June 27, 2006
It Is What It Is (And Not What You Want It To Be)
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
A few months ago I received an email from an organization I used to belong to that had the following subject line:
“JOIN XYZA IN APRIL AND SAVE $50!”
They must have really meant it because a few days later I received a postal letter emblazoned with the headline:
“JOIN XYZA IN APRIL AND SAVE $50!”
Now I’m sure these are very nice people. And I’m sure that if I asked them what their marketing message as an organization is (I refuse to use the phrase “value proposition”), they would say something like, “We help our members get ahead in their careers, stay ahead of the curve, keep up to date with the latest technology” — you know, the usual sorts of things professional associations say. They might even have been bold enough to say, “We help our members make more money!” (Which is what all those other things are supposed to mean but few seem willing to lay it out on the line.)
Which is all well and good, except that’s not what their marketing message is. Their marketing message is:
“JOIN XYZA IN APRIL AND SAVE $50!”
Based on the message this organization was sending me, even taking into consideration the fact that I used to be a member, there are only two things I know for sure about it:
1) I’ll save $50 if I join them in April, and
2) I’ll save even more if I don’t join them at all.
If you must offer a “special” on your membership dues (and I’m not purist enough to insist that you must never do so, even though I’m not a big fan of the tactic), please make it a postscript. Not the headline.
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