It is funny how a little ingenuity can trump a bucket of money.  At lunch the other day we were discussing marketing and were reminiscing about a couple of marketing campaigns we were involved with.  We had a new product we wanted people to know about.  Our company, the company I helped start, had very little money as startups frequently do. Well, we got our first big order for this product and the company president decided that we should 'let the money ride. In his terminology that meant to plow the money back into a mail campaign to push sales. We hired graphic artists and had printers make a couple 100,000 brochures in a 5 color process. We purchased mail lists. We put postage on them and sent them out. Then we waited. The whole thing cost us a small fortune. Almost all the money we had. We took the advice of the marketing company we hired.  We were not forced to do this. We were all in agreement. After about a month it became apparent that no one was going to call us. Is this what they mean when they say it's lonely at the top The material they developed was very professional, had some great graphics, but did not inspire.

There is a happy ending to this story. Like I said we spent almost all the money. We did have a few dollars left over for another tiny mailing. This time I had my friend Felecia Biondo draw a small black/white cartoon.  (the postcard above is for illustrative purposes only, it was not our's) It was really hokey.  It was not inappropriate (like this is).  It had two frames, in the first were two guy's with balloons over their heads near a water cooler.  They were saying something like "I wish there was someone who could solve my motion control problems." In the second frame I asked Felicia to draw an attractive secretary with a balloon saying "Why not call the boys at Intellisys.  They can help".  There was something interesting about the characters in the way she drew them.  After reading, your eyes actually went back to read again.  The message was simple and clear.

Guess what!  We got quite a few responses from that cheap, 15¢, black and white postcard!  Never let a lack of money stop you.