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Hello {!firstname_fix}
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A real-life marketing story -- that begins well

Today's story begins well. Very well, actually.

I am always amazed when I see a small business that performs an extraordinarily effective marketing strategy and tactic.

This story is about a hair and spa salon that had just opened a new location in Watertown. Let's call it, 'Hair and Spa Salon,' (not their real name--in case you couldn't tell :0).

Here's the good part.

My wife, Maria, belongs to a local women's club designed to provide women with the opportunity to meet and socialize with other women in the area.

They have lots of fun activities throughout the year, and also raise funds for selected charities in the area.

From time to time, local business owners come to the club meetings and share interesting facts about Watertown and/or their professions, etc. That's good for the members, but it's also good for the businesses, because they get to introduce their businesses to these members.

Every once in a while, one of these local businesses goes beyond the expected and couples their presentation with a compelling offer for the members to try their services.

Recognize that strategy? Yes, it's The Give to Get strategy.

That's what Hair and Spa did.

The owner didn't offer to come to a meeting. Instead she offered to put on a complimentary 'Spa Night Out,' at their location just for the club members. There are around 40-50 members, but only 25-30 really active members.

Do you think the women of this club might have been interested in a complimentary 'Spa Night Out,' offer? Well, they were!

About twenty of the members signed up.

This was a terrific 'Give to Get' offer

When spa night arrived, the women were treated like royalty. It was 'party night' at the spa. Hair and Spa actually opened their shop after hours to host this special night for them.

When it came to food, they didn't skimp with just pretzels and chips. They provided shrimp cocktail, sausage and cheese, wine and other beverages, as well as chocolate from a local candy shop.

They also took the members on a tour of their new facilities and gave descriptions of their many services.

Each member was also offered complimentary chair massages, personal make-up tips, personal hair styling consultations and a paraffin hand treatment--whatever that is?? But, whatever it was, apparently the women loved it. Hair and Spa made a huge, positive impression on every member.

The members registered to win a special door prize--a $50 Gift Certificate. This was their way of getting the names and addresses of the members so that they could follow up with them in the future with appealing offers on their services. Very smart. Very Give to Get.

When the two-hour event came to an end, each member was given a gift bag that included shampoo, lotion, chocolate treats, a brochure and--this is a very important element--a $20 Gift Certificate good for 60 days.

I was very impressed. Obviously, the owner of Hair and Spa was a very astute marketer. She understood the power behind a solid Give to Get strategy.

First of all, she knew that these club members were her perfect target prospects. She also knew that she had services and products that they would want.

Her goal was to introduce her business to all of the members, and make a huge, positive impact on them. She wanted to have them walk away happy and never forget their spa night at Hair and Spa.

But as a wise marketer, she also wanted to leave them with a strong Call to Action--something that they would have to make a decision on--soon.

That's why she gave each of the members a tangible and compelling offer--her $20 Gift Certificate--that was only good for 60 days. That expiration forces them to make a decision--use it or lose it.

She knew that a percentage of the members would take her up on her offer. And she also knew that as long as she treated them well, that a percentage of those members would become long-term customers.



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We'll continue Part 2 in our next issue.

If you have any comments you'd like to share about this article, just hit reply and send me an email.

Until next time, we wish you the very best marketing success.

Joe Gracia
Give to Get Marketing
http://www.givetogetmarketing.com





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About the Author:
Copyright 2000-2008 Joe Gracia. All rights reserved.
Joe Gracia is small business marketing expert with over 30-years of hands-on experience. You can get hundreds of marketing tips at his www.givetogetmarketing.com web site, or sign up for this Give to Get PowerTips Newsletter at www.givetogetmarketing.com/free-ezine.html
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