Follow The Leaders To Increase Your Sales – Article 3

In my previous two articles I stressed the importance of understanding that your customers are your best asset. The more you understand about their wants and needs, the easier it will be to design marketing campaigns that will increase your sales at the most efficient cost to you.

Today I want to talk about how the industry leaders develop their marketing strategies. McDonald’s is number one on my list of companies that innovate and lead their industry. McDonald’s has long been known for doing the very best site location studies. Before they ever commit to a new location they have a marketing team that goes out and compiles every possible demographic, including; hourly car counts, area consumption data, population migration statistics and much more. That is why wherever you see a McDonald’s you will find a Burger King or Wendy’s within a few blocks. McDonald’s competition well knows that they cannot possibly do a better job on site location than McDonald’s so they just follow the leader.

Let’s talk about what McDonald’s does that you can use to grow your business and grow it now! The term I want you to learn, understand and put into action immediately is “Bounce-Back Marketing”. Quite simply, as the name implies it is a process to bring your customers back to your business. When you eat at a McDonald’s they always stuff in your food bag a coupon giving you something either for free or at a deep discount the next time your return. For example, “Super Size Your Fries” or “Get a Free Drink”.

Couponing is not a new concept. It actually dates back to the 40’s, Do any of you remember S&H Green Stamps? Whenever you would buy a product at almost every store, but mostly concentrated to food and gasoline, you would get a certain number of Green Stamps based upon the purchase amount. These green stamps had a large “S&H” stamped on them. You would paste them into a booklet and then redeem them at an S&H Redemption Center. These centers were located everywhere and inside they looked like a department store. They had all kinds of products on display from radios to toaster ovens to vacuum cleaners. You would simply pick out your product, turn in the required amount of books to the sales person and leave with your new product.

Today, McDonald’s is the leader in couponing. Look at all the companies that have followed McDonald’s and mail you coupons or include them in your local newspapers. Everyone is doing it. The reason is quite simple; IT WORKS!

I am certain you can tailor to fit a bounce-back program for you business that will work well for you. Have fun with it. Be creative! Make it valuable and you will find immediate success.

Something else to think about is understanding product sampling. Every food court in every mall in our country has people standing in front of their food counters handing out free samples of their products. If you are fortunate enough to be in a business that allows you to give free samples, then do it. It does not have to be a food product to work. It could be something as simple as a “how to” card from an attorney, doctor or car dealer. Information presented in a creative design can be quite valuable to many people. You must include an incentive to create urgency and motivate your prospects to take action. Almost every business has something they can give out for free that is valuable. This information does not have to be given out at your business location. You can use direct mail to distribute them. Give this some thought and you will easily find lots of things you can do that will increase your business and result in new sales.

My next article will discuss Positioning and the importance of understanding this powerful marketing term and how it can change your business forever.