sticky business blog

Often, sales pitches and advertising are perceived as intrusive and annoying. But, it doesn’t need to (and shouldn’t) be this way. Cold calls, spam e-mail, interruptive advertising… yes, there are many examples of marketing being annoying. But, marketing is much more than a few pushy, manipulative techniques to try and get people to spend money. Marketing is also everything businesses do to keep visitors and customers engaged and happy.

Marketing also includes smiling, free gifts, helpful info, fun videos, conversations (word of mouth), welcomed solutions to problems… the key is to have marketing efforts not perceived as marketing or advertising but perceived as entertainment, a gift, a badge, a solution, or an opportunity.

If you love a certain band, are you annoyed when the local club tells you they are coming to town, offers VIP priced tickets or access, gives you free stickers, or recommends another similar band you might enjoy? Probably not, yet it’s all marketing. Good marketing is about relationship building, not pushy sales and advertising.

Though Websticker is a marketing company, we are lucky in that all our products and services are built around the fun, (usually) desired side of the marketing equation. Many of the welcomed attributes of marketing are exemplified with custom stickers. They can be informative, a gift, encourage word of mouth, and are perceived as badges not interruptive advertising. Stickers, when properly designed and distributed, are a fun marketing tool that strengthens relationships and organically builds awareness.

I encourage you to reexamine any of your advertising that may be perceived as pushy or manipulative and think about cutting it back or completely out of your marketing program. Then take any saved money or time and consider more ways to offer helpful information, more gifts, more value, and more smiles. Give me a call if you need some ideas. Let’s make marketing fun again!

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Jeff Nicholson

Jeff Nicholson is the founder and Creative Director at Freely Creative, Inc. and Websticker, a sticker marketing company specializing in the design and production of custom stickers, decals, labels and magnets. He is the author of Stick This! Using Promotional Stickers To Build Identity, Create Word Of Mouth and Grow Sales.

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