8 Ways to Stand Out This Holiday Season

‘Blending In’ may be fine for cake mix, but it’s terrible for your marketing. Why? Because you’re spending money to be different, unique or to stand out from the crowd. Copycat marketing is perhaps the biggest waste of money in all of contracting.

All the institutional and manufacturer supplied ads start looking the same, and customers can’t distinguish one from another. This adds to cost while reducing the lead count.

Be bold during the Holidays with your unique edge. Get standout recognition while your competition is fighting amongst themselves, and do it for less. Here’s how…

§  Sales Letters (in a Direct Response format) should be sent out prior to December 10. Rebate and deferred payment offers work well during this season.  Do not send any sales offers between December 10 and January 12 or you’re wasting money.

§  Postcards and Self-Mailer Letters sent first-class are faster and less expensive than enveloped mail. Plus, since you’ll receive the ‘undeliverables’ back, this is a perfect once-a-year clean up of your mailing list.

§  Low-Cost Holiday Cards can do all of the above and can be sent from Thanksgiving to New Years. Send to your entire database, but do not use a sales message or the effect is ruined. These are the #1 Customer Retention pieces during the holidays.  

§  New Years Calendars can be a good idea, but limit them to only the top purchasing customers in your database. Customers get many calendars each year, so only the most attractive will make it to the wall, which means only the costliest. Be careful here.

§  Red and green streamer tape in 2” width can visibly distinguish your service vehicles from Thanksgiving forward. For less than $4 per vehicle, you can be a standout in traffic. The tech with the best decorated truck should get a little gift from Santa.

§  Your “on-hold” message should reflect the season and mood. Have separate messages for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  You must speak to customers in the language of the season. This costs you zip.

§  Your phone greeting can also change for nothing. Use ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of the standard. Be consistent in your greeting message or you sound unprofessional.

§  Use bags of red and green ‘Kisses’ to give to all customers during the Holidays. For about 4 cents a customer, you bring a smile and greater reception to your message.

Not many contractors will make these small, nearly free changes. But, the ones who do will ‘stand apart’ from their competition. They’ll be the ones who are remembered and referred over the rest, isn't this what your marketing should do anyway? 

The 3 Part Wish

I considered saying, “Happy Holidays”. And I don’t think you’d melt if I said, “Merry Christmas”. I thought about, “Seasons Greetings” but am not quite sure what it means. Sounds a little Charles Dickensish, which is fine, except that I’m not in 18^th century England, wearing a tophat in a horse-drawn buggy in fear of the black plague.

So, I’ll say, with as much sincerity I can muster in this communiqué that I wish you balance. Yeah, I know, sounds a little lightweight against a backdrop of “Merry Christmas” but “balance” is - to me - the “hidden clue” inside the well wishing. My reasons?

If we’re to wish “Merriness” or “Joy”, why limit it to this season? That alone creates a little imbalance, since we want people we care about to always have joy. I am very thankful we single out this season to be especially joyful and merry, but no need to drop the well-wishing after the holidays. I’m not so sure that Jesus - the birthday boy of the season – would’ve wanted that either.

Thus, in true joy, there is balance. And to get this kicked off appropriately, I’ll start with something mildly controversial…

Keep reading to see points of “balance” that can help you maintain joy all year. You won’t read about the first in any greeting cards, the nightly news, or sappy TV movies. Too bad.

I wish for you an abundant business. I wish you great reward for your work, and if that means the horribly capitalistic wish of greater income, so be it. I don’t remember when “profit” became a four letter word, and last time I checked, those who earn more tend to educate their children better, give more to charity, and can actually breathe a bit deeper when not staring at the ceiling on sleepless nights sweating over payroll.

It’s okay if that made you slightly uneasy. No one needs reminding that this year wasn’t exactly a breeze. I also believe that having made it through the year qualifies you as someone who had to dismiss the unimportant, cancel the indulgencies, tighten up in some rather uncomfortable and unpopular ways and focus on what matters.

The scripture verse about “money is the root of all evil” is preceded by “the love of” to which none of us would advocate. Money is also the root of all philanthropy, medical research, and most family vacations. I wish you abundance in your business. The second part of this balance is:

I wish you abundance in your relationships. Earlier this season, I attended the funeral of the best father-in-law a man could have. Fair, just, honest, reasonable and generous beyond description. If I say too much about it, I’ll get tearful and rust my keyboard, but the celebration of his life was evident because the church overflowed with friends, family, well-wishers, and hundreds touched by this gentle man. And get this – he was an attorney who practiced law in the same town long enough to have raised the ire of the “other side”, politically, legally, socially. But he didn’t. I never and I mean never heard him speak an ill word of another, nor another of him, in any setting. It was the most peaceful assemblage of attorneys outside of a group portrait. There is a mark of a man evident in who and how many would attend his funeral.

