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Jun
27

Creating a ‘Calgary Stampede’ Of New Clients

By | Affluent buyers, calgary, Entrepreneur, Wacky marketing ideas

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SCalgary Stampede, Troy White, Marketingtarting July 8th, Calgary (where I live) turns into a complete country party town for 10 days.

The Calgary Stampede is an event that’s been running since 1886 – and lays claim to The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth.

We get probably half a million visitors in to Calgary during the 10 day event (which is amazing since Calgary is 1 million people- we add 50% of our population in 10 days).

Get this, the total take home winnings from the Stampede Rodeo is a whopping $1.6 Million – which is now the largest prize winnings of any rodeo in the world, from my understanding.

You’d certainly have to pay me well to sit on a bucking bull! $1.6M would about do it ;o)

What would make people travel from all over the world to see the Stampede?

***> HINT: The lessons of the Stampede can easily be adapted to your business.

1) An annual event like no other – there are rodeos all over the world – but Calgary has a 1 million dollar rodeo purse so this is NOT like all the others. People look forward to the Stampede for months to come. The best Rodeo stars from across the world gladly come to Calgary to fight for the main prize.

Make your special events special – and something worthwhile coming to.

2) The customers “get into it” like no where else in the world. Imagine this… Thursday night before the party begins on Friday you leave your office all dressed in suit and tie (I remember it well – uhhgg). Friday morning – everyone from the corporate CEO’s right to the mail clerks dress up in their western attire (hats, boots, belt buckles, and jeans). And they stay that way for the whole 10 days.

WARNING: If you are in Calgary from out of town and mistakenly wear a tie – it WILL be cut off by the nearest person with a pair of scissors.

The customers dress the part and *gladly* become part of the culture.

3) The Party racks up there with the best in the world – many people save their money, and their livers, for the party that happens.

The saying for the week is: “Drink triples, see double and act single” – and lots of people heed that advice.

The bar staff is dressed skimpy enough to make Hugh Heffner smile with glee.

And people really do travel from across the world – JUST for the party.

Make an event so exclusive that they are willing to *do whatever it takes* to be there.

4) Tons of events, goodies, and freebies. Every day during the stampede you can walk down the street and catch yourself some free breakfast – pancakes, sausage and eggs (and if you catch the good private parties they are serving vodka and orange juice by 7 am – told you it was a party).

Line ups around the block for the Stampede Breakfasts (almost always complimentary).

Corporate Calgary’s way of giving back and saying thank you.

5) It is unique to have an entire city dress, act and drink the part. Tons of fun (drinking or non) for the whole family. Great midway with tons of rides and things to do. The people watching is nothing short of amazing in itself.

When everyone is part – it’s a very amazing experience for everyone involved.

***> Lessons From The Stampede For Your Business < ***

- Make your special events special – and something worthwhile coming to.

- The customers dress the part and *gladly* become part of the culture.

- Making an event so exclusive that they are willing to *do whatever it takes* to be here.

- Giving back and saying thank you to all those that got you there.

- When everyone is part (from CEO’s to entry level clerks) – it is a very amazing experience for everyone involved.

- Have fun and lighten things up a little and people will notice.

Have a great week and happy Stamped’n!

Troy

Feb
25

Marketing Lessons from the WAWA

By | Entrepreneur, Neighborhood Marketing, Story Selling, Wacky marketing ideas

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marketing lessons from the wawaI recently saw a CNBC special on the chain of convenience stores called WAWA. They are experiencing phenomenal success in an industry that, typically, does not have a big brand loyal following.

Except in this case!

People even get married there.

Believe it or not, their clients are so happy with the store and service, they have been married there (granted, they did meet there, but that has to be a first I’ve heard of).

Why are they so successful?

Their motto: “The little convenience store that could”

Some specifics:

• Coffee can’t sit for more than 20 minutes (WHAT? No more sludge?)

• Motivate employees using non-monetary means. They receive average pay, but they mobilize the hearts and heads of employees, and create a true pride in brand.

• Create wawa holics

• Make the customers feel part of the community (that sounds early like they practice good customer service).

