Cold Marketing - doesn't work any better than cold calling

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I think I’m the first to use this phrase – cold marketing. At least, I know the first time I heard it was when I said it to another marketer to try to explain why they were having problems with their email marketing.

Cold calling can be challenging because people are busy and they don’t want to take the time to listen on the phone to a sales person they don’t know, from a company they don’t know, who is trying to sell them something they probably don’t need.

The theory of email marketing, and direct mail, is that it’s less intrusive. You get more than the six seconds that a caller gives you on the phone because simply reading your email isn’t a tacit commitment on their part. Sometimes, in email, you may even get up to 30 seconds to state your point and get the prospect engaged. That’s the theory at least.

It may have worked in the old days (Ten years ago?) when very few companies did email marketing so their was less competition for attention. And, Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites weren’t clamoring for attention and clogging up the inbox.

Now, people are getting hundreds of email every day. Most executives I know start their day out with an “email triage” session where they delete everything that is unnecessary. That even includes information from vendors whose lists they opted in to.

If your email campaigns are bringing in a dismal response, ask yourself if you are cold marketing. Do your prospects know you, your company or the value of the product or service that you are offering?

If not, the solution is an old-fashioned one. Message counts, as always, but so does consistency in your marketing. You need to build up your awareness in your market through a consistent message and regular targeted marketing programs. That takes time, effort and planning. Without it, even the best “campaigns” can fall flat.