Jump on That One Brilliant Marketing Idea

Do you deal quickly with that one brilliant marketing idea that crosses your desk – or flashes by on your laptop, tablet or smart phone?  Do you take some kind of immediate action to act quickly on great ideas? Or, do you just let them pass and totally forget about them? If an idea sounds like something that would work well for your small business, you certainly don’t want to lose it.

No Action Can Result in Loss of a Brilliant Marketing Idea

Losing great marketing ideas is exactly what happens for most of us.  We read it and a light bulb goes on momentarily.   But, we breeze past it, losing it in our email Inbox.  Maybe we hit the ‘star’ button to make it stand out for later.  That is, assuming we ever remember to go back and pull it up again.  We think that will make it easy to find again.  But, days pass and our Inbox continues to pile up with new messages.  That great idea is quickly buried.  A week goes by, then another, then it’s a month.  “Good-bye brilliant idea.”

I recently received an email marketing piece from Janine Blackwell.  Janine is in the business of helping people create online six-figure courses.  The gist of her message was about an upcoming webinar on how other course developers can get into big corporations they want to sell to or work for.   She included 5 tips for gaining access to corporate executives to sell online courses of use to their employees.

Variations on Janine’s five tips have shown up before  in various posts from different people.  The one that jumped out at me and got the ‘gerbil wheel’ in my brain going was:  Send Lumpy Mail.  The message of reaching out to prospects using old-style snail mail is nothing new.  With email Inboxes overflowing every day, a personal, hand written note arriving through the postal service is likely to get more attention.

I open my email each day and moan just a little at how much is in the Inbox.  I even admit to getting more than a little bit of joy each day scrolling through the list of messages and checking off some that I can immediately delete and ignore.  The process makes my day appear easier to get through.  Hey, we all have to find happiness where we can.

What caught my attention in Janine’s first suggestion was the term:  lumpy.   Hmmm, what do you suppose lumpy mail refers to?  Well, of course, it is an envelope with something inside besides just a flat folded sales letter or printed advertisement of some sort.  Lumpy envelopes get attention.  The mind quickly wonders what might be in there.  We hope it is gift of some type.  Who can pass up a gift on a hectic day of business?

A Brilliant Marketing Idea Will Get Past the Gatekeeper

Often these envelopes make it past the gatekeeper outside the executive’s office, getting right into the hands of the person we want to reach.  They get right to the person we need to do our pitch to.  Janine confessed that the last time she got one of these lumpy missives, she invested $20,000 with the company.  Not a bad result.  She didn’t share what the ‘lumpy object(s)’ were, but they got her attention in a big way.

Another online marketer, Derek Halpern, founder of Social Triggers,  recently shared his version of this brilliant marketing idea.   Derek  sent a nice, crisp fifty-dollar bill to some big executive he wanted to reach. He hadn’t been able to connect with the executive but thought his firm,, Social Triggers, could help their company.   He sent out fifty dollars and a message about wanting to meet him for just twenty minutes.  It went out in a Fed-Ex envelope.  Maybe not lumpy, but definitely of a size and shape that screamed out:  “Important!”

A Twist on Sending Lumpy Mail

This executive was not easy to reach.  Derek wanted just twenty minutes of his time to present his sales pitch.  He knows the man’s time is valuable, so he decided to acknowledge that value by offering to pay something for it – fifty dollars.  If you are trying to reach a potential customer which will result in a big value contract, fifty dollars seems like a small investment.  And, having a fifty dollar bill fall out of an envelope onto your desk is certain to get your attention.

Derek was just in the process of sending his missive out to the executive when he sent out his video message, so I don’t know how it turned out for him yet.  His video included a stop at his bank to get the fifty dollar bill, then a stop at his local Fed Ex office to get the envelope, address it and send it off.   Sure, it was a risk.  Yes it was a significant investment for a lot of small businesses.  But, what it if works?  What if he can pull in a five- or six-digit contract, or more from his effort?  That cash investment seems rather small now, doesn’t it?  Starting to sound more like one brilliant marketing idea, isn’t it?

Back to the Great Idea of Lumpy Mail

Most lumpy mailings I get come from companies trying to sell me pens or key chains with my company logo on them.  Then there are seasonal offers for calendars personalized with my company logo and contact information.  And, of course, there are the holiday cards. Pre-technology, there were offers for pocket calendars and address books, with a sample one included in the offer.

Do I buy?  Sometimes, if the item is unique enough or classy enough to get attention.  First, they need to get my attention.  Then, I need to feel their offer will get attention for me from my prospects and clients.  Then, I’ll place an order.  Rubbery key chains like I get with each car we purchase?  Nope, won’t make it through my filtering system.  Cheap pen styles?  Nope, again, won’t make it.

Anything I send to a client or prospect has to match my brand.  It has to be different.  It needs to be attractive.  A professional look is mandatory.   It must be useful. The client needs to see some value in putting my ‘lump’ to use where they will see our name and contact information regularly.

How to Deal Quickly with Great Ideas

When a good idea hits your desk or your email Inbox, take the next step.  Don’t wait.  Take some time right away, while the idea is fresh in your mind.   Ask yourself:  “How can I use this as a marketing tool that will get results?”  Jot down those ideas so you don’t forget them.  Act on them the next time you are putting together your marketing plan or formulating campaign ideas for the coming quarter.

My thoughts for lumpy mailings went, of course, to a ball point pen.  That to me is kind of a dead end item.   The pen gets tossed in a drawer or pencil cup on the customer’s desk.  I want them to use it – often.   How can I make that happen?  How about including a note pad with your company branding on it too?

Include a note asking them to use the pen and pad to jot down two or three things that would make their life easier.  “If I could only resolve these issues right away.”   In your accompanying letter, say that you will call in a couple of days to review those issues with them and see if you can provide solutions.  Or, if the issues are really, really hot for them, they can call you immediately at (your phone number).

All of this came from reading Janine’s email.   Getting the ideas and writing this blog post took no more than an hour for me to do.  Granted, formatting it, grabbing some appropriate images and posting it took a bit longer.  Great ideas don’t have to take large amounts of time to develop.  Don’t let them get away.  Don’t lose them.   It doesn’t matter if yours is a B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) venture, this can work for you.

Here are all five of the tips Janine Blackwell included in her marketing message:

• Send lumpy mail.
• Team up with an established firm or expert who is already working with the clients you want to serve. Make a list of other established experts or larger firms already working with clients you want to work with. Reach out and connect about collaborating. Sub-contracting is a great way to get in the door in large organizations.
• Create an Evernote folder to save links related to interesting information you can share with potential leads.
• Attend workshops, meetings and live events that your people attend.
• Write a “roundup” article. You can create a GREAT article by sending a few emails to high-profile experts asking them to respond to a survey question.

I tried really hard to find the video that Derek used to share his fifty-dollar attempt to reach that top executive.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be on his YouTube channel yet.  But, you might want to check out some of Derek’s short videos.   He has uploaded about 150 in-your-face ideas and concepts that any of us can adopt to help our small businesses grow.

You never know where your next hot marketing idea is going to come from.  Take a few minutes to read Janine’s list of tips and see if any of them ‘pop’ for you.  Or, block off some time to view some of Derek’s videos to see what might work for you.

Share your expanded brilliant marketing idea with us from tips they offer that ‘popped’ for you in the Comments section below.  And, please share this post with your colleagues.