That makes me a loser. I don't like being a loser. And I don't like companies who make me feel like a loser.
Granted, I have free will and I can choose to feel like a loser or not. But there's something to be said for the fact that I did everything the company asked me to do. I spent my money at their stupid store or bought their crummy product. I read the dumb contest hype. I wasted my time logging on to their website. I played their retarded game. Just to read,
"We're Sorry. You Are Not A Winner."
The whole thing is anti-climactic and leaves me feeling a bit empty. If not less, I certainly do not have MORE love for the company.
"Not A Winner" is just another way to say, "Loser!"
Everyday, around the world, companies waste big dollars handing out cheap junk to every Tom, Dick and Harry that walks past their trade show booth. They are handing the stuff out without regard to whether the person they're handing the stuff to has any intention of ever buying anything from them. They measure the success of the trade show by the number of items they "got rid of."
On the other end of the spectrum, thousands of people who have spent money with a company, jump through a bunch of hoops to play the company's promotional game …. are told they are a loser.
That doesn't make any sense. Yet companies do it every day.
When considering a promotional contest, serious thought should be given to making everyone a winner on some level. It doesn't have to be much. It could be as simple as a rebate coupon that I print off. When I collect x number of dollars worth of receipts from the store, I can send them in with my rebate coupon and get a couple of bucks back. It could be a coupon redeemable for that cheap pen you're handing out at the trade show. It could be a button, a pin, a pencil, a coupon, a two for one, a Buy one Get One - ANYTHING that says, "You did everything we asked you to do. We appreciate your effort. While the main prize (s) is still up for grabs, you win "X".
You're A Winner!
What will work for your company and your customers and prospects depends on a lot of things. The point is, doing it right requires some thought. And the more thought you give to making your clients, customers and prospects feel like winners … the more winners there will be giving thought to spending their money ... with you.
Michael Merrick Crooks, is founder of Crooks Advertising Alliance a creative strike-force specializing in creative problem-solving. An internationally known author and speaker, Crooks writes a monthly marketing column for Brilliant Results magazine and recently published, "ReThinking Trade Show Giveaways."
A Battle Creek, MI native, Crooks is a Boy Scout leader and Little League Baseball coach.
Read Chapter One of his new eBook, "ReThinking Trade Show Giveaways: Stop Simply Giving Stuff Away" FREE at http://www.PromoReThink.com
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