50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #12
Mistake #12 of 50Don’t confuse cheap with a bargain.
If nobody keeps it, uses it or remembers it, even a nickel was too much.
What it costs you
Cheap is a price. A bargain is a result.
It was on sale.
The price was too good to pass up. So you ordered 500.
Then you asked the question you should have asked first: what are we going to do with these?
Zero jobs is a waste of money, no matter how cheap it was.
A nickel spent on something nobody keeps buys you nothing. Five hundred of them buy you five hundred nothings.
A real example
The magnet with a job
Two heating and air companies hand out refrigerator magnets.
Magnet #1: logo, phone number. That’s it.
Magnet #2: “Next filter change: ______.” The tech writes in the date before he leaves. Phone number underneath.
The first magnet says, “We exist.”
The second one asks a little question every time they open the refrigerator: “Is it time?” And when it is, the number is right there.
Same magnet. Same price. One of them works.
The cheap one isn’t the one with the lower price. It’s the one that doesn’t do anything.
Why it happens
Why the sale price wins anyway
No job, no order.
Do this instead
Give it a job first.
Before you order anything, ask one question: what is this thing going to do for my business, every day, after I hand it over? If you can’t answer that in one sentence, don’t order it yet. Almost every good item does one of these five jobs.
| The job | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Solve a problem | A tire gauge in the glovebox. A first-aid kit under the seat. A charger for the dead phone. |
| Start a conversation | A funny T-shirt. A great hat. A cutting board guests ask about. |
| Reward an action | A free T-shirt for bringing a friend. A tumbler for the 10th visit. |
| Make an introduction | “Give this one to a neighbor.” Two pens in the envelope instead of one. |
| Keep your number close | The magnet, the key tag, the notepad. Right there when they need you. |
Then count the cost per use, not the cost per piece. A good tumbler used every workday can cost less per day than a flyer that gets read once. And cheap can still be brilliant. An emery board from a nail salon costs pocket change, and it’s perfect. Pennies, the right person and a clear message add up to real marketing.
Do this today
- 1
Think about the last thing you handed out, or the next thing you’re about to order.
- 2
Write down its job in one sentence.
- 3
If you can’t, don’t reorder it. Pick something that has a job.
- 4
Add a line next to your logo that tells them when to call you.
Everything you hand out is working for you, or it isn’t. No job, no order.
From the book
Chapter 8: Give It a Job
Starts on page 80. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
Things with a job.
Idea 86 · book page 304Magnets$0.75–$2 eachOn the fridge right when the pipe bursts.
Idea 137 · book page 330Mini First-Aid & Emergency Kits$3–$10 eachKept in glove boxes, desks and backpacks for years, and used when it matters most.
Idea 122 · book page 322Tire Pressure Gauges$2–$6 eachLives in the glove box for years.
Idea 120 · book page 321Notepads & Sticky Notes$2–$6 eachEvery page shows your name again.
Idea 172 · book page 347Baseball Caps$8–$25 eachWorn outdoors right at eye level.$0Idea 52 · book page 287Make Your Phone Number Impossible to MissFreeThe easiest sale is the one where they can find you.Want a plan where every item has a job?
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