I won’t even begin to debate the ROI of traditional advertising even though I’ve tried most of them (tv, radio, print, direct mail and billboards). I do think it can work for some consumer companies even though they continue to interrupt my day. However, I’m seeing more and more interruption tactics that are crossing the line into intrusive.

A perfect example is the picture above. Recently, I came home to find this “gift” lying on the fringe of my front yard. If you can’t see from the photo, Cash Express filled a plastic bag with their swag and threw it onto my yard along with all my neighbors in the area.

I totally buy into the fact that people LOVE free stuff, but what does a cup of nail files, notepads, mints and pens tell me about your brand? Not to mention, I’m not sure my neighborhood is the target audience, which I would describe as average or middle class. My beef with this tactic was I had to physically go remove the “ad” from my yard and dispose of it. It absolutely got my attention, but for all the wrong reasons.

Other examples of intrusive marketing including the phone books dropped off at my door, “professional” magazines I never asked for, pop up video ads on news sites and purchased email lists. I was recently pitched by a direct mail firm to just “blast out” my message to the lists they’ve obtained, but I explained I see the inbox becoming more and more sacred for professionals.

I could go on and on about the benefits of permission marketing, but where can we draw the line to stop marketers? They’ve infiltrated virtually every nook of our public space and they’re blowing right by my mailbox to attack my home. If you think I’m overreacting please remember, I’m a capitalist! I love free enterprise, appreciate the need to grow of a business and actively seek out great marketing campaigns. However, intrusive marketing smells of desperation and I’m tired of holding my nose.

If you choose to join Angie’s List, feel free to use my name for the referral.

1. Build a Great Product - A pretty package, web site or sign in this case may draw attention, but the product inside better be really good. I know several friends who have killer logos, business cards and web sites, but they have very little sales. I’ve fallen victim to this several times by spending an immense amount of time on my logo, tag line only to neglect making my product or service incredible.
2. Cash TRULY is King – Promotions, giveaways and the freemium model can work, but there must be a financial model of profitability behind your marketing efforts. I’ve tried the loss leaders for sales and it can work as long as the overall plan makes sustained profits.
3. Plan for Growth – In the technology field, it’s beat into your head to have a disaster recovery plan, but why not also plan for success? One of best AND worst things can happen to a young business is to get accelerated growth. The story I heard last week was of a company who had to add 75 extra phone lines to take all the incoming orders. The owner admitted it was a great problem to have, but he found he struggled to retain his quality his product. Think about who you’d hire, what you’d change and where the money would go if you got real traction.
4. Go long or go home – Many promotions are focused on sales or temporary price incentives (i.e. – the entire car industry). Forget the flashy ad campaign and do something insanely good for your customers. Zappos is grabbing every headline and case study about customer service and we could all do well to follow their lead. With a society that is extremely jaded towards salespeople and service in general, what can you do for your customers to be memorable? That catchy ad campaign could get people buzzing, but a long term customer plan for service could get you real growth.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a full believer that you have to promote and pimp out your product to the right audience, but all sizzle and no steak leaves the stomach empty.