I recently stopped by Forward Pharmacy to pick up a prescription. While there, tucked away in the WAY back, I happened to stumble upon their clearance rack of women’s apparel. It caught me by surprise because I had never seen a clearance rack there and I typically have razor sharp eyes when it comes to finding good deals. (And who knew a local pharmacy would have trendy, cute clothes at such an amazing price?) While I was checking out with my prescription and two new dresses, I asked why they didn’t have the rack out front or even outside. The response was something I hear all the time. Basically, they don’t remember to pull it out and/or see it as an important thing to do (it’s a pharmacy not a clothes store, right?). Are you forgetting or overlooking products or services that might seem small or non-relevant to you, but might be a big deal to your audience? My marketing advice: Don’t assume. Your audience doesn’t know what they don’t know. If you don’t bring a service to their attention, how will they know to ask for it? Here’s a for instance. You have a product with seven unique benefits. Don’t assume your clients understand these benefits, tell them. An easy way to do that is to put a post on Facebook listing one benefit for the next seven months. You never know where your message/advertising is going to cross paths with a consumer on their purchasing journey. Or, maybe your company sells large industrial equipment and that’s where your marketing dollars are spent. But what about the smaller or mid-size items on your floor? There’s likely an audience out there that might not even know you have a smaller scale item available (and THAT might just what they’re looking for). Plus, that smaller purchase might lead to something bigger when the time is right. Are your business hours 9:00 am - 6:00 pm when your competition is only open 9:00 am - 5:00 pm? Get that message out there! That extra hour could make a big difference--but only if your local community knows about it. A homework assignment for you: Take a moment to think of the smaller, hidden products or services you offer and think about how you might bring attention to them. Not sure where to start? I’m happy to meet for coffee and hear about what’s going on in your world. Sometimes, having an outside perspective is just the kickstart you need.
This Marketing Minute is brought to you by Sarah Hurley, owner at Weber Marketing, LLC.