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Anyone
who
has ever been snake charmed, duped, coerced, guilt-tripped or
high-pressured
into buying a dollars-off discount advertisement on the back of a
grocery store
receipt, joining the National Association of Business Owners or my
favorite,
National Write Your Congressman Association, knows the pain of a really
great
idea that is a complete flop.
Question: Why do we do this? Answer:
It sounds good when they bring out the
glossy testimonials in their three-ring binders. It’s only a couple of
hundred
dollars. Maybe, just maybe, it just might work. ‘Ya think? We would
rather
write a half-down and half-on-delivery check for a lame strategy as
long as we
don’t have to exert any energy or think outside of the box.
For
the
same money or a little less, we can do much, much better without lining
the
pockets of commissioned salespeople. It will take a little time. That’s
what
the holy hour between 2 and 4 p.m. was made for.
The
Nuts and Bolts of Cross
Promotion
Take
a drive
around town. Look at all of the businesses within a mile or two of your
location that are non-foodservice related. Make a list of all of the
businesses
you do business with and then a contact person’s name next to that. The
more
customer traffic they have in a week, the better.
This
is
your assignment. You should have a list of at least 10 to 20 folks that
are in
the same boat you are. They want new business. They know that each new
customer
will bring a couple of hundred dollars of profit per year to their
bottom line.
They, possibly like you, are on limited budgets. Now, give all of the
businesses on the list a letter. “A” would be for folks you know really
well
and will probably be attentive listeners because of you friendship or
relationship. “B’s” are for folks you know on a first name friendly
basis, but
not a true friend. “C’s” would be for businesses that you occasionally
do
business with and barely know the owner. Give all of the A’s, B’s and
C’s a
number behind it. A-1 would be a sure thing. B-2 is a very strong
possibility.
C’s are a maybe.
When
I made
my first list like this, the first person to come to mind was Danny
Gary, owner
of the local Citgo gas station. Dan is a real bud and we think the same
way on
customer service, loyalty and satisfaction. Besides, his station had a
400-car-a-day count. I dropped by one day with a pizza for lunch and we
talked
over what was on my mind. I asked him if he would hand out my
advertising
pieces if I would distribute his stuff for him at Big Dave’s. No
charge, no
middlemen, both family-owned, no big deal. The answer was yes. I asked
him how
many customer transactions he had in a week and told him I would go to
my local
quickie printer and have a customized printed piece done. We’d do it
for two
weeks. He would do the same. Everyone on my A list agreed. The more
times I
asked and repeated the spiel, the more confidence I got to move on to
my B and
C list. By now, I had an actual copy of the piece I was using with Dan
for a
“touchy-feely piece.” These props make the business owner feel
confident.
Describing an idea and showing an actual thing aren’t the same.
All
of the
folks on my A list were actual business owners and decision makers. I’d
need to
tweak my presentation to corporate-owned stores with managers. Some of
these
people aren’t entrepreneurial- minded and are trained to say “no” or
“let me
run it by the owner” responses. I had a few weeks or months of feedback
from my
A list people and created a little collage of actual pieces and
testimonials from
my A list partners. I asked them, “Can you see why this idea wouldn’t
work
great for both of us? I’d be introducing
you to all of my customers and you’d be doing the same for me.” “Can you see any reason your boss wouldn’t
like to have your marketing pieces on every one of my pizza boxes for
to my
hundreds of carry-out and delivery customers for the next few weeks?”
“I’ll
also place your pieces in my lobby for free…fair enough?” The
affirmative
response was about 70 percent.
By
now,
you’re in the groove and ready to start meeting with you C list. By
now, you
have a beautiful library of samples to do the talking for you. This
list agreed
about half of the time. Do not let rejections dampen your enthusiasm.
Don’t
take it personally, it’s just business. Think of the egos of
telemarketers.
Advanced Cool Cross
Promotions
Pretty
soon, you’ll start feeling the fruits of your labors when the VIP cards
start
rolling in. You will want to keep the ball rolling with the businesses
that
bear the most fruit. Start a calendar of when to reprint and revisit
you
business friends with more Valued Customer Cards. Now, you’re ready for
the
ultimate cross promotion piece. This printed piece will have your logo
and you
partner’s logo on it and be signed by both you and them. It will be a
testimonial like piece and make the recipient feel like your friend,
the
business owner, is footing the bill for the comp just for their best
customers.
One of mine read like this: “Gary Oil Company has made special
arrangements
with Big Dave’s Pizza & Subs to treat you to a free order of
breadsticks
and a free liter of Coke when you order one of their world famous large
pizzas.
Just show this card and tell them Dan sent you. Use it tonight or for
sure
before it expires in seven days. Best regards, Thanks for your
business, Dan
Gary, signature, logo.” In small print, there was a disclaimer stating
one
value certificate per household expires in seven days.
Advanced Cross Promotions
I
have
asked and gotten permission to have my personalized value certificates
mailed
out in the monthly statements of many businesses. For a five-cent card
and a
little goodwill, a business may insert them in all of their mail to
customers…and they pay the postage! I’ve even had them inserted into
the
paycheck envelopes of lots of businesses. We’re talking hundreds of
checks
every Friday. Where do you think these folks are going to get pizza at
on
payday? These are called one-way promotions. If you get enough (and you
will)
pieces going out at one time, insert all of them in an envelope and
tape them
to the top of your pizza boxes.
Final Tips
and Thanks
Big Dave’s
Rule Number One of The Six Habits of Highly Effective Pizza Marketers
is: Get
your apron off, and get out of the kitchen.
– PMQ –