Always have an offer

[cocoy]

Every postcard, sales letter, print ad, etc...should have some kind of offer to entice the potential customer.

Your thoughts?

[vangogh]

Simply brainstorming some thoughts here.

I'm thinking it depends a little on the goals of the card, etc. You might do something purely for branding. Think about sending out a Christmas card. You wouldn't necessarily have an offer in there, though you could certainly design the card to have one.

"As a Christmas gift we'd like to offer you 20% off on..."

What's probably more important is making sure the offer fits the contact. If you're sending a postcard to people who've never connected with you in any way they probably aren't going to send you a check for a large purchase. However if interested they'd more than likely type your URL into a browser.

I guess I'm thinking of it less as an offer and more as enticing them to do something. Maybe the enticing is just to get them to your website for more info. I agree there should be some kind of call to action. You sent them the card or placed the ad for a reason. You want people to do something after seeing it so yes there should be a call to action.

[Just H]

I agree with VG - seems there's a reason you're sending something out. Does offer apply to both discounts/your promotions as well as something for the customer? (Ie...As a thank you for booking your company's Christmas party with us, we'd like to offer you and a guest a complimentary dinner in our restaurant on the night of your choosing.)

I think there may be other reasons to send out marketing however. Take a successful branch that has a large customer list. Sending out the notice of opening another store in their area, or an Open House (real estate) to the area so that neighbors can go through and see what their house may be worth - don't need to include additional offers and actually could be assumptive or insulting if you're trying to sell them on a realtor they haven't contacted or giving only a percentage off a meal meaning you're coming in and spending more money after booking a large engagement.

As with anything and everything, I don't believe there's any black or white.

[vangogh]

Yeah it probably depends on why your sending out the marketing and what the form of the marketing is. There are companies who know my birthday and every year I get a birthday card from them. There's no offer, it's a simple card with a nice wish. Granted that card doesn't directly get me to buy anything, but it does leave me with a positive feeling about the company and makes me more receptive to an offer they send me a month later.

I think it's more important to have a strategy in place and understand the function of the postcard or print ad within your strategy.

Another thought is that most people aren't going to respond to your first ad. They probably won't even notice it. So instead of pitching the offer on the first mailing maybe the whole point of that mailing is to get them to notice it and prepare them for the next mailing a week later. Perhaps it's not until the 5th mailing that anyone responds. In that case your first few mailings may not need to include any offer, though they could hint at the offer to come to build anticipation.

Again it really depends on your overall strategy and how the particular mailing fits into that strategy.

[KristineS]

I don't necessarily agree that every communication should have an offer. Granted the relationship between business and customer is an economic one, but sometimes it's nice just to say Thanks for your business or to give customers a piece of helpful information without selling them as well.

I'd amend the original statement to say "most" communications should have an offer.

[Blessed]

I think everyone has made good points here. Most, but not all, communications should have an offer or a "call to action" but the occasional informative or simply thankful for the business communication should be allowed for - and those don't need an offer or a call to action.

[cocoy]

Not necessarily every communication, but more in the lines of attracting new customers. i.e. print ad or direct mailing.

Wouldn't this be better:

Window washing service. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx and get 20% off!

Than this:

Window washing service. Call xxx-xxx-xxxx!

If you're paying all that money to advertise why not just add a little incentive while you have the person's attention?

[huggytree]

when i see 20% off i always think its normally an over priced product....Pizza hut for example....when you pay full price its overpriced...but they have sooo many coupons everywhere no one pays full price....it becomes annoying when we want Pizza Hut but cant find a coupon. I dont think their pizza is worth $16...but for $10 its a good deal.

in the plumbing business only the high price guys give coupons...$10 off on a water heater for example...they put a sticker on every waterheater they see....wow $10 off when you charge $1,100 and i charge $865. my normal price is a good enough deal..and i never try to be about the money anyways..this economy is making me think about it more and more, but im still the same price i always was....the high end customer is almost never about price (in my opinion)..they want it done right and be treated right....if it saves them time they will pay almost anything for the service.

...i dont use coupons other than the food store...

i never offer money off....maybe thats a flaw in my marketing...or maybe not...

[Spider]

When your business is one-off, coupons and discounts might be a suitable sales gimmick, but not if you are trying to secure regular, repeat customers. How insulting to know that you are a regular customer but have to pay more than the one-time casual shopper.

In my wife's pet grooming business, she never offers coupons for first time customers but gives a 10% discount to all regular customers. A regular customer is much more valuable than a walk-in ,and customer loyalty - or regularity - is best encouraged.

[Burn Creative]

No, I don't think every marketing communications piece should have an offer. It should definitely have a clear message even if it's just a general ad or mailer to keep your name out there in front of your target market.

Spider is right too. You don't want to end up only attracting the bargain basement shoppers who will only show up to get the lowest price possible.

That is a common mistake with a lot of designers who offer to do work for deep discounts and sometimes even for free in hopes of winning over clients. What usually happens is that the client gets what they want and then quickly head for the hills as soon as you try to charge standard rates.