Concession Classics Are Still Profit Packed

It’s easy to look at this photo from the late 1960s/early 70s and only notice how different times are now. Beside the obvious style changes, there aren’t TVs, computers, cell phones, or other distractions in the photos. Just two people hoping to make a lot of money with popcorn, cotton candy (Circus Candy), hot dogs, and sodas.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. The foods that were big money-makers then are still profit packed today. You can have all the modern bells and whistles, but make sure you have the basics covered: popcorn, cotton candy, and Sno-Kones®.

The other big changes over the years have been the popularity of “new” foods like nachos, the number of pre-packaged items (cotton candy, nachos, or caramel corn) and increased flavor options. Basically, customers want good food fast, and want to more control over what they eat.

You can keep up with the demand without breaking the bank. Start small because too many options can lead to more confusion and slower wait time. And look around at what’s popular in your area.

Just like the people in this photo, your goal should be to appeal to customers with proven money makers and good customer service. Because when people 40 or 50 years from now look back at what we do today, they’ll be thinking how far they’ve come since “way back when” and marvel that we enjoyed some of the foods that are still timeless classics.

Mix Up Your Marketing For Increased Sales

Have you evaluated your marketing mix lately? True profits come from sales staff on the streets and are backed by memorable marketing efforts. Your community should think of you first for any concession need. Below are a few, easy tips to help you break out of the traditional marketing mix.

Put a “Face” to Your Business
Your time is spread thin, so look at any involvement like a business deal and evaluate the ROI (Return on Investment).

* Consider supporting a charity your customers and community care about

* Write a newspaper column

* Be a guest blogger

* Speak at an event

* Serve on a non-profit board or join a chamber of commerce

Combine Direct Mail with E-Marketing
While social media and E-marketing efforts are effective, many people still look forward to receiving mail and respond to these pieces. Try both and keep in mind these tips for best results.

* Don’t waste money; make sure to continuously update your mailing lists

* Offer opt-in programs on your Website or on any printed piece, including
invoices

* Offer a carrot to get contact information. Combine special deals on social
media sites and support efforts with direct mail pieces

* Avoid SPAM filters. Don’t use: Free, Gurantee(d), One time only, $$, Apply now, ALL CAPS, Excessive punctuation (!! or ??)

* Always include the option to be removed from a mail list

Do Phone Calls Beat Social Media?

Recently, there has been a lot of chatter about the best way to reach your customers. Some claim the speed and instant gratification of Twitter and Facebook are the best way to handle PR and respond to clients. Others angrily shout true customer service can only be given with human contact.

While both have their pros and cons, you must use your best judgment on how to respond to customers. For example, social media is great way to promote upcoming sales, events, and generally keep your customers informed. But nothing can beat the calming, effective way of diffusing a problem one-on-one.

Or, consider combining the two for the best results. Shout good news from the mountain tops with Twitter teases and phone calls to your best customers. Or, if you are trying to turn a prospect, lead with your accomplishments on the call.

Lastly, you can test out what works best for your market. Offer a specific deal for FB and Twitter followers, then a separate one to only those customers who you speak with on the phone or in the office. Assign each one a specific code and track what gets the best results.

Whatever you do, do not to put all your eggs in one basket. There isn’t an exact science to the perfect customer service. People will respond to different campaigns and may turn to another business if you don’t offer options.

Let us know what you think?

Now Presenting the 2011 Gold Medal Products Catalog

This week, the 67^th edition of our catalog comes out. Every year, we have offered the printed catalog (and recently started adding the online edition) to customers and potential customers alike. Now, I know…many places have nixed the printed version and opted, instead, for just an online version. “It’s cheaper and easier” they say. Although I can’t disagree with them, there is still a valuable place for the printed catalog. For one thing, when you present someone with a printed catalog or brochure, they are inclined to stop, hold it and look at it. More attention is given to that piece and they are more likely to spend time looking at it. It might even sit on their desk for a couple of days giving you a greater chance of getting them to look at your catalog and following up with them. According to website marketing statistics, you have 6 seconds to explain to the viewer exactly what you do and why they should choose you. And unless they know that they want to go just to your website to view your catalog, and that they remember your website name, you may end up being part of a list of options between similar companies fighting for their attention. Therefore, you have a better chance of truly grabbing the attention of your customer by giving them a printed catalog or brochure.

What will make you a valuable asset to your customer is showing them how you can meet their needs by offering access to a highly effective, visually-appealing printed catalog and efficient and easy to use digital catalog, proving to your client that regardless of how their business functions, you are prepared to accommodate their needs now and in the future.

Choosing the Right Name for Your Business

Picking the right name for your business can mean the difference between customer confusion and instant, profitable recognition and recollection. Some believe an oddly unique name can be the most memorable. Just remember, if you question it, mostly likely others will be confused too and you should keep it simple.

First consider what your key product is and who your target market will be. Next, think about where you want to have the most impact. Lastly, the world is becoming more connected through technology; think of key words that people would search for when looking for your specialty service.

For example, Bob’s Shop is not as memorable as Springfield’s Sweets and Popcorn. It quickly tells people where you are, what you do, and includes key search words.

Whatever you choose, do your homework before investing in a name. Nothing is worse than putting money behind a name only to find out you can’t legally use it, or having a similar business name that may confuse your customers and stop them from finding you. Plus, make sure your name is prominent in all your marketing. From traditional pieces to giveaways—for the example above, Bob could give away sample packs, suckers, and scratch & sniff stickers.

Marketing trends for 2011

As we jump into 2011, certain marketing trends will serve us well in the coming year:

1. Social media is here to stay. This is a trend that will definitely continue in 2011. We need to stop thinking about the “cool factor” and really focus in on the true customer interactions that can happen with an effective SM strategy. Let’s figure out how to use these interactions to inform future marketing efforts and maximize customer value.


2. Lead nurturing is at the forefront. For years, marketers have discussed demand generation and have looked at increasing the number of new leads as the most important activity. It is certainly an important focus and continues to drive revenue. But it seems that now we have turned a (good) corner. The focus should not only be on how many leads we have coming in, but how we can nurture these leads, generate true interest and improve their sales readiness. In this way, we can maximize the ROI of our lead generation programs and cost per lead while passing truly qualified leads to our sales teams.


3. Understanding the marketing system. In the past, marketers had a tendency to take a top-down approach to their strategy. We worked on campaigns, on PR, on our websites, etc. But reality has finally set in. We must look at the overall system. Instead of looking at your efforts in a linear fashion, think about it as a circular process – for example, how to create a Website so that it takes advantage of social media, uses content to fuel media interest, and how the next campaign will feed off of this content and maximizes the value of the online interactions of customers and website visitors. Then, use the results of all of these to inform what you will do next week, next month, next quarter.


4. Focus on building relationships. This one is really nothing new or earth-shattering. But we do think that it is critical and one that’s easy to forget as we are all under pressure to generate leads and increased revenue, to do what is new and exciting especially in our digitally-focused world. The key is to figure out which of these strategies will really enable us to engage, to connect and to build the relationships that are so critical in our ever competitive-environment. How do we show the marketplace that we really understand the challenges and then how we bring the right solutions to the table? We need to think about PEOPLE and their NEEDS to solve real problems…not companies, not just demographics.