(Personally, I’m expecting hecklers at mine. I may arrange them.)

Your relationships with your family, your God, your friends, and your customers are – when you get down to it – all that matters. But there’s one relationship I left out, and the last of my wish toward balance is:

I wish you abundant knowledge of yourself. I know, that may sound all ‘new-agey’ or like eastern metaphysical hype, yet, how can you honestly know and love others without knowing yourself?

It’s like asking you to give something you don’t yet fully possess. Part of this “knowledge” in a practical sense is to just listen. Listen to inner conversation (is it happy or hostile?), listen to the core motivation for why you do certain things. Listen to your inner reactions. An education in itself. And lastly, what does your voice tell you that would truly make you happy? Some say that’s God speaking, some say the Holy Spirit, some say your conscience. But regardless, that voice is in there for a reason.

Einstein said he could find out the motivations and character of a person by asking one question, “Do you see the world as friendly or hostile?” (Editor’s Note: Do not ask yourself this while in a line at a fast-food restaurant.)

In all this – and I’m about to get radical – you’ve got to be quiet. You’ve got to turn off your cell phone, email, Duck Dynasty, your radio, your iPhone, Android, et al, and stuff a sock in any overly chatty bystanders. You’ve got to go somewhere, and be quiet.

We’ve recently moved from where I have lived my life and raised my children, to a lake about 45 minutes away. I’d wondered about this commute. My sister (who’d done similarly years ago) remarked, “You’ll be amazed what happens when you actually have time to think your own thoughts.” She was right.

You can’t listen if there’s nothing but noise and distraction. I encourage you to take some time during the Holidays, with no agenda, no schedule, no partner, a silent phone, and listen. The ‘you’ that you come to know would like to get a word in edgewise. I wish you the beginning of abundant knowledge of yourself.

May you have health and prosperity. Share what you know… without boasting. Be an encourager… without criticism. Laugh loud and hard… without getting thrown out of the restaurant. Merry Christmas to you all.

Adams Hudson

Gifts for You:

We’ve had a great year and I hope you have, too. Many changes happened at Hudson, Ink: new team members, new programs, even a brand new member’s site. We’ve been blessed beyond belief.

To share our thanks with everyone, we put together a bundle of marketing gifts for you. They’re yours – no catches, no strings, no fine print, except this one – Santa has only budgeted for 300 contractors to receive the gifts. (Even Santa has to tighten that big belt eventually!) This notice went to around 4,000 contractors.

Simply go to www.ContractorHolidays.com and claim your NO-COST gifts.

How to “Remember” Every Customer This Holiday Season

Do you remember what “remember” means? It’s not too hard to find out.

In the old days, if you wanted a specific definition for a word, you’d have to pull out a bound dictionary and flip through to the alphabet letter that starts your word. Now you can just enter the word-in-question in a search engine and up pops the online dictionary with the definition and, in some cases, how it’s used in a sentence.

I bring up this seemingly “unrelated to anything” illustration because I’d like to point you to one of the uses for the word “remember” from dictionary.com – “to bear (a person) in mind as deserving a gift, reward, or fee: The company always remembers us at Christmas.”

And that is where my point is headed.

Do you want your customers to remember you next year? Start by remembering them during this very busy holiday season. Lots of folks are rushing here and there, under pressure to please family and friends, spending more than they care to acknowledge, eager for a caring and kind word.

You can be the one with just that word. In the form of a holiday card. Mailed to the home. With a message that comes across as real, genuine and caring. You’ll stand out and get noticed because you’re the company that always remembers your customers at Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Or the New Year.

The holiday card is a good counter to the principle that no “sale mail” should be sent from December 10 – January 12. During this time, people have had it up to their eyeballs with what folks are selling, and your message is quickly discarded.

However, if you make no contact at all, you’re leaving a sizeable gap in your marketing program. So that’s why simple, effective holiday cards are a great choice.  They enable you to send an inspiring message to your customers when it really helps to hear it.  They also allow you to express appreciation for their business – and keep your name in your customers’ top of mind awareness. 

The trick is to get your card to stand out from all of the other cards.  If it doesn’t, it’s a waste. We’ve been working on this for years and have some tips to help you.

