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    A Guide to Business Credit Cards
    Most credit card companies offer business credit cards to business owners and corporate executives. Business cards generally come with special reward programs and high credit limits. Business card holders get a free account summary and expense reports. Credit card companies work in a highly competitive environment. Each company may have different schemes to suit business executives.However, it is important to follow certain guidelines wh

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should

    10 Ways to Do Less Yourself in Your Business
    You've been there and done it. You've got the tee-shirt and your experiences mean that you can cut so many corners. So you do. It's easier. You respond to all the requests, questions, challenges and mistakes of your people. By fixing them.And after a while two things happen.Firstly - You get exhausted, because everything revolves around you - every piddling decision, people wait for you.Secondly - Remarkably,
    OK, your small business wants to outshine the competition. Start by surprising your customers with some inexpensive but delightful surprises.

    Customer Respite means creating either a physical space for the customer to relax, or at a minimum making the environment inside your store less rushed so they can mentally relax.

    Surprise Upgrade is creating a pleasant and unexpected reward for your customer. Classic rewards-driven marketing tells us that the primary way to upgrade or reward customers is to tie the upgrade to a purchase. The simple but effective punch-card at the corner donut shop or coffee house is the most common means for small business to achieve this. This is an effective and cheap way to build some customer loyalty.

    But you can also upgrade customers randomly. If done consistently, a high percentage of your good customers will experience these upgrades. The overall impression of your business as a company that cares will increase both among the current customer base and the new customers who visit your shop.

    The first thing to do is brainstorm a mix of both Customer Respite Areas and Surprise Upgrades. Here are five examples from various businesses:

    Type of Business: Home-based Daycare.
    Customer Respite Idea: Serve a cup of hot chocolate in a to-go cup once a week during the winter when parents pick up their kids. Inexpensive, plus it’s a very much welcome treat on a cold day.

    Type of Business: Retail Maternity Store in a mall.
    Customer Respite Idea: Once a week order cookies in the afternoon and hand out a couple to all moms-to-be that browse the store.

    Type of Business: Convenience Store.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a year, in the middle of winter, throw a “spring breeze” day where all gas purchases (not just the fill-ups, but all purchases) receive a free hanging car deodorizer.

    Type of Business: Shoe Repair Store with sidewalk frontage.
    Customer Respite Idea: Place one small wooden bench in front of store, close by the door--in the most shaded spot, if possible.

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should

    Tips For The Recruiters
    Effective Job AdTo be effective, a job ad should attract right candidates and motivate them to apply. Consider job ads as marketing tools that can spark interest in the best candidates and ensure that they apply for the job.The job title should be descriptive and exciting. Title, being the first thing that readers see, should be phrased to grab the job seeker’s attention. Include the benefits of working in your company. Li
    de to a purchase. The simple but effective punch-card at the corner donut shop or coffee house is the most common means for small business to achieve this. This is an effective and cheap way to build some customer loyalty.

    But you can also upgrade customers randomly. If done consistently, a high percentage of your good customers will experience these upgrades. The overall impression of your business as a company that cares will increase both among the current customer base and the new customers who visit your shop.

    The first thing to do is brainstorm a mix of both Customer Respite Areas and Surprise Upgrades. Here are five examples from various businesses:

    Type of Business: Home-based Daycare.
    Customer Respite Idea: Serve a cup of hot chocolate in a to-go cup once a week during the winter when parents pick up their kids. Inexpensive, plus it’s a very much welcome treat on a cold day.

    Type of Business: Retail Maternity Store in a mall.
    Customer Respite Idea: Once a week order cookies in the afternoon and hand out a couple to all moms-to-be that browse the store.

    Type of Business: Convenience Store.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a year, in the middle of winter, throw a “spring breeze” day where all gas purchases (not just the fill-ups, but all purchases) receive a free hanging car deodorizer.

    Type of Business: Shoe Repair Store with sidewalk frontage.
    Customer Respite Idea: Place one small wooden bench in front of store, close by the door--in the most shaded spot, if possible.

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should

    The Added Value - Is YOU!
    If there was a restaurant in your town that was physically attractive and clean, had a pleasant variety of entr?es on the menu, served food that was prepared in an attractive manner, and the service was outstanding--the maitre’d greeted you by name, remembered which was your favorite table, stopped by later to inquire about your needs and satisfaction, the waiters and waitresses bent over backwards to make your dinner a pleasurable experience a
    first thing to do is brainstorm a mix of both Customer Respite Areas and Surprise Upgrades. Here are five examples from various businesses:

    Type of Business: Home-based Daycare.
    Customer Respite Idea: Serve a cup of hot chocolate in a to-go cup once a week during the winter when parents pick up their kids. Inexpensive, plus it’s a very much welcome treat on a cold day.

    Type of Business: Retail Maternity Store in a mall.
    Customer Respite Idea: Once a week order cookies in the afternoon and hand out a couple to all moms-to-be that browse the store.

    Type of Business: Convenience Store.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a year, in the middle of winter, throw a “spring breeze” day where all gas purchases (not just the fill-ups, but all purchases) receive a free hanging car deodorizer.

    Type of Business: Shoe Repair Store with sidewalk frontage.
    Customer Respite Idea: Place one small wooden bench in front of store, close by the door--in the most shaded spot, if possible.

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should

    Techno Gypsies - Freemasons Of The Third Millennia?
    Today skilled programmers, installers and operators in information technology routinely change jobs as skill sets ascend, peak and wane in the face of new capabilities in technology. These Techno Gypsies move from start-up, to existing enterprise to start-up, all as demand for their skills shifts and changes. Like technology, their skills are in a constant state of growth as they master the challenges of increasing processing speed, storage cap
    ernoon and hand out a couple to all moms-to-be that browse the store.

    Type of Business: Convenience Store.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a year, in the middle of winter, throw a “spring breeze” day where all gas purchases (not just the fill-ups, but all purchases) receive a free hanging car deodorizer.

    Type of Business: Shoe Repair Store with sidewalk frontage.
    Customer Respite Idea: Place one small wooden bench in front of store, close by the door--in the most shaded spot, if possible.

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should

    The Impact of Follow Up
    It never ceases to amaze me how few sales people make the time to follow-up after they have made initial contact with a prospect or customer. In the last few months, I can think of at least eight different situations in my own life (business & personal) when a salesperson did not bother taking this initiative. These included a landscaper who designed plans for our property, two different people who spoke to me about creating a promotional piece

    Type of Business: Dry Cleaners.
    Surprise Upgrade Idea: Once a month just as a surprise pass out a coupon for one free dry-cleaning of a blouse or shirt. Nothing fancy--and the customers don’t have to do anything to “earn” the coupon.

    Another idea for any business is to add some easy listening music playing in the background so that your customers relax while waiting in line.

    OK, we came up with five ideas in about than twenty minutes. Obviously, you know your business better than we ever will. You should easily be able to come up with a half-dozen ideas of your own that will surprise and delight your customers.

    Here’s a great exercise:

    Create a Surprise Upgrade and Customer Respite “Idea Matrix”.
    Goal: Take 30 minutes and think up 7 ideas!!!

    Take a piece of paper, or use your computer to make a simple table. You’ll have four columns, labeled (from left to right):

    • Idea
    • Best Guess: Dollar Cost
    • Best Guess: Time Required
    • Target Implementation Date

    Then underneath, draw seven lines…and create those seven ideas.

    After you’re done you’ll want to--you guessed it--discuss with your Bloom Team and then implement the best.

    Remember: Brand (who you are) + Package (your Face to the Customer) + People (customers and employees) = Marketing Success.

    © 2006 Marketing Hawks

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