadcast. (But think about this: how many Super Bowl commercials of the past do you recall? Perhaps the famed 1984 Apple Macintosh ad, a brilliant combination of creativity and strategy. Or the heart-rending Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola ad of the late 1970’s? Those were decades ago! How many advertisers from this century’s Super Bowls can you name?)
For the rest of us — businesses and consumers alike — it is Godin’s “Permission Marketing” that can do the work that it is paid to do. These are messages that break through consumer resistance, create trust, build brand awareness, and greatly improve the chances of a sale.
Tomorrow’s marketer will first try to gain the customer’s consent to participate in the selling process. [p.10]
No doubt you see that Lucyslist is a direct disciple of the church of Permission Marketing. Our favorite excerpt:
E-mail is the main reason people use the Internet. And e-mail delivers frequency for free.
Time and again, marketing surveys demonstrate that people are likely to patronize businesses they trust. Where does trust come from? Trust comes from frequency. But before frequency turns into sales, it turns into permission. Permission to communicate, permission to customize, permission to teach. And permission is just a step away from trust. [p.96]
A brilliant marketer, Seth Godin continues to teach and preach the wisdom of Permission Marketing. Click here to read his latest take.
(Email Lucyslist for “Permission Marketing” solutions for your business.) marsha (at) lucyslist (dot) net
Many Merry Results
This week Lucyslist released our third Big Kitchen email, and results to date are very gratifying. See for yourself:
Total released: 2133
The opt-in list now numbers 865 after eight weeks. Customers are happy to subscribe and to refer friends.
Opened: 44%
These are unique opens — a reader is counted the first time he or she opens the message. In fact, 42% of the unique openers also opened the message more than once. Remember too that some folks read email in a “preview pane” and so may not be counted among the opens.
The national industry average for restaurant email opens is 25%. The Big Kitchen’s results are 176% of the national average.
Since fast-food and other chains make up 90% of the U.S. emailers, it is not surprising that an independent local restaurant like The Big Kitchen can better the average. Even so, we were surprised by these strong numbers.
Clicks: 14%
Note: The industry average? 5-6%. Again, this is for “unique” click-throughs. A whopping 50% of those who clicked through to The Big Kitchen’s online pages — coupon, trivia quiz, survey or info page — clicked on more than one link. Again, the involvement level of loyal customers with a local restaurant is most impressive.
All this means what, exactly?
Lucyslist’s goal is to bring effective marketing tools and techniques — based on the latest analytics and best practices of the online industry — to independent local businesses. The impressive results to date for The Big Kitchen demonstrate the viability of this approach.
What email techniques have we used?
a. Messages come “From” a real person (Judy The Beauty), rather than from a faceless corporation;
b. Subject lines convey benefits;
c. Email copy includes personalization;
d. Graphics are designed to avoid spam filters;
e. Messages are sent only to opt-in subscribers;
f. Send-to-a-friend links are visible and encouraged;
g. Email is sent only to opt-in list members.
Most restaurateurs, retailers and neighborhood services are experts at their trades. Few have time or expertise to become effective emailers. Lucyslist answers that need.
The Lucyslist plan is to leverage the email results for each merchant into cross-promotions and loyalty programs that bring expanded business to nearby businesses. More on this in a later post.
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Links:
Lucyslist Debuts With Big Kitchen
We’re off!
Lucyslist officially debuts tomorrow with the release of our email service for The Big Kitchen, one of San Diego’s most popular cafes. To see the Big Kitchen’s Lucyslist messages, click here. To visit the Big Kitchen’s Lucyslist website, click here or the sidebar link.
Judy The Beauty is the Big Kitchen’s owner, and “author” of the messages. Using Lucyslist sign-up cards for only 4 weeks, Judy already has 507 subscribers. Her debut message releases on November 13, coincidentally the birthday of the most famous BK staff alum, Whoopi Goldberg.
