FRIDGE Magnet Marketing... "stickiness strategies."
FRIDGE Magnet Marketing... "stickiness strategies."
"As much as things change they stay the same."
As an OFFline marketer it's interesting to observe a trend
emerging on the web.
What's this trend?
Well, what's now happening is that highly successful
promotional techniques, - which have been part and parcel of
everyday, (offline) small business marketing campaigns - now
have their web-equivalents.
OFFLINE:
* Company A is in the marketplace competing with a lot of
other Company A's.
Businesses have to find ways to keep their products and/ or
services within the orbit of their potential customers ever-
diminishing attention span.
* Advertising is expensive. Advertising Messages have to be
continually repeated to maintain a presence in the
marketplace. The Advertiser with the biggest budget can pay
for the biggest presence (Note: this doesn't always
translate into sales though.)
* Give-aways, freebies, contests, valuable guarantees, trial
use, buy one - get one free, referral systems and loss
leaders are used to attract customer attention.
___________________________________________________________
ONLINE: Notice the web similarities with these existing
bricks and mortar promotional techniques here? Many of these
offline promotional techniques are now becoming common fare
on the web.
ENTER The Fridge Magnet concept... "stickiness systems."
An excellent example of this trend in action is the old
fridge (refrigerator) magnet technique. Offline, it's a
simple, cheap and EXTREMELY effective technique. ONLine it
will achieve the same results.
Why? Two phrases "Repetition & human laziness."
Here's how the fridge magnet system works, OFFline.
1. Company A makes contact with a potential customer through
a variety of different promotional techniques. Smart
companies know that a person is unlikely to buy from them
the first time. Repetition is the key.
2. As one of their strategies Company A gives the potential
customer their FRIDGE magnet, which has all of their contact
details on it. The potential customer puts this magnet up on
the door of their fridge to (usually) hold a variety of
flyers and
notes.
Why a fridge magnet and not a bedroom closet magnet?
Well, it's simple. Everybody in the household goes to the
fridge many times a day. The magnet becomes a "familiar."
3. Next. The potential customer has a problem, "I need a
plumber."
They've seen the Plumber's Fridge magnet many times.
Repetition. It's now a familiar.
Enter human laziness... "Oh, there's that plumber's fridge
magnet. I'll try them."
BINGO. New customer.
___________________________________________________________
Now, HERE'S HOW THIS SAME PROCESS WORKS ONline.
1. Person A has a problem. They search for a solution
online, or come across a site through a variety of other
methods (links, ads etc.)
2. The site interests them. It may well solve an existing
or future problem for them, so they bookmark the site in
their favorites. They fully intend to come back to the site
later... "when they are not busy."
However, as they don't see this bookmark regularly it
doesn't become a familiar. It fades from memory... "where
was that site about...?"
SOLUTION..
TURN your site into an electronic FRIDGE magnet by using a
simple, yet sophisticated stickiness system to get your "Ad"
onto their desktop.
You then become a familiar, and when that customer is ready
for your particular web solution they'll contact you first.
SYAS (See You Again Software) has 3 very cool stickiness
systems that focus on claiming that desktop for you. You
can get a FREE trial here.
http://hyperTracker.com/go/WEBpro1/SYAS/
Kenneth Doyle - e*Analyst
http://www.feedyourhungrymind.com
___________________________________________________________
"If you haven't worked this out, you soon will.
There's a lot of NONsense zapping around in cyber-space.
Find out what works, what doesn't... and what's worth your
money." Subscribe to the e*Analyst ezine -
mailto:editor@webpro.par32.com?subject=subscribe
___________________________________________________________
About the Author
Born with the promotional strategist's gene... followed by
twenty successful years in Media, Marketing, PR and
copywriting.
http://www.feedyourhungrymind.com
|