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Why Didn't I Think of That? Lead Generating Idea for Offline Businesses

by Summertime Dress
12 replies
Today I was visiting my local dry-cleaners and behold, in front of the cash register was a "contest-entry box" for a popular steak house. Fill in contact info and win a free dinner, one winner each month. Restaurant collects leads and implements series of follow-up mailings and offers.

Of course make it a see-through box with entries already inside for social proof.

Think of the application to so many offline businesses. Web designers could partner with local sign companies, "Win a free website".

Of course, the WIIFM factor must be addressed.

How would you invite local businesses to display your contest-entry box? And/or how would you apply this idea?
#businesses #generating #idea #lead #offline
  • Profile picture of the author JimmyD
    Like the idea Summertime and I will find ways of implementing it I think.
    You could offer the manager/owner a free meal for him/her to get them to run it, or maybe you could offer to advertise their business in the emails, etc. the possibilities are endless.
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  • Profile picture of the author BradleyC
    Joint Venture marketing is one of the oldest and still one of the most effective marketing strategies. Breaking down what Summertime shared ...
    • The Dry Cleaner is building their list to market to. Brilliant! This gives them a list of "interested" consumers since they are already customers they can market specials, offers and other things to. (FYI, this is not a lead generation strategy for the dry cleaner. It's a List Building strategy). Their only cost to this is one free dinner per month ... very low! Or it could be free (keep reading).
    • For the restaurant, they are generating a new sale and potential new customer. No cost to the restaurant at all. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
    Now, think about how you could use this for your own marketing. You could share this very effective and powerful strategy with local businesses and educate them on the advantages of building a list. With that you can sell Email Marketing and Email Capture to complement this.

    Then you can go to the Joint Venture partner (restaurant in this example) and explain the same thing to them ... two potential new customers for you! Then you can sell them other products and services on the back end.

    Taking this a step further, for your own business, think of how you can use this for your business. You find the businesses that cater to other businesses (B2B businesses) and explain the Joint Venture strategy for them and the advantages of building a list. You could be the joint venture partner and offer one free FanPage or Website or ?? to their customers.

    You could also give the item away FREE if the business shares with you all of the people who entered the contest so you can build your list as well. After all, these are all people who have an interest in what you're offering otherwise they wouldn't have put their name in the contest box.

    In the same respect, the restaurant could give away the meal free for the list of names collected at the Dry Cleaner. This would build a list for both businesses.

    The business builds their list, you make money by putting place the email marketing strategies and an offline appropriate email capture form on their website to continue building their list.

    In addition, you are gaining creditability off that business because their customers are seeing your name and info on the contest box. It's like an endorsement from that business (but you don't tell them this!!)

    Everyone wins!

    When you put together your marketing pieces to introduce this to businesses, one of the benefits is there's no cost to the business to build this all important list of names they can market to over and over again.

    Good stuff.

    Bradley
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    • Profile picture of the author SendCards
      I can see the clear box with a couple additional entry options for folks with phones and smartphones to capture even more entries. Personally I don't stop to enter as I am always in a rush.... But I would text or scan for an entry...

      1. SMS -Text WIN to 123456 to win a free dinner at ******* and

      2. QR - Scan the QR code to win a free dinner at ********

      I am thinking adding these entry options should increase entries.

      Cheers!

      WineGuy
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      • Profile picture of the author BradleyC
        I agree. Or you could use those approaches in an email as one of the emails sent out from the auto-responder as you build your list.

        There are so many ways to do a JV partnership and to capture consumers info from a contest box. The key for the contest box is two fold ...

        1) Easy, easy, easy for the consumer. No long drawn out questionnaires. Make it really easy for them to optin (using our terminology).
        2) An offer that's appealing to them.

        Bradley
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      • Profile picture of the author midasman09
        Banned
        "CROSS PROMOTIONS ARE WIN-WIN-WIN DEALS"

        Waaay Baaack in the 80's I was selling ads on Placemats. I'd offer to provide paper placemats to a restaurant for free....then make up a Sample and go out and get 12 to 16 Advertisers to buy an ad.

        Well...that was "ok"....however....my little ol' "promotion mind" said; "Why don't you do something EXTRA that will get Advertisers to PAY MORE?

        So....in the restaurants that were using my mats....I got the restaurants to agree to offer a "Free Steak Dinner for TWO!"....each and every month.

