The slush pile

Robin Benson points us to The $39 Experiment: Asking Random Companies for Free Stuff.

The gimmick is that someone asked 100 companies for free samples and chronicled the response.

Here's the surprise: most companies took no action at all.

And a few companies wrote back and said "no."

What does it cost for Del Monte to get someone to notice one of their products, to get someone to think about a product or to even buy one? Now, compare this to the cost of sending someone (who took the time to write) a coupon or two and a letter.

The first takes money. The second takes a little thought and a tiny bit of time.

Marketers shouldn't fall for every scammer that comes along. But if someone chooses to pay attention, there are countless ways you can invite them to spread the word on your behalf.

Sometimes marketers are so busy yelling at people they don't even notice inviduals who take the time to raise their hands.