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The Wrong Way To “Get Personal” In Your Marketing
If you want to add a personal touch to your marketing ommunications, here’s how to do it.
A few years ago I participated in a special event for online marketing. The organizer, a genuinely caring person, wanted to send participants a gift. She sent a box of caramel candy. I appreciated the gesture, but I had to give away the candy. I just don’t eat caramels.
A new connection on LinkedIn sent a personal message to a new contact, with an invitation to a webinar to “meet your soulmate.” The recipient of this message had just celebrated the 30th anniversary of a blissfully happy marriage.
A business coach decided to send Christmas cards to the many people who’d signed up for his high-priced program. The envelopes were addressed by hand, apparently by his children. Inside, the cards held a standard printed message — not even a handwritten note.
A real estate agent sent her client a scratch-and-sniff reward card as a thank you — after representing that client in sale and purchase of his homes.
Each of these stories demonstrates what’s becoming increasingly common: fake personalization.
And each of those marketers wasted time and money with these well-meaning gestures that…