        And...to draw attention to this "Freebie"....I made up a large sign board annoucing the FREE Dinner.....I set on an easel and set it where diners could see it as they entered.

        On the Mats....was a notice about the "FREE Steak Dinner for 2". On the Back of each Ad was an "Entry Form" diners could fill in and drop in the Entry Box by my sign-easel.

        So....that was the start of my thinking about "Cross-Promotions".

        I then progressed to...."Win $25 Worth of Cleaning!" (got a local Dry Cleaner to agree)....just fill in the Form on the back of each ad and drop in box. "One Winner Picked each Month!"

        AND....doing this got MORE EXPOSURE to each of my advertisers.

        Then....fast forward to "Email Days". I placed Fish Bowls near the cash register of restaurants. The sign on the Fish Bowl said; "Drop Your Business Card Here...for our Monthly drawing for a FREE Dinner for Two"!

        Then....I did Cross-Promos. "Drop Your Business Card Here for a FREE OIL CHANGE! ($25 Value) 20 Winners Picked Each Month!

        Now....why would an Auto Repair Shop want to "GIVE AWAY 20 FREE OIL CHANGES....EVERY MONTH!"

        Answer....the Auto Repair guy KNEW that....they could find SOMETHING they could Repair on almost every vehicle they gave the free oil change to.

        And....why would the restaurant want to provide a "Fish Bowl" to collect business cards from THEIR CUSTOMERS....promoting someone ELSE'S business?

        Answer....knowing that most business cards had "Email Addys" the restaurant would be able to collect these Addys for a List they could send their "Special Offers" to....to BRING THEM BACK!"

        Update to 2011; We now use clear plastic boxes with an extension for a Card to be stuck in above the box...placed next to Cash Register....that announces "Drop Your Business Card here for FREE Website!"

        So....again...restaurant collects emails of their diners....We get free exposure of people LOOKING FOR A WEBSITE! (Why would they drop their Cards in the Box if they were NOT interested in a Website?)

        So....ALWAYS keep your eyes open for "Cross-Promotion" possibilities.

        Thanks for reading,

        Don Alm...."Promotion Guy"
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        • Profile picture of the author Bosco
          Originally Posted by midasman09 View Post

          "CROSS PROMOTIONS ARE WIN-WIN-WIN DEALS"



          Answer....knowing that most business cards had "Email Addys" the restaurant would be able to collect these Addys for a List they could send their "Special Offers" to....to BRING THEM BACK!"

          Update to 2011; We now use clear plastic boxes with an extension for a Card to be stuck in above the box...placed next to Cash Register....that announces "Drop Your Business Card here for FREE Website!"


          Don Alm...."Promotion Guy"
          Since those weren't double opt in emails you were sending out, did you (do you) get spam complaints and hosting difficulties?

          By the way, I LOVE the SMS approach. It is definitely the wave of the future.
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          Have you started ANY prepping yet? Got some back up food and water at least? (Just askin')
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          • Profile picture of the author Summertime Dress
            Today I went back for my dry cleaning and on closer inspection, discovered several interesting things about this marketing box:

            1. The dry cleaner was doing it voluntarily (no gain on his part because he "didn't need any more advertising"...go figure)

            2. The contest entry box was actually placed there by a local chiropractor according to the dry cleaner. Not the restaurant as I had originally thought (pays to read the fine print).

            3. The fine print on the entry read,

            Register for a free dinner.

            "This complimentary dinner and presentation presented by our doctors and staff is designed to help you find the cause of your problems and improve the quality of your life. Presented by Name of Practice..."

            4. Entry card asked age, contact info, place of employment, full time/part time, spouse's place of employment, full time/part time, and major health concerns related to chiro, best time to call.

            5. Nowhere on the form did it mention the words chiropractic or chiropractor.

            6. Entry form did not ask for an email.

            7. Entry forms were neon pink and neon yellow.
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    • Profile picture of the author Qamar
      Originally Posted by BradleyC View Post

      Joint Venture marketing is one of the oldest and still one of the most effective marketing strategies. Breaking down what Summertime shared ...
      • The Dry Cleaner is building their list to market to. Brilliant! This gives them a list of "interested" consumers since they are already customers they can market specials, offers and other things to. (FYI, this is not a lead generation strategy for the dry cleaner. It's a List Building strategy). Their only cost to this is one free dinner per month ... very low! Or it could be free (keep reading).
      • For the restaurant, they are generating a new sale and potential new customer. No cost to the restaurant at all. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
      Now, think about how you could use this for your own marketing. You could share this very effective and powerful strategy with local businesses and educate them on the advantages of building a list. With that you can sell Email Marketing and Email Capture to complement this.

