April 9 2004

Maximize client satisfaction

and client purchases

 

Have you ever noticed that most things in life are done just to get by? Most people simply exist. They don’t go the extra step

 

I was in my local Borders bookstore the other day, and I noticed a whole display upfront of Harry & David merchandise. The way they have the check out line set up is they weave you through a menagerie of displays full of various types of merchandise: cards, notepads, small gift books, etc. And of course you have to look through everything! I’ve found some great gifts in this line. But as I was moving through the line, there sat an entire display of Harry & David products. Small gift type products that work well for adding to a small gift. What a great idea.

 

The more I thought about this idea, the more I was impressed with this marketing tactic. Borders has a huge store, one small display does not take over much of their room. By setting up a strategic alliance with Harry & David, they are offering one more choice to their customers, and are introducing a great product to people that may have never tried or heard of them before. Borders is making a percentage of the profits, and Harry & David is selling more merchandise then just through their own stores and catalogs.

 

Find one business that you can provide a service to by offering your product for sale through their business. Then work on developing a relationship with them, and develop a plan to help increase the revenues of both companies. Every business has a complimentary business that would provide value-added benefits to both companies. Your job as a marketer is to find those companies, and work with the person in  charge to convince them of the double beneifts. When you get one program working well, it's easy to move around to other companies and repeat the process.