BC Business
This blog is a plea for the little things. We’re all trying to find ways to save money and trim our marketing expenditures, but it’s important to leave a little room to play.
We created a campaign for a townhome project on South Main called The Block, for our client ParkLane Homes. We did websites and print ads and brochures and social media and all those things you are supposed to do, but we also found a local company that spray-washes messages onto sidewalks and curbs, and used them to literally “get our brand out there.” We could have easily removed this from the budget, but it’s these little things that add texture and interest and, well, fun, to a communications campaign. Remember fun? We used to have a lot more fun before the big bad recession came along.
Tyler Brule, the Editor-in-Chief of Monocle magazine, talks about retailers in Japan, and about how some take the concept of the guest/host relationship to glorious heights. These enlightened proprietors will make a big show of thanking you for stopping into their store by presenting you with a logo-printed pencil, or a small pad of paper, or a key chain. I think that’s brilliant. It’s unexpected, and it’s fun. And it makes you feel more connected, on a personal level, to that establishment. You’re more likely to go back.
We’ve arranged custom-labeled wine for our clients to give away to large customers, and that’s been well received. But these little things don’t have to cost anything at all. One real estate project we worked on a few years ago was called Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. We collected black rocks from the shoreline, tied a string around each one with a logo on a small piece of card, and gave a rock to each homeowner as a desk-top accessory to remind them of their purchase. To this day we see these rocks in people’s homes and offices.
Give people cookies when they visit. Send them off with a bottle of water. You own a spa? Have customers clothes steamed while they get a massage. You’re a mall? Hire entertainers for your customers kids on a busy shopping day, and offer a parcel check service. You’re an accounting firm? Provide your small business clients with enough calculators for all staff, or templates for expense account tabulation to save them from having to devise a system of their own.
Just be thoughtful. Have some fun. And don’t be too ruthless when finding ways to save money. Sometimes the little things, while they don’t cost much, can add up to a whole lot.