Top 3 Mistakes Marketers Make When Running a Sweepstakes

by Guest Blogger, Carolyn Wilman, Contest Queen

As the Contest Queen I have a very unique perspective on promotions involving  sweepstakes and contests. Not only have I been a marketer for over 20 years, but I have also been a sweepstakes hobbyist for 8 years, giving me the experience of having “sat on both sides of the table”. When I talk to other marketers and they discover my marketing niche they ask me how to “stop those evil greedy professional sweepstakers from entering”. You don’t. You use them to viral your promotion further and faster, increasing the ROI on your promotions. Here’s how:

MISTAKE 1) Trying to Stop “Professional Sweepers” from Entering

Here is the question I pose to you: If all the sweepers stopped entering, who would enter your promotion?  No one. This mistake leads directly to Mistake #2.

MISTAKE 2) Only Doing Front End Marketing

What do I mean by that? Most marketers consider a project done as soon as the promotion is launched and off they go on to the next project. There are two parts to this mistake:

1)  Not doing enough to address the average person’s concerns encouraging them to enter

2)  Not getting the entire company and all departments on board with all marketing efforts including sweepstakes.

When I meet someone new and they learn about my hobby, I ask them why they don’t enter. I get the same four answers over and over again. If these concerns are not dealt with, on an industry-wide scale, the percentage of the population entering sweepstakes will not increase. The top four concerns of the non-entrant are:

a)    They will sell my information
b)    I will get heaps of SPAM if I enter
c)    My information will be stolen (identity theft)
d)    No one really wins

I have seen promotions fall flat or completely unravel because the Back-end Marketing was not executed properly. The Marketing Department did not update Customer Service, or any other department for that matter. When entrants contacted the company with questions, concerns or entry problems, no one has any answers. Then a response either is untimely or never comes. 

Or, now you have a winner and then the prize follow-up is terrible. (Is everyone in the Marketing Department on board too?) The winner is treated like a leech or pariah because they are getting something for free. So if it was the first win from “Joe Average” entrant, do you think they will ever enter another sweepstakes again? I usually get a call or email asking them to help solve the problem getting the prize. 

Don’t discount word-of-mouth marketing online. Tens of thousands of sweepstakers will post their thoughts, opinions, rants and raves online for the world to see. This could either be in your favor, or more than likely not. It is much easier and cheaper to run a sweepstakes right from beginning to end and get a few accolades then to try and reverse a tsunami of negativity online for you drop the ball. And what about the winners? Why isn’t the winner used in future marketing campaigns extolling the virtues of the product or service on a large scale? This is occasionally done, but again, not on a large enough scale to convince the average consumer they can win.

MISTAKE 3) Not Thinking Sweepstakers and Contestors are Customers

For some reason, when marketers find out I enter sweepstakes as a hobby, they think I am greedy, win everything and buy nothing. How unrealistic! Yes, I do win a lot, but I also buy a lot. I have two cars in my driveway, a kitchen full appliances and gadgets, a pantry full of food, a closet full of clothes, a child’s room that is bursting with toys, etc... How much of that do you think I have won?  Not much.

In the past eight years my biggest wins have been trips (and yes, we have paid for additional holidays). In my kitchen I can count two small appliance wins and a few food wins (long ago devoured as $100 in Lindt chocolate or 4.5kg of Goldfish don’t last long in this house). In my closet I have won a few clothing shopping sprees for me and a handful of toys for my daughter. The majority of prizes are either consumable, such as concert tickets, or small items such as CDs, DVDs, product gift packets, etc., or they cost me money. For example, winning an Xbox with one game ended up costing me over $300 as my husband went out and bought an extra controller and a handful of additional games.

Sweepstakers (including myself) will change buying habits to enter a promotion which will increase a company’s product sales, and some people, upon trying a new product, will become loyal customers. So, am I your target market or not?  I think so. Just because I enter your sweepstakes doesn’t mean I won’t buy your products or services.

These are only the top three mistakes and I only touched the tip of the iceberg with them. 

Now that I have completed the Canadian and American versions of You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter for consumers, I am in the process of writing a sweepstaking book for marketers (working tile: Bullet Proof Promotions From The Outside In) documenting all that is right or wrong with promotions today and I want to hear from you. Please email me directly with your questions, stories, tips and tricks. As with the consumer editions, all participants will get full credit (if you wish) and a signed copy of the book. 

In the meantime, put yourself in consumer’s shoes. Begin entering sweepstakes, see what you like, what you don’t, what can be improved upon and what you wouldn’t change. Who knows, you may win a prize or two along with your new found knowledge.

Comments

[Michelle]

This article is GREAT!! As a hobby sweeper, everything you said is dead on. I have no clue why companies wouldn't want sweepers to enter. I am VERY loyal to companies in which I enter sweepstakes, especially those I win!! I won a sofa from Bassett Furniture and I won't buy furniture anywhere else ever again! They are fabulous. Sweepstakes are a great way to promote your company and product.

[Ronald Sarson]

It must be particularly frustrating for you when you hit some of the sweepstakers' pet peeves: Rules and/or entry blanks not available at the sponsoring stores, rules that say 3x5 postcards, one per person per household, sweepstakes "ends" a certain date, no mass entries, #11 envelopes, postcard or 8 1/2 x 11 paper in an envelope, etc.
What the H do these things mean?

[Donna DeClemente]

Thanks Carolyn for your very interesting post. I too was a marketer that didn't believe that "Sweepstakers" where good for business. But after speaking with you I am now convinced that it is good for promotions to be successful.

The frustrating things that many marketers put in the rules as Ronald points out are mainly because they would like consumers to make a purchase or come into a location. However, all marketers do need to include a no purchase necessary way to enter. They don't necessarily have to make it easy though.

[Christina]

If marketers don't think the contests or sweepstakes are good for promoting their companies, why are they having them? Certainly not so that they can be shoddily run or so that they would alienate potential new (and in the future, loyal) customers! EVERYONE wants to feel special, and companies have a great opportunity here to make the average person who enters feel VERY special, and they should use it!