Relevance in Marketing

As I am writing this article it happens to be Earth Day. Yet, the number of advertisements that I have seen both online and offline has not capitalized on this day. In fact, very few businesses actually capitalize on holidays or nationally recognized days. There are over 30 nationally recognized public holidays. That number doesn’t take into account state, county, or city days of recognition. This means that an astute marketer has the opportunity to market to their customers/clients/patients at least twice a month!

You see…there is nothing more annoying than spam. (And I’m not talking about that supposedly edible meat.) The only reason that spam is considered spam (unwanted, unsolicited mail or email) is because of the lack of relevance to the reader. This is a reason why many business owners don’t spend a lot of time with their marketing efforts. They don’t feel that it is effective. Well, they are right! If all you are going to do is stick your business’ name and contact information on a postcard, then surely, how do you expect your marketing to be effective? Where is the relevance?

To take it a step further than just a recognized day…how is your product or service relevant to the reader? If it is relevant (or even remotely interesting) to the reader then they wouldn’t consider it spam but a welcomed message. Unfortunately, many business owners are too lazy to put in the work to answer the question of relevance. Now don’t hear what I didn’t say. Many business owners and entrepreneurs are lazy when it comes to their marketing. Sure, you may have the best product or service this side of the Mississippi River but who is going to know if you don’t tell them?

Publicly recognized days such as holidays give business owners and entrepreneurs a reason…a relevant reason to contact their customers/clients/patients and it is the easiest way to add relevance to your marketing.

Bonus:

Did you know that September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Now as weird or quirky as it may seem, fun days like Talk Like a Pirate Day are cool ways to connect with your customers. In fact, I would imagine that a smart marketer would use such a day as a promotion or a notification of a sale. That same smart marketer would probably use a headline that reads something like this:

“Avast! Pirates came in and pillaged my store. They didn’t get everything so you now you get to save 20% on what’s left.”

You would then follow up with a creative story of how the pirates pillaged the store and why your customers are receiving a 20% discount. There are some other things you would include but you can already see how this is better than a postcard with your name and contact information.

* Oddly enough, in recent weeks actual real live pirates have been making headlines across the world. Talk about relevance!