Small Business Marketing Tips
License To Steal
October, 2008
One of the biggest mistakes that most small businesses make is doing exactly what everyone else in their industry does. This isn't the best way to stand out or be memorable! So why don't you do what a few very successful businesses have been doing for years - steal some good ideas from other industries!
Very few people ever think to look at completely different types of businesses for ideas to adapt. They think, "That won't work in our business" without even trying. Let's look at an example - membership and frequent buyer programs that provide discounts or special service benefits.
We know that supermarkets, health clubs and some other retailers use these very effectively to build steady repeat business. Suppose you're an auto shop, or a photographer, or a contractor. How could you apply this?
Let me give you an example. My friend Dave, who has an air conditioning business in the Phoenix area, asked me for help with his marketing. He knew that just about everyone has an air conditioner (this was good!) but he thought that everyone already had an air conditioning repair guy. Not true. Most people go to the phone book when the a/c breaks. So I suggested that he develop a membership program that created customers in advance.
Here's what he did - for a yearly fee, his Home Comfort Security Plan gets the customer a fall and a spring cleaning and tune up for their heating and a/c, and significantly reduced prices. Benefit - reliable year around comfort. Then with a stroke of genius he threw in this clincher - if your a/c breaks and you're on the plan you get moved to the top of the list for a service call. In Phoenix it's pretty common for lots of units to fail in the first big heat wave of summer and for repairs to take a week or more because the service people are backed up. People love this feature, especially when it's 110 degrees.
So Dave now has a more regular income, a loyal customer base and a great source of referrals. "Gee, you hadda wait a week with your a/c out? You should'a been with Dave!" It's marketing on autopilot.
Can you see how an auto shop might do this, with regular tune-ups, tire rotation and a discount for repairs? A photographer might offer a yearly membership that includes birthdays, anniversaries, special photography workshops and help with photo albums and family memories. A contractor could offer yearly home inspections, inexpensive and reliable help with small projects, preferred pricing for bigger jobs, winter care for summer homes, etc. The object is to make people customers in advance and for life.
Another good idea that you can steal for a membership program is the "product of the month". Our friend and talented musician Daniel Nahmod has a program that provides a new, unreleased song as a digital download every month, along with the lyrics and some commentary about how the song came to be written. At the end of the year the members get a CD with all the songs. This taps into a very powerful marketing tool, the power of exclusivity. People like to be part of a special exclusive group and will pay for it.
Thinking way outside the box can be profitable. I read of a retail chocolate store that partnered with a health club, piggybacking on the club's memberships. Since it's now been proven that dark chocolate is good for your health, they're teaching classes on incorporating chocolate into your fitness routine. Both businesses are profiting from the partnership and providing a guilt free license to "sin".
So how can you make these ideas work for you? Don't tell me that this stuff won't work in your business. There's always a way. Real estate, coffee shops, restaurants, financial services, insurance, or art galleries. What can you learn from an unrelated business that will give you the edge?
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