Today, it’s easier than ever to see who’s interacting with your marketing. From tracing domains which visit your website, seeing who opened your email newsletter or seeing who visited that PURL in your direct mail piece, you’ve got the tools at your disposal to see which customers are interested in taking the next step in the buying process. The downside? You can also see that your competitors are accessing those same web pages, reading those same emails and even getting their hands on your direct mail pieces. Should you be worried?
If you’re doing your marketing properly, there is no reason to fear your competitors seeing it. In fact, you should be flattered they’re taking the time to see you as serious competition. Clearly you’re doing something right. But many businesses fear that their competition is getting secrets from them, stealing their ideas. It’s possible. But you shouldn’t be putting secrets in marketing materials anyway—those should be reserved for one-on-one conversations to seal the deal, not for mass-produced marketing materials.
If you’re concerned about your competitors, it’s time to reevaluate why you send marketing in the first place. For small purchases, it might be enough to get someone to buy outright without a further sales conversation. But if you’re in an industry like banking, mortgage financing, auto sales and so on, marketing is an invitation to get in touch with you. It’s a teaser, like the trailer before a movie. It’s not designed to give away the whole story, but rather to whet your appetite so you need to learn more. Sharing too much information is like giving away the ending.
General info, on pricing or interest rates or available stock, is information your competitors probably already know, or could find out easily enough. Do you want to deprive your customer of that valuable teaser just to spite your competition? Don’t be silly.
Spend less time worrying about your competition and more time about how you can entice a prospect to take the next step to becoming a customer. Keep your information specific enough to intrigue but vague enough to require a longer conversation. That’s what great marketing does, and if your marketing is truly great, don’t be afraid about who’s watching. Know that they’re there, keep one eye on their marketing, just so you stay in the loop, but keep your primary focus on delivering great service to your customers. That’s how you can really stick it to the competition, not through worrying.
Need more information about creating enticing, interesting marketing that gets the phones ringing? Contact Premier Advantage Marketing, a direct marketing agency. We’ll help you craft pieces that work.
The post Your Competitors Are Watching You—and That’s Okay appeared first on Direct Mail Marketing 101.