• They are more than a convenience store in their customer’s eyes. They are a place where people know their name (from the website – Wawa has been called the “Cheers” of convenience stores by our loyal customers)

• Good service, good foods and drinks

• Its own line of ice cream (most probably a white label brand – which any and every business can do)

• They have sports pools on their websites (that is some rabid fans they are collecting there)

• Their own branded Visa card (plus you get 10% off anything if you use that card)

• Their CEO has a blog! Nothing revolutionary there – but good business practice.

• Celebrities write about them. Erin Hannon, Dunder Mifflin’s receptionist, on the hit NBC television show The Office even wrote an ode to WAWA.

There is an entire marketing lesson both on their website and in thinking about what they have done.

Turning a commodity type service into a leading edge empire is not a simple thing.

But their techniques are quite simple?

How could they apply to your business?

How could their vision apply to what you offer your clients?

Wawa’s vision is “to simplify our customers’ daily lives.”

How can you not only simplify your clients lives, how can you help them share YOUR story with their friends, family and business associates?

Give them a GREAT story to tell… that’s how!

PS: WAWA is actually a funny kind of a name that has a definhite ring to it. Did you know that Wawa is a Native American word for the Canada goose that lives in the Delaware Valley? Me neither… until now.

Mar
30

The Belly Dance Bonanza… and 11 ways to grow a business

By | advertising, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Marketing on the web, Social Networking, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

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I gotta tell you an amazing story because…

… you just never know where your next “Big Idea” might come from.

This is a story that was told by one of my Wild West Wealth participants. Actually, she stood up and told the whole crowd about it at our Wild West Christmas Bash in December.

I was relating the story of how I got the whole Wild West Wealth event going … about how frustrated I was over always having to travel all the time to the US for marketing seminars and training … how I didn’t even come up with this idea until January and started promoting in March (for a summer event)…

… and how my “business coach” (a position he didn’t hold for long) advised me, none too delicately, that it was an awful idea and I should just forget the whole thing.

Yeah, right … that just got my hackles up!

This was, after all, my … BIG IDEA.

Long story short … as you know, I went ahead full steam … got my speakers lined-up (including the major coup of getting Ted Nicholas to come all the way from Switzerland to teach us all a thing or two … or thirty!) … and the Wild West Wealth Summits were a HUGE success.

There were HUNDREDS of strategies presented by our line-up of experts.

But, y’know … sometimes the tiniest spark can ignite YOUR next ”big idea”.

One person, in particular, took an off-hand comment of mine and turned it into…

Well … I’ll let Daphne tell it from here, in her own words…

“When I went to the Wild West Summit in the summer, I was inspired by something you mentioned. You were saying you always go to the United States to study what you need to study … and how that was the inspiration for you to put together a seminar right here in Canada … and I thought, ‘Oh my god … I can totally do that in MY business!’

“I own a belly dance academy … so I go to The States or to Europe to study with masters and I thought, ‘Well, I can   bring some of these people to Canada’ …

…so I did. And I had the largest belly dance festival in Western Canada. http://bellydance.ca

“People came in from Alaska, from The States and across Canada.

“That was in October … so, from the summer to October, I put all this together and brought in three major instructors …

and

it was a huge success. All from one little comment.

“So thank you, Troy!”

And therein lies the secret of success…

Look for people who are achieving the things you want in YOUR business and in YOUR life … find out how they’re doing it …

and TAKE ACTION!

There’s no substitute.

What do you think Daphne’s Big Idea will do for her business?

What will YOUR next Big Idea do for YOUR business, your bottom line?

There’s only one way to find out … IMPLEMENT it.

Just like Daphne did.

Take action!

One simple step a day to grow your business will do immense amounts of good to your bank account.

…One blog post
…One personality driven email to your list
…One online press release
…One phone call to a past client
…One comment on your favorite blog
…One article written and submitted to the directories (I’ve been having great success using odesk.com to find excellent
assistants and researchers)
…One hand-written note to a customer or prospect
…One quick and dirty video tip you can send to your customers
…One top 10 list you can use on your website
…One call to a like-minded entrepreneur who sells to the same type of buyers as you (to set up a joint venture)
…One birth of a new workshop idea your clients and prospects would want

Here’s to greater success in 2010 than you’ve ever experienced!

