As a franchise, Harry Potter is the best example of how to grow your business that I‘ve ever seen: First books, then movies, and now a theme park. Being a Harry Potter fan, I cannot think of another series which has set up its fans to want to experience the settings in the book. Each of the distinctive stores in Diagon’s Alley, the ominous pubs of Hogsmeade, and especially the magical halls and rooms of Hogwarts established themselves in Potter fans’ imaginations from the books and were enhanced from the movies. As of June 18, fans can actually walk through these places.
They can taste a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. The advance word is that it “tastes magical. It’s frothy, butterscotchy, and incredibly yummy.” They can buy Sneakoscopes, which cost fifteen dollars at Zonko’s Joke Shop. They can take the Flight of the Hippogriff and feel the exhilaration that Harry experienced on the beast.
There are two other rides, too. Dragon Challenge is a well-executed, traditional roller coaster, and the Forbidden Journey is the park’s cutting-edge ride. These rides along with the opportunity to walk the narrow streets of Diagon’s Alley, shop the stores of Hogsmeade, and investigate Dumbledore’s office at Hogwarts, bring Harry Potter’s world to life.
When the theme park opens in June, the Harry Potter franchise will take customers from reading to viewing to experiencing. The books spark interest in the movies, and they stimulate the desire to visit the theme park, which fans will want to experience over and over again. Although fans will want to enjoy the books, movies, and theme park multiple times, only the theme park will continuously generate more revenue from each visit. That addresses the two profitable ways to grow your business: Have your customer buy more with each transaction and have your customer buy from you more frequently.
These purchases are not merely beneficial to your business but benefit your customers as well, a win-win for both. Doing more transactions with customers and having them buy more on each visit cultivates those customers. With each purchase, they become more profitable customers for your business. They also become more satisfied because their transactions with your business are easy. You know them and understand what they want. Best of all, your business gives them what they want.
Although your business may not offer your customers what they want on the grand scale that the Harry Potter franchise does, your business always has opportunities to do more business with your customers by increasing the frequency and the amount of their transactions. To do so, you need to be alert and look for the profitable opportunities that benefit both your customers and your business.
What profitable opportunities are available with your customers?
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Happy Birthday
YouTube celebrated its fifth birthday this week. The brainchild of three Paypal employees, YouTube was prompted by two events, Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction and the horrendous tsunami in Asia. In 2005 there was no easy way to share videos of either event. As they talked about this at a dinner party, one of the three proposed that they start a video-sharing site. A few days later they agreed to move forward on the idea and designated who would do what part of the project.
Within three months, YouTube was launched in May, 2005. Its big break didn’t come until December 17th of that year, though, when a video titled, “Lazy Sunday” which was a copy of a Saturday Night Live skit, was uploaded. Ten days later the video had been downloaded more than 1.2 million times. While that’s an impressive figure, it pales in comparison to today’s numbers.
Ten months later, in November, 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars. Now YouTube receives over two billion views per day which nearly double the combined prime time viewership of the top three television networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Every minute 24 hours of new video is uploaded.
Wow! In five years YouTube has those numbers. That is amazing, isn’t it?
YouTube has become a part of our culture. New singers are being discovered on YouTube. New expressions such as “This is going to be all over YouTube” are common. New folk heroes are embraced because they were on YouTube. We have become accustomed to referencing YouTube in many ways.
What does that mean for your business?
YouTube represents an opportunity for you. You may set up your own YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/your business. Onto that channel you may upload videos that demonstrate your product, explain your service, give information, tell something new, or show something fun. Use the channel as you like to talk to your customers, increase your business, and spread word of mouth. Add as many videos as you wish to your channel. Your only limit is ten minutes and 100 MB per video. That’s a lot of time and space!
Shoot your videos yourself with a digital camera that records in .mpg mode. Ask your customers for testimonials, shoot the testimonial, and upload it. Show a new item that just arrived, communicate why it solves your customers’ problems, and upload it. Record an event at your business and upload it for all who attended (and those who didn’t) to see. Bring your business to life and make your customer feel involved with videos on YouTube.
You won’t break your budget doing this. YouTube hosts these videos at no charge.
Do you have a channel on YouTube? If not, get one soon.
Within three months, YouTube was launched in May, 2005. Its big break didn’t come until December 17th of that year, though, when a video titled, “Lazy Sunday” which was a copy of a Saturday Night Live skit, was uploaded. Ten days later the video had been downloaded more than 1.2 million times. While that’s an impressive figure, it pales in comparison to today’s numbers.
