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In this issue...
Front & Center:
Doing Good with
Good Bucks
Jerry Thacker
Uniform National
Standards of
Care for Pregnancy
Help Centers
Thomas A. Glessner
No Free Lunch?
Patrick McLaughlin
Teaching Abstinence
in Schools
A Different Road
Laura Baker
Reaching Out to Men
Paula E. Smith
Rebuilding Your Life
David J. O'Leary
Marketing 101
Jerry Thacker
Volunteer
Recruitment
Barbara Willsher
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By Jerry Thacker
When most people think of advertising and promotion, they think of the vehicles that are used, such as letters, e-mails, and advertisements. But what are the differences between each of the various ways used to reach people?
First, consider what a mail piece really is. It is a substitute for face-to-face communication. That's right. If you could meet all those to whom you send a letter, flyer, or e-mail, you could tell them all the same information. What's more, you could couple additional verbal and non-verbal communications with questions and answers, conveying more information, effecting more understanding, and creating a greater affinity between your organization and your contact.
Since it's not practical to see each person on your mailing list each month or quarter, it is necessary to use communications devices. But keep in mind that not all communications devices are equal. In reality, these devices all are interruptions to daily life that presume either the recipient's desire for the information or a relationship between the sender and the recipient that will assure that the recipient will pay attention.
In marketing communications, we try to mix these tools to achieve our goals of imparting information and effecting understanding. The chart below may help you understand the array of communications devices available to you and their correlation with relationship strength.
Keep in mind that these types of communication may be used sequentially -- one after the other -- to build a relationship that is stronger. Also keep in mind that people give time and money based on the strength of relationship. In future columns, we'll discuss each of these vehicles and their relative effectiveness. For now, acquaint yourself with the chart and think about what you would say to each supporter, volunteer, or board member if you could have a face-to-face meeting with each of them whenever you wanted.
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jerry Thacker, B.A., M.A. heads Marketing Partners, Inc., a marketing communications company that publishes Today's Christian Teen, Today's Christian Preacher, and Today's Christian Senior magazines. He is a competent researcher, writer, publisher, presenter, broadcaster, teacher, and public speaker. Jerry has made appearances on the Janet Parshal and Oliver North radio programs, Focus on the Family, cable TV networks, and local network affiliates. He can be reached at (800) 588-7744 or at info@atcmag.com. |
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