      Then you can go to the Joint Venture partner (restaurant in this example) and explain the same thing to them ... two potential new customers for you! Then you can sell them other products and services on the back end.

      Taking this a step further, for your own business, think of how you can use this for your business. You find the businesses that cater to other businesses (B2B businesses) and explain the Joint Venture strategy for them and the advantages of building a list. You could be the joint venture partner and offer one free FanPage or Website or ?? to their customers.

      You could also give the item away FREE if the business shares with you all of the people who entered the contest so you can build your list as well. After all, these are all people who have an interest in what you're offering otherwise they wouldn't have put their name in the contest box.

      In the same respect, the restaurant could give away the meal free for the list of names collected at the Dry Cleaner. This would build a list for both businesses.

      The business builds their list, you make money by putting place the email marketing strategies and an offline appropriate email capture form on their website to continue building their list.

      In addition, you are gaining creditability off that business because their customers are seeing your name and info on the contest box. It's like an endorsement from that business (but you don't tell them this!!)

      Everyone wins!

      When you put together your marketing pieces to introduce this to businesses, one of the benefits is there's no cost to the business to build this all important list of names they can market to over and over again.

      Good stuff.

      Bradley
      Hi Bradley and other expErience Warriors, I am about to launch something like this for local biz in my areas.

      I noticed about 90-95% of these local biz websites' did not have an optin form!

      However,I some concerns that needed to be addressed.

      I need any suggestion/system on how to structure this service?

      As for now, I am planning to charge them a fee for an optin form installation.
      I plan to collect their lead using my Aweber account so they don't have to.
      They will have to supply me the materials to be emailed to their list.
      or if they cannot do this, I will do it for them for a fee.
      When their email list start to grow, how to justify the pricing for this service?

      I need to see what's already working with email marketing service for offline before I can fully commit to this idea.

      Nevertheless, I have very strong confident that this idea will work.
      Thanks,

      Qamar
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  • Profile picture of the author TyBrown
    Originally Posted by Summertime Dress View Post

    Today I was visiting my local dry-cleaners and behold, in front of the cash register was a "contest-entry box" for a popular steak house. Fill in contact info and win a free dinner, one winner each month. Restaurant collects leads and implements series of follow-up mailings and offers.

    Of course make it a see-through box with entries already inside for social proof.

    Think of the application to so many offline businesses. Web designers could partner with local sign companies, "Win a free website".

    Of course, the WIIFM factor must be addressed.

    How would you invite local businesses to display your contest-entry box? And/or how would you apply this idea?
    Back when I was 17 I worked at a security system company and we'd place lead gen boxes at different businesses offering a free system. Of course EVERYONE won the free system as long as they were willing to pay for monthly 'hosting' (can't remember what we called it).

    In any case, looking back it was funny. Nearly every business I went into agreed to put the lead gen box in there with nothing in it for them. I don't know if that would still be the case but it was pretty easy to get these boxes placed.
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  • Profile picture of the author jewel3000
    Fun question...

    To solicit partners who'd want to know WIIFM, I might offer to create a free SEO mini-site reviewing / profiling their services or products.

    I'd link the mini-site to their main website (if they have one), and also give my own site a link in the credit line, offering to provide the same online marketing service for other businesses.

    For the contest prize, I'd probably offer an "online marketing package." This might include Facebook visibility, Tweets, SEO press releases, a mini-site. This, because I don't technically build websites, only my own (which is tough enough

    Are you going to try something of your idea? I like it, and think it could:
    -- build a nice local email list for you
    -- seed a number of new clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Rivers
    Hey Summertime,

    I had a similar experience!

    I was thinking that many folks who use dry cleaners are business owners and service professionals, so I would simply put up a podium stand with flyer offering a free online video course or report.

    There would be a small tear off below the flyer for interested people to take.

    Just a thought at this point, but I'll follow up after I implement.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Valerie DuVall
    I think the key to success is to pay attention to Bradley's comments.

    The dry cleaner offer works is because it is a business to consumer offer. Many of the dry cleaners customers will be consumers.

    I can't prove it but I doubt a large percentage of the dry cleaners customers are business owners which would make business to business offers like free websites a tough "sell".

    Val
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