Ten months later, in November, 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars. Now YouTube receives over two billion views per day which nearly double the combined prime time viewership of the top three television networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Every minute 24 hours of new video is uploaded.
Wow! In five years YouTube has those numbers. That is amazing, isn’t it?
YouTube has become a part of our culture. New singers are being discovered on YouTube. New expressions such as “This is going to be all over YouTube” are common. New folk heroes are embraced because they were on YouTube. We have become accustomed to referencing YouTube in many ways.
What does that mean for your business?
YouTube represents an opportunity for you. You may set up your own YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/your business. Onto that channel you may upload videos that demonstrate your product, explain your service, give information, tell something new, or show something fun. Use the channel as you like to talk to your customers, increase your business, and spread word of mouth. Add as many videos as you wish to your channel. Your only limit is ten minutes and 100 MB per video. That’s a lot of time and space!
Shoot your videos yourself with a digital camera that records in .mpg mode. Ask your customers for testimonials, shoot the testimonial, and upload it. Show a new item that just arrived, communicate why it solves your customers’ problems, and upload it. Record an event at your business and upload it for all who attended (and those who didn’t) to see. Bring your business to life and make your customer feel involved with videos on YouTube.
You won’t break your budget doing this. YouTube hosts these videos at no charge.
Do you have a channel on YouTube? If not, get one soon.
Friday, May 14, 2010
An Invitation from Ernie
As I pulled the last cookie from the Sandies package, I noticed a small plastic sleeve underneath. “Hmm.. What’s this?” I halfway said out loud.
Ripping open the sleeve, I found a folded tan piece of paper inside addressed “To All Cookie Lovers” with a return address of Ernie Keebler, The Hollow Tree, and a “Treemail” stamp. Intrigued, I unfolded the tri-folded paper to read this message:
Greetings,
Thank you for choosing our cookies. We hope you enjoy every bite!
We’ve recently created a new way to stay in touch with our human friends called “Treemail” messages. We’d love to occasionally share news, recipes, and even ways to save. All you have to do is sign up at Keebler.com.
We make our cookies with care, passion, and Elfin ingenuity. I hope they make your day just a little bit sweeter.
Warmest wishes,
Ernie Keebler
I was impressed. First of all, as a marketer, I appreciated the writing of the message which reflected the elfin personality. It was fun! After all, how many companies can offer “Treemail” messages? Whether you are a kid or an adult, that type of message makes you smile.
Further, the message was written as a personal thank you. Even though this was mass-produced and included in every cookie package, I felt that Ernie was speaking directly to me and truly cared that I enjoyed every bite. Notice that he also took the opportunity to let me know that they made their cookies with “care, passion, and Elfin ingenuity,” which reinforced the persona again.
What impressed me the most, however, was the offer. Ernie wanted me to receive “Treemail” messages or e-mails. In return for giving my e-mail, he told me exactly what I would get and why I should do it. I will get information, news, and recipes. In addition, I could save money. That is a good reason; it’s an excellent answer to “What’s in it for me?”
Not answering that question is the biggest mistake businesses make when asking for e-mails. They don’t give customers a reason to sign up. They also don’t tell what customers will receive by giving an e-mail or becoming a fan on Facebook. The lack of “What’s in it for me?” is a big reason why customers don’t offer an e-mail.
Take a look at your requests for customers’ e-mails. Are you letting them know “What’s in it for me?”
Ripping open the sleeve, I found a folded tan piece of paper inside addressed “To All Cookie Lovers” with a return address of Ernie Keebler, The Hollow Tree, and a “Treemail” stamp. Intrigued, I unfolded the tri-folded paper to read this message:
Greetings,
Thank you for choosing our cookies. We hope you enjoy every bite!
We’ve recently created a new way to stay in touch with our human friends called “Treemail” messages. We’d love to occasionally share news, recipes, and even ways to save. All you have to do is sign up at Keebler.com.
We make our cookies with care, passion, and Elfin ingenuity. I hope they make your day just a little bit sweeter.
Warmest wishes,
Ernie Keebler
I was impressed. First of all, as a marketer, I appreciated the writing of the message which reflected the elfin personality. It was fun! After all, how many companies can offer “Treemail” messages? Whether you are a kid or an adult, that type of message makes you smile.
Further, the message was written as a personal thank you. Even though this was mass-produced and included in every cookie package, I felt that Ernie was speaking directly to me and truly cared that I enjoyed every bite. Notice that he also took the opportunity to let me know that they made their cookies with “care, passion, and Elfin ingenuity,” which reinforced the persona again.
