No. 1
What comes to mind when you think of No. 1?
The Louisiana Economic Development ad that ran in last week’s Wall Street Journal, featured the tag line, “The Stats Don’t Lie.” Under the tag line was a giant number one with competing stats from the State of Louisiana on one side and stats from the New Orleans Saints football team on the other. Louisiana was 1st in a number of critical economic categories, including new jobs and investment in the south. The Saints were 1st in touchdowns scored, 1st in points per game and 1st in passing touchdowns. The copy made the case that, “Take one look at the Saints stats and it’s easy to see why they’re a champion… Louisiana is posting some impressive stats of its own… If you’re ready to play at a championship level, put Louisiana on your team.”
After the win in Superbowl XLIV, presumably the new revised ad need only say the Saints are No. 1, period. No need to argue the stats. No one will remember and no one will care. The only thing that matters is they won it all and they are the world champs.
One of the primary ways you can be No. 1 in marketing is to be first in your field. If you are first, you are generally the leader in your field. Coca-Cola, Hertz, IBM are examples of firsts in their respective categories. They are without equal. If you have read Al Reis and Jack Trout, you’ll remember the question they posed in The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing:
“1. What’s the name of the first person to fly the Atlantic solo? Charles Lindbergh right? 2. What’s the name of the second person to fly the Atlantic? Not so easy to answer, is it? The second person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo was Bert Hinkler. Bert was a better pilot than Charlie—he flew faster, he consumed less fuel. Yet who has ever heard of Bert Hinkler? ”
If you are in charge of raising funds, communicating your vision and expanding your programs, your goal is not the long forgotten Bert Hinkler—it is Charles Lindbergh. You want to position your organization to be the leader.
No. 1 on the Internet
There is a ton of talk about Internet marketing today. My intent is not to add to the noise you already face regarding this medium; I want to go right to the No. 1 thing you need to know about the Internet.
The No. 1 thing people do on the Internet is check their email. That’s right. And what on earth does this have to do with positioning or the Super Bowl…not much really. But I wanted to draw your attention to the idea of No. 1 – that’s the point.
Your No. 1 online strategy should be email. If you are not doing a Housefile email each month, well, it’s high time to add regular email to your mail schedule.
What will you send? Who will read it? Why will you send it? How often? How will you integrate social media, video content, etc.?
First things first
The first step is actually adding email to your mix. Once this decision has been made, two others quickly follow:
1. Assign a point person whose job it is to develop the e-mail campaign and maintain the schedule.
2. Ask for email addresses across your marketing and fundraising touch points – in newsletters, at special events, in the mail, on the phones, etc. The email must also benefit the recipient. How will supporters benefit by giving your organization their email? Will your email keep supporters informed about the Haiti Relief efforts you are working on, the number of co-sponsors on a bill your organization is attempting to pass, recent survey results your supporter participated in or about upcoming volunteer opportunities? It should do all of these things. The goal is to put yourself on the other side of the monitor or mobile phone – put yourself in the position of your supporter.
Email success
The key factor to email success, especially acquisition email, is relevancy of the content to the readers and being able to communicate messages in a way they understand. In other words, targeting your message to the right audience is critical, as are the words you use when talking to that audience.
The more personalized the information contained in the email, the more the email will speak to the recipient and enhance their receptivity to your message. The message’s content is critical and must be decisive, lively and inspire action.
Personalized yes, but relevant too.
When it comes right down to it, email still outpaces Web 2.0, Social Media and cool apps as the No. 1 thing folks do online. With a regular, relevant and dedicated email strategy your organization can position itself strongly online.
One parting thought. It took the Saints 43 years to finally become No. 1. Don’t wait that long to develop a 12-month Internet email plan that tells donors how their contributions are being used, how your mission is growing, and how they can pray, volunteer, forward an email, fill out a survey, watch a video or write a congressman. Make email your No. 1 online priority.
Matt Waters
President
TrafficJamDirect
mwaters@thewatersagency.com
205-602-5844 www.trafficjamdirect.com
