Lumpy Mail / Imprinted Gifts

[LostDollar]

The following are comments from the perspective of one user-take them for whatever they are worth.

We have received a refrigerator magnet calendar from a local real estate agent for over 20 years since he sold a house for us. We chose the agent carefully at the time because of the area of our "metropolis" he specialized in. His calendars go direct to the wastebasket and we will most likely not use him when we sell our current house.

My wife apparently just hit some new mailing lists because we have gotten a spate of mailings from another real estate agent officed in our general area. One of those mailings was a calendar. It went straight to the wastebasket.

I have a third refrigerator magnet calendar from an insurance agent. Two days ago I realized I had not changed its pages for 3 months. In line with scagnt's comment, I just looked and I see the magnet part is a reasonably good magnet as those go, I am considering tearing off the calendar part and just keeping the magnet for the contact info.

I like the "tip magnet" idea. PDP open season reminder maybe?

I have no available flat surface for desk area, the calendar I use is from a financial institution. I ruined the end of a 12" deep wooden bookcase and hung the calendar on that. It has 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 boxes I can write in and is big enough I can spring clip appointment cards over the monthly motivational pictures on the top half as the pages are flipped. If an insurance agent sent me a calendar like that, I would use it instead.

Re jar openers. I am 73. My hands and wrists hurt all the time. I do not have the hand grip strength or the wrist torsion strength to use those. I have disposed of all but one of those and that will most likely go when a younger family member moves out. I have to have lever handled squeeze openers and am probably at only a 90% success ratio with those. sometimes I just have to wait for help. Some of the target market here is going to be suffering the debilitating effects of arthritis and/or loss of muscle mass.

 

[WinoBlues]

The following are comments from the perspective of one user-take them for whatever they are worth.

We have received a refrigerator magnet calendar from a local real estate agent for over 20 years since he sold a house for us. We chose the agent carefully at the time because of the area of our "metropolis" he specialized in. His calendars go direct to the wastebasket and we will most likely not use him when we sell our current house.

My wife apparently just hit some new mailing lists because we have gotten a spate of mailings from another real estate agent officed in our general area. One of those mailings was a calendar. It went straight to the wastebasket.

I have a third refrigerator magnet calendar from an insurance agent. Two days ago I realized I had not changed its pages for 3 months. In line with scagnt's comment, I just looked and I see the magnet part is a reasonably good magnet as those go, I am considering tearing off the calendar part and just keeping the magnet for the contact info.

I like the "tip magnet" idea. PDP open season reminder maybe?

I have no available flat surface for desk area, the calendar I use is from a financial institution. I ruined the end of a 12" deep wooden bookcase and hung the calendar on that. It has 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 boxes I can write in and is big enough I can spring clip appointment cards over the monthly motivational pictures on the top half as the pages are flipped. If an insurance agent sent me a calendar like that, I would use it instead.

Re jar openers. I am 73. My hands and wrists hurt all the time. I do not have the hand grip strength or the wrist torsion strength to use those. I have disposed of all but one of those and that will most likely go when a younger family member moves out. I have to have lever handled squeeze openers and am probably at only a 90% success ratio with those. sometimes I just have to wait for help. Some of the target market here is going to be suffering the debilitating effects of arthritis and/or loss of muscle mass.

20 years ago - he should have removed you long ago IMHO.

However, what does that tell us? He is still in business. He has the funds to continue to send out to past clients. He still cares enough to continue to send out gifts. You remember him and why you picked him every year.

 

[LostDollar]

My effort was, for purposes of this thread, as a member of Alston's target market, was to make two points. That's a survey of one- from there he is free to, and perfectly capable of, make/making his own judgements.

1) Suddenly, this year, I am finding that even for me as a reclusive senior, the influx of refrigerator magnet calendars has dramatically multiplied beyond what someone could reasonable use, even if they used them. I think there was at least one more that I did not mention because I cannot remember where it came from.

2) My calendar needs, as a senior, for memory prompting and poorer eyesight, as well as increasing medical appointments to track, requires a larger calendar than those little ones. As far as I am concerned, they are wasted money upon me.