~ Troy

May
22

Vasectomy nights … wacky marketing stunts from the field

By | advertising, Direct Mail, Neighborhood Marketing, Wacky marketing ideas

Hitting a homerun with wacky marketing stunts

Fellow business builder,

Happy Memorial Day long weekend to all our US readers!  And all of our friends from other countries across the world: I realize you all have big holidays just wrapping up, or about to come, too many of them to list here.  Enjoy them and be safe out there.

In Canada, we just celebrated the Victoria Day long weekend, and I took the kids out of town to my secret hideaway. They had a blast… they got to dig in the mud… I tired them out… a successful weekend all around.

I was back to it first thing Tuesday morning.

And one of the first calls I had was with someone who attended a large marketing conference a few weeks ago.  The problem was that the numbers were down across the board… attendance down 30% and sales at the “back of the room” were down even more.

Lots of people I talk to are seeing an impact.

But, it doesn’t mean the end is near and your business is in trouble.

It DOES mean you have to get creative and start thinking out of the box on your marketing.

One of the most creative industries for fun promotions?

The sports industry.

And YES, it does apply to you.

No matter what field we are talking about (pun intended), the ideas behind these promotions could easily be changed to fit your own.

The sports marketing industry is very creative and they have to draw a lot of people out to their games… so their marketing had better be good!

Imagine if you had to get 10,000 people to pay you money every single week or month… what would you do?

Many with the marketing mindset aim for product launches and successful campaigns for single products.  But what would you do if you had a weekly event to sell out that delivered pretty well the same experience?

Here are some great ideas that sports teams have used to get people through the gates, money in hand.
As you go through these, PLEASE start thinking about how you could make one or more of them work in your business.

I guarantee they could… if you try.

* The promotions could be for a sale.
* For a launch.
* For a fun event.
* For a customer appreciation party.
* Or just to get some free publicity.
* As a co-operative promotion with other like-minded businesses
* As a seminar or workshop
* As a theme party you throw for all the photos and videos you could use

Or any one of a hundred different reasons to get your customers and prospects interacting with you.

Wacky Marketing from the field

Bald head night: anyone who has their head shaved gets in for free.

Mustache Appreciation Night: Fresno Grizzlies fans were encouraged to grow mustaches. They also were incented to encourage their friends to contribute $ to a worthy cause as part of the promotion.  Contests were also held for “best in show,” “best Tom Selleck look-alike,” and most pathetic attempt at a mustache.  Great times – and great results.

Second Chance Night: Probation officers got in for free.  As well as anyone who  brought in a traffic ticket and promised to never do it again also got in for free.

Kevin Federline Night: The first 3,000 fans got free temporary K-Fed tattoos. They also got to watch videos of K-Feds rise through the ranks, and a dance contest between the dance troop to which Kevin Federline once belonged and the Grizzlies’ mascot.

The Hagerstown (Maryland) Suns had a McDreamy Day: Everyone was encouraged to dress the medical part… and to know their medical lingo to win prizes.

Or what about Anger management night – held by the Augusta (Georgia) Green Jackets.  One of their rival teams manager had a meltdown… so let’s turn it into a promotion! They offered the first 250 fans free stress  balls and DVDs of the movie Anger Management.

[Look at all the new movies out and coming out on dvd – is there any way you can tie a promotion into the theme of the movie? The newest as of this week: Mall Cop, Valkyrie, My Bloody Valentine, Million Dollar Mutts, The Last Word, The Grudge, Flirting With Forty, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, New In Town, Addicted to Plastic, Defiance, Gran Torino. Street Fighters, 45 RPM, to name just a few]

How can you go wrong with a Britney Spears promo? She certainly gives us all lots of great opportunity to make fun of her antics. The Newark (New Jersey) Bears held a Britney Spears Baby Safety Night. Anyone who dressed as a baby, brought a baby toy, or brought an actual baby got in for free. Everybody else that attended received a brochure about baby safety.

[NOTE: before you get uptight about how "hokey" or "unprofessional" these events sound... remember how many TICKETS they sold.  Thousands and thousands of tickets sold per event.  They didn't worry about the "hokeyness" of the event... they cared about the newsworthy parts of the promotion only. News and buzz gets people talking about buying... these events did everything you and I should be aiming for!]

The San Antonio Missions held a Used Car Night and gave away a dozen luxury used automobiles randomly.

Or how about the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays and their College Course Giveaway Night? Each fan received a free three-credit course of their choice at nearby Kellogg Community College.

The Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball team is a master at using wacky promotions to get people in the seats.  Some of their events: a Run, Forrest, Run 5-K Race; My Hot Dog Is Green Night and Salute to the G-string Night in which select fans will receive a G-string.

Get this… they even had a Vasectomy Night where a lucky male fan would win a vasectomy. That was canceled after management received complaints.  Talk about getting some press!

Or this: they even staged a Nobody Night, locking out fans at the door as the club attempted to set a minor league record for lowest attendance at a game.

Steal of a deal. Recessionary promotion gone wild with the Minnesota twins offering an entire season (81 games) for only $250.  Comparable seats in New York go for $250 per seat – per game.

Hungry fans unite! The Athletics, Orioles, Rangers, Royals, Braves, Dodgers and Padres all have designated All-You-Can Eat sections for fans hungry to see more than a game. Ranging from $30 – $45 per person to eat their way through the game.

Musical fan fare.  The Pirates have offered up REO Speedwagon and Collective Soul and the Marlins offer KC and the Sunshine Band. The Devil Rays have the most interesting series featuring The Commodores, Trace Adkins, Kool And The Gang, LL Cool J and MC Hammer. (could you not offer something like this in any of your promotions with lesser know artists?)

Luring them in. The Twins promotion department hooked some new fans by offering a Joe Mauer fishing lure. Only available to the first 5,000 fans, this was a run away winner.
How about some NON sports promotions?

What about the Beer-for-Bags event, which the company promoted that they would accept beer for merchandise. They grew their sales by 20% using this promotion (including all the free publicity they received as well).  The company hopes to make “Beer For Bags” an annual event, as it is in Australia.

Gonigam’s World Furniture Mall near Chicago offered customers up to $10,000 of free furniture if the Chicago Bears shut out the Green Bay Packers (which they did).  The company had prize reimbursement insurance to cover their backs.  They saw huge traffic growth to their site and an increasing amount of new sales to people who never bought from them before.

Long John Silver’s offered to give customers free “Giant Shrimp” if NASA found conclusive evidence of an ocean on Mars.

This is a great list you could use anytime you need a promotion.

The key is to MAKE IT FIT.

I realize 99% of those who read this blog are NOT in the sports marketing business. But… so what?  Why can’t you put some time and effort into this list and find some ways to use these ideas?

Keep your eyes on the local news, industry news, Hollywood movies, strange trends, technology trends, and pretty well anything you see on the covers of the magazines like Star, National Enquirer, The Globe, etc (those are the ones the majority of the population reads… and you should be finding a way to tie into them!)

All it takes is some effort – and the results could be exceptional.

You won’t know until you try… right?

Thanks again.

To your success,

Troy White

Apr
14

Massive Success Through Swearing

By | Copywriting, Direct Mail, Marketing on the web

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Never before has such foul language proved itself as a major business tool.

By now, I do hope you have heard of Gordon Ramsey, host of ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ and ‘Hell’s Kitchen’.

If not, I would highly suggest watching the ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ show sometime soon.

First, a WARNING: Thin-skinned folks need not tune in.

If you cannot handle foul language and incredibly abrasive personalities, do not watch Gordon’s show!

He is rude, loud, in-your-face, and LOVES swearing to get his point across (and everything is a point, so pretty well every sentence consists of swear words).

I am not going to go too much into Gordon’s past, but, rest assured, this ex-professional Scottish football player has a list of credentials that is long, and highly admirable.

He is now working on his 25th restaurant and many of them have multiple Michelin stars to their name (the most recognized and influential culinary ratings guide).  He has multiple best selling cookbooks, 4 television shows and a DVD series, to name a few.

The story line behind a kitchen nightmare

Gordon comes into restaurants that are almost ready to close their doors, for any one of multiple different reasons.  He has 1 week to turn the business around and make it a success.

He is a no-bull guy and when he starts, there is no stopping him.

Why is this important to you?

Because Gordon’s formula for a 7-day business turnaround is one that each and every one of us should pay close attention to.  If you are looking to increase your sales, the ideas below will help you see new ideas you have never thought of before.  If you are struggling in your business or cash flow… go through each step below and reconstruct your business from the ground up.

Step #1: Figure out what you are selling now.

