Crippled CEO Blog #140:
Approximately 127 years ago, back when I used to go out to night clubs, all of the attention in the room would turn to the parade of sexy servers, proudly carrying a liquor bottle like a trophy with sparklers shooting out of it. Sometimes the DJ would make note of it, also, just in case anyone missed the display. We would all watch the customer, the hero of this performance, take possession of the bottle, and inevitably, it wouldn’t be long until someone else, wanting the same experience, ordered another, and another parade of ladies snaked through the club with the fireworks and liquor held high.
That same bottle could be purchased for $40 at the store, but the night club would sell it for $300. And they would sell a lot of them.
Nobody is paying for the actual vodka. They are paying to be the subject of aspiration — to be, for a moment, the person everyone else wants to be.
I’ve seen the same idea employed at a charity gala. During the “call to giving“ after dinner, the MC called for donations, almost like an auction. The biggest donors were given this big glowing thing — praise and adulation heaped on them in front of everybody. Just like with the bottle, it wasn’t long until more people started raising their hands to give.
We all know that we should market to get more customers (hopefully). However, I think you should be spending a good portion of your marketing budget finding ways to celebrate your existing customers. Not only do you make that customer much more loyal and increase the probability that they will turn from a customer into a client (more on that in next week‘s blog), but few things will get people to buy from you as successfully as making what you offer something to aspire to. And they’ll pay more for it, too — just like the people paying $300 for the $40 bottle of booze.
Make a big deal out of a customer’s purchase. Ask to take a picture of them with whatever they’ve bought and post it on your socials. I’ve seen real estate agents and car dealerships do this, but it really could be anything. Maybe do a short video interview with your customer, asking them how they got to be so smart and amazing, and then post that. Maybe pick a customer of the week that you highlight publicly, talk about glowingly, and celebrate.
Testimonials are great, but making people envy your customer for being your customer… that’s even better.
(Happy Father’s Day! Thankfully, the only girl who calls me daddy is your mom. I’m happy to report that I’ve gotten through yet another Father’s Day with no surprise cards showing up in my mailbox. If things keep going well with your mom, maybe you’ll be getting me a card next year. Your mom also gets a text from me every Sunday with a link to the latest blog post. Send a text to 561-726-1567 with the word CRIP as the message to get a link to the blog as soon as it’s up.
Did you know that I have a YouTube channel now? I do! I am putting up two videos every single week. Go search for Crippled CEO and you’ll find me. I would appreciate it if you subscribed.)
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