What impressed me the most, however, was the offer. Ernie wanted me to receive “Treemail” messages or e-mails. In return for giving my e-mail, he told me exactly what I would get and why I should do it. I will get information, news, and recipes. In addition, I could save money. That is a good reason; it’s an excellent answer to “What’s in it for me?”
Not answering that question is the biggest mistake businesses make when asking for e-mails. They don’t give customers a reason to sign up. They also don’t tell what customers will receive by giving an e-mail or becoming a fan on Facebook. The lack of “What’s in it for me?” is a big reason why customers don’t offer an e-mail.
Take a look at your requests for customers’ e-mails. Are you letting them know “What’s in it for me?”
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Foolish Customer Program
When I was a kid, I loved Mallo Cups. My siblings and I consumed more of them than I care to admit, and we religiously collected the “Mallo Cup Play Money” on the cards inside each one. Most had five or ten points. Sometimes we stumbled across a one. Rarely, we discovered a 50 or 100, which always was very exciting!
My roommate recently began buying Mallo Cups and enjoying them again as she had when she was young. Yesterday, she handed me a “Play Money Card” from the one that she was eating and asked me what to do with it. “Can you recycle this?”
I reverted back to being a collector of Mallo Cup Money and recoiled at the thought of tossing away any of it. As I looked at the card, I realized that it appeared identical to those I collected many years ago. I peered at it closely, reading the fine print. Collect 500 points, send them in, and receive $1 rebate check. “One dollar,” I thought, “for 500? Are they kidding? Who would save that many, put them together into an envelope, and apply a $.44 stamp to receive one dollar?”
Are today’s Mallo Cup eaters that foolish?
I can’t answer that question. However, I can tell you that Boyer’s marketing is foolish. The company has trashed a program which encouraged repeat purchases and rewarded profitable customers. Think about it. If the average Mallo Cup Money card from a purchase is ten points, you must purchase fifty Mallo Cups to reach 500 points. If the average is five points, you must buy one hundred to reach 500. If a customer bought fifty to one hundred of your product, wouldn’t you reward them with more than a buck?
Oh, that’s right; there‘s more. You also can save additional points for valuable prizes. Send in for your prize catalog to the above address.
Send in for a catalog? Why not go online? Today, why not have a Web site or Facebook page that involves Mallo Cup customers with Boyer? In what century does Boyer dwell?
Perhaps the last century. These cards looked just the same as those that I collected as a kid with one exception. Those that I collected offered free product sent to your door when 500 points were reached. That program truly rewarded its customers, and that kept us buying Mallo Cups.
Take a lesson from Boyer. If you offer your customers a rewards program, make it worth their time to participate. Tie their reward to enjoying more of what your business offers.
My roommate recently began buying Mallo Cups and enjoying them again as she had when she was young. Yesterday, she handed me a “Play Money Card” from the one that she was eating and asked me what to do with it. “Can you recycle this?”
I reverted back to being a collector of Mallo Cup Money and recoiled at the thought of tossing away any of it. As I looked at the card, I realized that it appeared identical to those I collected many years ago. I peered at it closely, reading the fine print. Collect 500 points, send them in, and receive $1 rebate check. “One dollar,” I thought, “for 500? Are they kidding? Who would save that many, put them together into an envelope, and apply a $.44 stamp to receive one dollar?”
Are today’s Mallo Cup eaters that foolish?
I can’t answer that question. However, I can tell you that Boyer’s marketing is foolish. The company has trashed a program which encouraged repeat purchases and rewarded profitable customers. Think about it. If the average Mallo Cup Money card from a purchase is ten points, you must purchase fifty Mallo Cups to reach 500 points. If the average is five points, you must buy one hundred to reach 500. If a customer bought fifty to one hundred of your product, wouldn’t you reward them with more than a buck?
Oh, that’s right; there‘s more. You also can save additional points for valuable prizes. Send in for your prize catalog to the above address.
Send in for a catalog? Why not go online? Today, why not have a Web site or Facebook page that involves Mallo Cup customers with Boyer? In what century does Boyer dwell?
Perhaps the last century. These cards looked just the same as those that I collected as a kid with one exception. Those that I collected offered free product sent to your door when 500 points were reached. That program truly rewarded its customers, and that kept us buying Mallo Cups.
Take a lesson from Boyer. If you offer your customers a rewards program, make it worth their time to participate. Tie their reward to enjoying more of what your business offers.
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