Learn from free turkeys, gold bunnies and restaurants with no lights

Image Courtesy of CBC.ca

Businesses have always used creative marketing tactics to increase sales and create a unique experience to attract customers. Take to strategize about what causes increase revenues in your business.

When you boil it all down, what is it causes sales in your business? What one thing that you do grows revenues more than anything else?

When Kraig Kramers works with a company, one of the first variables he tries to identify is what causes sales in the company? Is it sales people, is it the website, is it drive by appeal, is it trade shows? What is it? Then the second step he takes is to add to the horsepower to drive sales.

If you determine that drive by appeal and window displays are what causes sales in your business, then he suggests you drop everything else (print advertising, radio ads, etc.) and pour all that money and resources into your window displays. Have the best damn window displays on your street. Have them stand out so much, that people talk about them across town. This, Kramers would say, is a focused company, focused on growing sales.

How do you do it? He suggests, gathering your top people and possibly a couple of customers into a room and ask them. It probably will not be easy. However can you imagine how easy driving sales will be once you have the answer? You can be become laser focused on growing those sales and cutting out all the other clutter.

So what causes sales in your business? It’s a great question. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here are some examples:

• Honest Eds – As taken from Wikipedia: “Honest Ed’s gained fame for its marketing stunts, including loss leader specials and free turkey giveaways before Christmas and Thanksgiving Day holidays. Mirvish is also famous in Toronto for the birthday parties he threw for himself from 1988 until his death. At the street parties, there are free cakes, meals, hot dogs, candy, and giveaways. Crowds of Torontonians turn up with their children, and stand in long lines to receive these handouts. The happening is accompanied by live bands and balloons.”
• Lexmark – If you have ever been to a trade show where Lexmark is presenting, its a sure bet that you are going to get your picture taken and printed on a Lexmark printer. They use creative displays to attract people (air balloon background and such)
• Lindt Chocolate – Lindt does not typically use mass media to advertise their products, however they ramp up during Christmas and Easter. You may have seen their Gold Bunny cars and Chef’s zooming around your city, handing out treats at crowded shopping malls.
• O.Noir Restaurant (Montreal/Toronto) – This restaurant encourages word of mouth by creating a unique dining atmosphere – its pitch black. After a few hours in complete darkness (that’s right, no flashlights, matches, cell phones, cigarette lighters or luminous watches), customers gain a better understanding of what it’s like to be blind – just like the restaurants’ entire wait staff.
• Charlies Burgers – Prospective diners who want to experience a Charlie’s Burgers dinner must first apply for an invitation, a process that involves filling out a survey about their interest in food. If they’re lucky, they’ll then  sent an e-vite to the next Charlie’s Burgers event. Dont let the name fool you, prices arent cheap (around $110). Its this kind of exclusivity that creates hype for this restaurant and a quite a bit of word of mouth adveritising.
• Spence Diamonds – Uses creative and persistanet radio advertising to attract potential customers