Sounds basic … but is it really?  When Gordon first steps into one of the restaurants he is about to makeover, he sits down for a meal.

While he waits for the different dishes he ordered, he watches carefully for the way the staff works, the way they treat customers, and the way customers are enjoying (or not) the food.

When the food shows up, he is usually disgusted in what they are passing off as main course meals.

Also, the restaurants that he steps into are almost always seriously lacking enough customers to stay in business.

Step #2: Who is behind this disaster they call a restaurant?

This is where the real truth starts to come out.  He interviews the owners, the servers, the head chef and the kitchen staff.

Usually, he finds one or two of them passionate about the business, the rest of them are putting in time between paychecks.

Typically the ingredients are sub-par, the menu confusing with too many options, and the actual food being delivered not worthy of a roadside burger stand.


Step #3: Find out what the customers REALLY want

Rarely is it what is being delivered!

The first thing to be done – - ASK THEM.

Find out what is missing on the restaurant scene.

Find out what foods they want the most, or that they have a tough time finding.

Find out who the regulars are and what they want.

Find out which restaurants are doing best in your area ? then go in there to sample their food and service, always looking for ideas to improvise upon.

And, very important, if it is a seasonal business or location … make sure that the restaurant caters to those who live there year round! Those are the people who keep the restaurant open…
catering to one-time tourists is a sure-fire way to bankruptcy.

Step # 4: Find the signature dishes

Such a simple concept that so many businesses (in every possible niche) completely ignore.

What is the one dish that the head chef enjoys making the most?

Usually, Gordon finds out that the chef has an incredible signature plate that is not on the menu.  Why?  The owner is usually the problem.  As Gordon says, ‘owners should never write the menu… the head chef should be the one to design the menu’.

Step #5 – Simplify the menu and the number of choices

Too many choices leave people confused and lacking in direction.

It also over complicates what is required in the kitchen to deliver what was promised (resulting in inferior quality on all the plates).

The menu is typically cut in less than half and the customers are usually very happy about the change.

Also, a large portion is NOT a secret to restaurant success.
Smaller portions reduce waste, and keep customers coming back for more.

Step #6: Systems ARE the key to success

Once the new menu has been created, putting systems in place to ensure consistent (and fast) delivery is key.

Being able to double business in a week, without loss in quality or without increase wait times, is something Gordon does in every restaurant he walks into.

Step # 7: Feet on the street marketing

Last, now that everything is in place and the systems have been tested on a smaller scale, they get busy.

Getting the staff all geared up in uniforms, loaded up with their new signature dishes, they hit the street and let anyone and everyone try out the new menu choices.

Usually, an afternoon of that and they have enough curiosity built up to guarantee their first night’s dinner is packed with diners and hungry new customers.

The 7-step formula above sounds simple, but it consistently turns failing restaurants around in 1 single week.

The customers love the new choices (the ones they told you to start making), the staff become much more motivated to deliver consistent service, and the restaurant very quickly starts to make a profit.

Gordon usually revisits the restaurant after a month or two to see if they have held together all the new changes.

9 times out of 10 they have held it together, stuck with the changes, and are enjoying more money than they have experienced in years.

And yes, this does apply to your business too.

* Figure out exactly what you are selling now

* Who is behind your business? What do the customers see? What
do they think?

* Find out what the customers REALLY want

* Find your signature offer

* Simplify the number of choices

* Systems ARE the key to success

* Feet on the street marketing

Last, a few side lessons from Gordon:

It IS about the image you portray

Use only the finest ingredients in areas the customers enjoy
most

What is the passion ? Where did it come from ? Find a way
to bring it back

Don’t take it personally… take it seriously.

It’s about the story you give them to tell others

When you hire a professional to help… try listening to their
advice for a change (not that any customers who hire a copywriter
or marketing consultant would ever ignore the advice of an expert!)

What you hear most on the show: ?%^&#ing HELL!! (which he says every time he sees something that is destroying the business…
about every 32 seconds you will hear him say ?%^&#ing HELL!

My favorite Gordon quote:

‘It’s been a process over the period of a decade. However, for me the secret is to make sure the business is running to perfection, with or without me.
That’s a challenge. You need to master that, and make sure there are no discrepancies, with or without you being there. But it’s a tough card to play.’

To your success,

Troy White