At least once a month I find, in the mail or in my inbox, an offer:
Hop on a 15 minute sales call, and get a $5 Starbucks gift card.
Really? That’s the best you can do? If you knew me at all, you’d know I don’t even like Starbucks, and $5 seems like a rather cheap estimate of the value of my time. But I’d feel the same about $15, or even $30.
These offers are some of the least creative, most overused in the business, and yet seem as popular as ever. To be clear – I’m not against incentive-based offers – I just think brands need to put more effort behind them.
And of course you see much more creative examples in the margins. Whether it’s a fully custom direct mail campaign with personally chosen gifts, or automated solutions like Alyce that offer a bit more variety, it is possible to do meaningful work here.
Just be careful – no personalization is better than lazy personalization. If you’re sending your prospect a yoga gift card, you better make damn sure it’s yoga they’re actually interested in, and not pilates, or marathon running. Tailor the message to the market – or don’t say anything at all.