My fist date with my Girlfriend of 4+ years was horrible. Not just bad but absolutely ‘bag of smashed assholes ugly’. I’ll go into details in another post but let’s just say the second date was a success.
Movex - Attention to Detail?
Not everyone is as lucky as her (tongue firmly in cheek).
Early in October I received a call from Movex (www.movex.ca) – Vancouver’s Corporate Mover asking if I was planning on moving the company in the foreseeable future. My answer, as it always is for unsolicited calls of this nature is to explain very clearly that we are not, nor will we be moving for a minimum of 10 years because of the killer lease that I managed to secure. I also politely ask to be removed from all future marketing campaigns and telemarketing sessions. Up until now this approach has been respected by every moving company that has made contact.
Last week I was caught off guard and a bit shocked to find a large 9×12 envelope from Movex addressed to ‘Yours Truly’. Inside this envelope, which was missing our suite number, was a poorly designed corporate presentation folder stuffed with photocopied letters of references and quotes from past clients. Including the cover letter there were 13 pages in total – 12 of them double sided. I’m not much of an environmentalist so I was not offended by the use of paper but even to me, who owns 5 vehicles, this was wasteful to the extreme.
First impressions (some people call this brand introduction) are important. Sometimes that fact that you don’t make a bad one is ok since neutral is better than negative. Occasionally a worse second impression puts a bad taste in your mouth that simply won’t go away. Movex managed to drive me to invest in a whole case of Wint-O-Green LifeSavers.
Ignoring my request to not contact me again for 10 years, Movex decided to send an unnecessary package anyway. I could have ignored the oversight and done my part by depositing the pile of Movex papers into our Big Blue Bins but several factors added insult to injury. As a small business owner and especially during a shaky economy I have to wonder why Movex’s Sales Coordinator would waste time, resources and energy on sending this package to me. At the very least it cost them $5 – $10. Multiply that my who knows how many other completely unqualified prospects and a significant sum starts to add up.
The information package contained a bunch of key marketing elements; Branded presentation folder, Cover letter, Testimonials, etc. but even If I was interested in moving the impression from the materials did not inspire any confidence. The cover letter includes these words; Professional, Experienced, Modern, Ingenuity, Adaptability, Leaders, Integrity, Commitment, Excellence, Competent, and Timely.
Besides sending me something that I specifically and in no uncertain terms said I did not want the cover letter starts out with a date of October 7, 2009. It was postmarked December 2009 and I received it more than 60 days after the letter was printed. The envelope and cover letter do not include our actual suite number just the building address. My name is spelled correctly but I am referred to as the owner, which I am but I make an extended effort to reference my title as Da Big Cheeze. This fact was completely ignored or omitted. The design of their information package is dated and uninspiring.
Moving is about change and new opportunities, starting fresh and moving forward. Their sales materials are black, morbid and emotionally lethargic.
The letter goes on to describe how their recent conversation with our receptionist prompted the sending of this package. They representative who called in October spoke directly to me and while I do answer the phone a disproportionate amount of the time I have never been referred to as Reception. At least refer to the fact that I was labeled as the Owner at the top of the Mail Merge document.
Out of professional curiosity I figured that I should at least check out their website to see if they are presenting a better face to the World than this ‘Old School’ marketing package delivered. Strike 15. It was actually worse than the pile of landfill sitting in front of me begging for the Blue Bin. Date indicated on the © notice was 2002.
The adjectives that they use to describe themselves do more harm than good by focusing attention on brand attributes that are sorely and obviously neglected in their larger marketing mix and client touch points. They may truly be Vancouver’s Corporate Mover but I can honestly say I’m glad E-Cubed’s Office is in Burnaby.
Posted on December 18th, 2009 at 6:03 pm by Kyle Bailey
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