Who else will give them their business?

 

Ok, that’s not a fair title. But hopefully you’ll see how we get there.

Terry and I have lived in a couple of states since we’ve been together. And you can add in another one with where we’ve both lived, before we met. Moved several hundred miles during the moves, and currently reside several hundred miles from where we grew up.

Over the years, we’ve brought our business to a lot of places. Like many of you, as a result of travels and moves, we’ve got many things that we love and miss from where we’ve been before. So…

…when it can be shipped, and makes sense to ship, we often order some things and have them delivered to us.

…when we travel and are nearby, we often stop in.

Without going too far along with this, I think you see the idea. Places we love and remember, want to enjoy, and do what we can to make it happen. But there’s also a bit of a specialty services concept involved, and it’s one that doesn’t quickly come to mind. It involves the idea of their being places where we’re willing to travel for it, but there is no way anyone else that had never experienced it would ever do the same.

Let’s say you have a family or friend that sells cars. They live about somewhere between 200 and 400 miles away from you, and you regularly visit them at least four times a year. My guess is that if you are in the market for a new car, you’d at least consider purchasing one from your family member or friend. And when you did, it wasn’t a special trip that you made for the purchase. It was a special purchase you made during the trip. Makes sense, right?

Thanks to the purchase, and the idea that people often own more than one car in a lifetime, it also wouldn’t be outrageous for the dealership to pursue your future business. Send you special offers as a longtime owner. Maybe call you a part of their family of valued fill-int-the-blank owners. And when they did, the mail managed to follow you if and when you moved.

Ok… today a piece of mail arrived at our house. Comes from a company we know and trust. Comes from a company where we would likely never consider swapping out their services for those of another. Comes from a company where we travel for their services. Piece of mail was addressed to me and “…or current resident”.

I went out, got the mail, and laughed. Because there is no way that anyone taking over this house from us would ever consider the drive (or flight) to go to this place. It won’t happen. Like the car example I made up, unless they know someone at the same dealership, there are plenty of places within ten to thirty minutes of this address to handle the same transactions. Good places. Trustworthy places. The only reason we are willing to travel is the established and incredible relationship we have with the team there.

And that makes this mailing a bit of a waste. Right up against the line of a mistake. An oops. But what struck me as interesting (and funny) was that it seemed like something today’s technology should allow them to avoid. After all, if you’re designing a mailing list to increase awareness and drive business, chances are that an out of state destination zip code might be something you could flag.

That car dealership example? Let’s place it in Cleveland, Ohio. If Terry and I lived in Cleveland, the “…or current resident” idea works out for advertising campaigns. The next homeowner would also be in Cleveland, so, duh. If we live in Ohio, the campaign might not be as strong since other options for purchases are likely available, but the concept still holds true. Maybe we live in Detroit, two and a half hours or so away plus a different state and less likely, but sure. If we live in Nashville, things are starting to get a little farfetched about someone purchasing a home from us, getting a flyer after we move away, and deciding to head to Cleveland to look around and the new models.

Our receiving the material was not an accident. It wasn’t a shotgun marketing campaign that placed our name on the label. But “current resident” is an example of shotgun marketing at its finest, and that appears to be where the wires are getting crossed.

For us, it doesn’t matter. Maybe I’ll even mention it to our friends the next time we see them. But for the general environment of advertising, it points to a missing element and some wasted resources. As impressive as technology and information can be when used, there are still plenty of moments where it misses the mark (by several hundred miles).