1. First of all, the “regular” sized cards blend into the stack and may not get read. Go oversized so people will see it, usually a 5 ½” x 8 ½” is perfect. It’s large enough to be seen and it’s inexpensive. Good combo.

2. Next, the stock cards with a picture of an ornament or some cartoon Santa with overused holiday phrases may be very common, but that’s the trouble:  they’re common.  They don’t stand out or hold a customer’s interest. The message is either worn out or just plain goofy. Your message should be unique, inspiring and thoughtful. Since we were unable to find any good “contractor specific” cards, we created some you can review at www.hudsonink.com. There are 8 designs (2 Thanksgiving, 6 Christmas) that may give you some ideas.

3. For Postage, we recommend going First Class. Why? Well, these should go to your complete customer list, which means you’ll get back the undeliverables, allowing you to “clean” your list. If you go “standard” rate trying to save a few pennies, you’ll never know who’s moved, plus, it’ll take them far longer to get there and may miss the target date. So whatever you “saved” is lost in a hurry. Yet sending inexpensive Holiday Cards first class gives you a great “once a year” list cleaning. Makes sense.

Most of all, a great Holiday Card to your customer list gives you the opportunity to say “thanks” to the people who are keeping you in business. Customers do all of the buying and all of the referring; they pay for your employees … and they pay you. This is the time of year to say thanks with a nice holiday message. Plus, your competition probably won’t send one, so you’ll stand out even more!

A unique, creative oversized card that hits your customers at a time when they’re most receptive to thanks will get you remembered for retention, referrals and rewards.

Whether you choose our cards or have your own personal cards designed and printed, just make sure you send this important message to your customers:  Happy Holidays. And also to you.

Year-End Marketing Strategies – with a Holiday Flavor

Whoa – is the end of this year really around the corner? Maybe, maybe not. As Winston Churchill once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Oh, and I’m sure that explained everything “very well.”

One point I’d draw from that pertinent pithiness: if you’ve gone on a little too long thinking and acting as if you’re a “start-up company,” now’s the time to move into the end of the beginning. You are, after all, rolling into another year. When you face the end of one year and enter another, you’re moving into the cycles of life and business during which all things happen (or don’t).

One thing that happens (or doesn’t) is that you keep the customers you’ve earned. Another thing that happens (or doesn’t) is that when a season changes, you sweep in and grab opportunity by its seasonal hand.

That’s where you are – because it’s where we all are.

As another well-known orator once said – in fact, he’s so well-known, he goes by the moniker Anonymous: 

“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” For whatever stage of business, we could turn that around to … It’s not the years in your business that count. It’s the customers in your database. And more to the point … It’s not the customers in your database that count. It’s the ones that keep calling you their contractor.

Your Simplest Year-End Strategy

Customer retention marketing is the time-honored tradition of focusing on those customers who matter most – those who buy more, buy more often, give more referrals. And this end-of-year holiday season is the time to reach out to them, once again, to keep them in your fold when the calendar turns pages.

A simple and cost-effective way of keeping the name of your business in the minds of all of those potential repeat customers is sending seasonal “Holiday Cards” or postcards.  These are great because they are quick, to the point and serve as an inexpensive way of keeping your customers from wandering off to your competition.  And there are other things you can do too…

Simple Ways to Spread More Holiday Cheer

1. Change your Voice Greeting. Help maintain the festive seasonal spirit with a friendly greeting, a la: “Happy Holidays from ABC! How may I bring you some cheer?” 

2. Participate in media “giving events.” Make toy or canned good donations in your company’s name during your media charity events. Or, even better, ask a local media outlet to forward names of needy families. Agree to serve a family of your choosing and you’ll be on that media’s news for having stepped up. The good will pays your heart, regardless, but the exposure and recognition will pay your business.

3. Have an Open House to invite customers, friends and the media. Contractors don’t see this a lot – customers coming to you – but you can enjoy some real face time with customers, reinforcing your mission of your service to them, and they can see how you carry out your day-to-day operations with professionalism. Open houses also give you a chance to tell customers and prospects about services they may not know about. And they give customers a chance to say to their friends, “I’m going to my contractor’s open house today.”

Bottom Line: Now is the time! The holidays provide a great opportunity to connect with your customers and cement the relationships that will bring continued sales throughout the coming years.  That means you don’t have to be “selling” to sell your customers on why you deserve their business.  Do a great job of saying “happy holidays” and your customers will thank you with their future sales, referrals and loyalty.