Now if this real estate agent we were discussing followed scagnt's idea and sent me a magnet only, WITHOUT his picture, with his contact info and some other useful info such as the web address to pay my property taxes online and the web address for the county mapping department (which I just learned about) where I can go to look up county road maps and city lot dimensions, I would put it on the refrigerator and save it.

His marketing years ago was such that he successfully identified himself with me as an expert on a certain niche market here. If I knew someone who was interested in property in that area, I would recommend him without hesitation. Outside of that area I have reservation and uncertainty-even though he is probably a 30 year sales person and has added a partner to his business.

 

[sshafran]

I've seen people use these on their cell phones - for the senior market, even, I think this one may be (a) useful and (b) helpful in getting the mail opened.

What do you think?

 

[Alston]

Jar openers, are kept forever and easy to mail

That is a great idea!

 

[LostDollar]

I've seen people use these on their cell phones - for the senior market, even, I think this one may be (a) useful and (b) helpful in getting the mail opened.

What do you think?

I don't know if the question was addressed to me-but I've been puzzling over it. I've come up with 4 concerns-in regard to utility-I'm putting one in below-I'll have to come back for the others when I have more time.

First-again keep in mind that I am only one person-no way I speak for the multitudes. Also, the reason I raised phone equipment and plans in the thread that entrep1776 made about startup costs is that I still use an old nuron candybar phone that these things would not go on. The new phones are too big for my hand.

So now a comment and a question. FE threads talk about dangers from clients and armament an agent carries. Would you want to "flash" your credit or debit card every time you pulled out your smart phone to check rates or carrier underwriting constraints?

 

[WinoBlues]

That is a great idea!

Add some kitchen conversion tables to it and it adds to the usefulness.

 

[sshafran]

So now a comment and a question. FE threads talk about dangers from clients and armament an agent carries. Would you want to "flash" your credit or debit card every time you pulled out your smart phone to check rates or carrier underwriting constraints?

The OP was looking for promotional giveaway ideas to mail to prospects/clients. Not for something to use personally in the field.

If I did use one, I'd put my Starbucks gold card in it - probably not a CC or debit...

 

[scagnt83]

I received a "paper bag mailer" the other week. It was a flattened out brown paper bag as the envelope. It had clear packing tape to keep the bottom folded flat, and to seal the open end. It looked kind of cheap, but it also got my attention and caused me to open it just to see what was inside. Cant tell you what it was for.... lol. But I at least gave it a look.

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A guy once claimed to mail a watermelon through the mail with no packaging, just stuck the labels to the outside. He was a DM marketer who did lumpy mail and other stuff like that. Now that would really get their attention!

 

[LostDollar]

The OP was looking for promotional giveaway ideas to mail to prospects/clients. Not for something to use personally in the field.

In my posts, thinking as a member of one of Alston's target markets, I tried to describe what I found useful or unuseful about an item and why, in an attempt to allow Alston to make a more informed purchase decision.

My thrust with my first comment on the cellphone wallet was, if you are not interested in using it yourself, or find it unsafe to use, why would you spend a buck and a half a piece, plus setup, to give them to other people?

4imprint is a major supplier of advertising promotional items. Their job is to sell the items to you. That 4imprint ad is an amazing implementation of Somarco and DHK's marketing principles.

Further, I can see Somarco's marketing principle being played out in a discussion in this thread about another item. Was it Spock that said, "Fascinating."? Insurance salesmen potentially being blinded by a "sales technique" often discussed by a forum member in forum posts.

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I received a "paper bag mailer" the other week. It was a flattened out brown paper bag as the envelope. It had clear packing tape to keep the bottom folded flat, and to seal the open end. It looked kind of cheap, but it also got my attention and caused me to open it just to see what was inside. Cant tell you what it was for.... lol. But I at least gave it a look.

Great fun.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Bag your Medicare Supplement during your Medicare Supplement Open Enrollment Period.

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In my opinion, the idea you presented in your first post is one of the best in the thread. For a very simple and basic reason. The reason I first came to the forum. Information.

As financial and/or insurance professionals, you possess knowledge. For some of us that knowledge is esoteric. The most valuable thing you have to share is knowledge.

And you are willing to give me some.