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Marketing Quick Tips
So You Want To Be An Expert Marketer?
Part 1
Trait #1: Notice Your Own Buying Strategies: Pay closer attention to what everyone else in the world is doing to try to sell you something. You'll find there are a lot of good ideas already out there that you don't have to invent. Instead of watching TV for the programs, channel surf for commercials. Turn the station if music comes on the radio. Get on every mailing list you can to see what kind of "junk" will show up in the mail. Read every billboard. Go shopping just to see how the sales clerks treat you. Read the paper and magazines for advertisements and then, if you have time, read the articles. Read the yellow pages for fun (even though 99.99% of the ads stink). Respond to every "FREE" offer under the sun. Then check to see how well the company follows up.
If you constantly monitor what turns you on; what ads keep appearing week after week; what makes you like or hate something - you'll start to find things you can incorporate into your business.
Trait #2: Cross-Pollinate Ideas: Take ideas that work well in other industrys and use them in yours. For instance, there used to be shoe store called Just For Feet that provided some great ideas that were adapted to an upscale floor covering store that catered to designers.
What do basketball shoes and expensive oriental rugs have in common? Well, specifically - not much. But what if you look at things in more general terms? When you walked into a Just for Feet, you'd immediately notice the music was loud, and geared toward young people. There was a huge video screen that always had either music videos or live sporting events on. There was an indoor basketball court that always had at least half a dozen people waiting to play. And they had a snack bar with free popcorn. Basically, it was a FUN place to be.
So what could be taken out of Just for Feet and injected into the high-end floor covering store that caters to designers? Well, Just for Feet made their store a place where their target market (young people) wanted to be. They added elements of FUN that none of their competitors had. They were killing their competition. The high-end floor covering store could make their store THE PLACE TO BE for designers. How? Ask designers what they want.
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Here's a real situation for a high-end floor covering store, and what they decided to do: |
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1) Put in a cappuccino machine, sodas, and snacks that the designers
can have for free without having to ask. |
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2) Provide four offices that designers can use at any time - that are
loaded with all of the office essentials, like fax, copier, computers,
phone, etc. (this idea actually came from an insurance brokerage). |
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3) Provide a conference room for designers to use with their clients. |
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4) Provide free and discounted rates for related services such as
carpet cleaning and installation services. |
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5) Provide samples and loaner pieces to help designers sell their
customers. |
This may sounds simple, but here's a fact you might not realize: Not one other floor covering store offers even one of these services to designers. Borrow ideas from everywhere ... and realize that, as long as it's legal, moral, and ethical - if a given idea makes money, it's worth pursuing.
Quick Tips Index
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