What if I told you there is a marketing strategy you can use to dramatically increase your customer and client base, and it has nothing to do with social media, running ads, networking, joint ventures, speaking engagements, or anything like that.
Would you like to know what it is? Let me tell you in the form of a short story.
I live in the southern part of the state of Washington, and occasionally make the drive to Seattle. I grew up near San Francisco, so I like to be surrounded in the big city atmosphere from time to time. As you may know, the Seattle area is well known for their high quality, incredibly tasty seafood. There are dozens and dozens of fish markets spread throughout the entire city. But one fish market is by far the most busy; in fact, it seems as though any day I go, there is always an enormous crowd flooding this place. That fish market is Pike Place Fish Market, and it is world famous.
So why is it world famous? Why do you have to sift your way through an enormous crowd just to buy a piece of raw fish? Because the workers there toss it around to each other before they wrap it for you. Seriously.
You see, it's never entirely about the product. They didn't get the fish from some mystical oasis where only the finest tasting fish roam (at least I don't think so?). They put on a show. They entertain you. They bring excitement to an event as boring as buying a dead fish. They will sing sailor songs, interact with the crowd, even throw a fake, stuffed salmon in to the audience to catch people off guard. They make it fun.
That's the marketing tactic I'm sharing with you; to create experiences that are memorable; that people will remember forever, and won't stop talking about. When you figure out how to accomplish that, the rewards are incredible; both for your bank account and your being. Here's a few benefits to revamping your customer experience:
Growing from your raving fans: In the case of Pike Place Fish Market, they started with the idea of putting on a show with their fish, but after building up raving fans that loved the experience and shared it with others, now people also go to them simply because it's popular. Having a huge crowd feeds their growth by popularity even more.
Charge higher prices: Because the demand for their product is increasing, and they are providing more than just the fish, but a show as well, they can now increase their prices. And if you've ever bought from Pike Place Fish Market, you know that their prices are higher than average.
Marketing costs decrease: Because they let the customers do the talking for them, the majority of the new business is coming from people that loved the experience and spread the word online and offline. This is a superior way to market because instead of force feeding their message to consumers that don't care (via traditional ways of marketing), their product is being marketed to others by trusted people in their lives that don't have anything to gain by recommending them. Remember, people trust their family and friends more than they trust you as a business owner.
So my challenge for you is this. Perform open heart surgery on your business. Dive deep in to how you can dramatically improve the customer experience in a similar way to that of Pike Place Fish Market. No, that does not mean buy some fish to toss around your business lobby. Look in to how you can add an entertainment factor to the services or products you provide. Find ways that you can help solve even more problems for your customers and clients, or solve existing problems in better ways. Discover possibilities to treat and work with your customers the way you would friends or family.
Your business' life depends on it.
Jeremy has even more marketing tips to share with you at jeremysandow.com