For my European and Aussie friends who are following me, this is not about a new strange American holiday when we all eat tumbleweed cereal. Shredding day is when I go through the pile of unopened mail which has accumulated and assumed to be junk. Yesterday was that day. Those selected from the pile that don’t make it past the first visual inspection get fed unopened to R2D2, as I lovingly call my office shredder, and most of the pieces of mail that do get opened usually meet the same fate. Being an advocate of full employment, I would never say that the people who are responsible for these paper ad mail campaigns should be fired. I would hope, however, that the companies they work for can see some positive return on the investment in the salaries of creative marketing people and defray the administrative costs of launching these advertizing blitzes.
Maybe it is years of scanning resumes to pick out the gems from the rocks that started me on this batched approach at shredding my junk mail. It does help to be able to digest a large amount of data and quickly decide based on predetermined selection criteria. Some of it is easy:
- Anything from Capitol One. Since I fired them several years ago for errors on my account and crappy customer service, I have had no luck in making them believe that “What’s in my pocket†will never again be one of their cards. So I say “When Hell freezes over†and R2D2 says “Mmmmmm!â€
- I love Marriott, but I’m not going to open another credit card just because it has their logo on it. I have several cards already, so why do I need to buy-in to advertising for them or any other hotel where I have mega-points. Isn’t there something basically wrong with begging me to show brand loyalty by paying them more money? Give me something other than free trinkets or more points that I don’t really need.
- Closely behind the banks and hotels are the airline credit card deals. Do these marketing geniuses think that we don’t know that this will cause multiple hits on our credit report for an application? No single credit bureau hit will cause imminent disaster, but do I love any airline brand strongly enough to cave in to this tactic? Too many hits are a red flag and I’ve worked too hard to maintain good FICO scores. When I need a new card I will select it by shopping around and won’t be seduced by cheesy marketing.
- AARP! For those of you who have not reached your 50th birthday yet, be prepared. It is an assumed rite of passage for you to contribute to their lobbying effort, supposedly on your behalf, even if you are never asked what you think or agree with what they do. I must be on their hit list because I shredded at least a dozen “membership cards†this week and have never paid them a dime. I guess us old farts are supposed to be too senile to realize that receiving the card doesn’t mean we owe them money.
The ones I do open and read are those that are difficult to determine from the outside of the envelope. The quiet ones get more attention than the ones labeled “Open Immediately†or “Limited Time Offer.†The subtle approach must be a better tactic to reach people like me, because I do open, read, and give them a fair trial before feeding to R2.
All of this makes me wonder how differently our company branding would be if we didn’t think in our terms only. Recruitment branding is shred-before-opening if we are not marketing something that the candidate wants to hear. It is more than just about the money. We can’t assume that even if the job seeker is in dire need of a job that we will get a good new employee just by asking. On the contrary, a decision that is made out of desperation will most likely not last. We need to emphasize value, offer something that they need and deliver on promises. The candidate experience begins with knowing what they want and fulfilling their needs as we expect them to fill ours. Recruiting is marketing on a very personal level. We treat it impersonally at our own peril.