Take a look at our newsletter this month.
THE
OCTOBER 2018
IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS BIRTHDAYS AND GOOD BUSINESS October may be just about my favorite time of year in Columbus. The days become brisk but not freezing, baseball is wrapping up while football is kicking off, and the trees start showing their autumn colors. It’s one of those times of year you can really feel the passage of time. This goes double for me, since my birthday is this month.
goodness relationships matter. Don’t believe me? Check out the next page and see how well CrossFit 313 is doing with their member-first approach.
At some point as we get older, we stop caring about the gifts themselves and more about the sentiment behind them.
Now, the last thing I want to do is make this newsletter about my birthday. If I did that, I might have to tell you how old I am. Instead, I want to talk about what I’d like to do for your birthday, if you’re up for it. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to build a database of our clients’ birthdays so we can send you a gift on your special day. Getting a project like that put together will take some work, but the approach of my own big day has really put things in perspective. Everyone wants to feel special on their birthday, and our fans and customers are special to us. Putting in the time to make this gift database a reality is worth it to me. If you have a birthday coming up, or just want to make sure you’re on this list, send me an email at dave@drinko2.com. Believe it or not, I first got this idea from a shorts company. If you know me, you know I like Chubbies shorts and shirts, but more than their clothing, I like the way they treat their customers. If you’re on their mailing list, Chubbies will send you a funny birthday email, complete with memes and a $5 gift card. Not a big investment on their part — $5 won’t be getting me a new pair of swim trunks anytime soon — but the gesture mattered. I felt connected to the brand. This is something affiliate owners should pay attention to. Giving your members gifts is more than just a nice gesture; it’s smart business. We’ve got a cost breakdown on Page 2 of how it can be directly profitable to give away O2, but for now, I want to focus on the big picture. When you’re trying to grow your box, retention and referrals matter. Keeping your current gymgoers engaged to the point that they feel comfortable recommending your box to a friend ultimately comes down to how your members feel about you, your coaches, and your box. More than any marketing gimmicks or social media strategies, honest-to-
Take advantage of every opportunity to remind your members you care about them as individuals. Birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones should be celebrated, even in small ways. CrossFit is, after all, about community. Giving someone a can of O2 and some swag along with a “Happy birthday!” can go a long way. It may sound cliché, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve learned it really is the thought that counts. At some point as we get older, we stop caring about the gifts themselves and more about the sentiment behind them. Just knowing you have people in your life beyond your immediate family who care about you enough to wish you a happy birthday can be a powerful thing. Not long ago, a friend got me a book they thought I’d like: “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight. Not only was this book right up my alley, the fact that this friend put the time and effort into picking it out for me was incredibly moving. As a business owner, I want my relationship with you to matter. Maybe that means sharing my experiences with you through this newsletter, or perhaps it means sending you a gift for your birthday. Your willingness to put your trust in O2 means the world to me and my team. After I blow out the candles this year, I’ll be raising a toast to great folks like you who have made this year absolutely incredible.
Cheers,
–Dave Colina Founder, O2
O2 | PAGE 1 | DRINKO2.COM
A LESSON IN WHAT NOT TO DO
Every marketing professional wants their campaign to be memorable. They want consumers to take notice — or take the bait — and make their company a big profit. But sometimes, things don’t go exactly as planned. The campaigns below certainly won the attention of consumers, but in each case, what started out as a marketing dream quickly turned into a nightmare. FIAT’S DIRECT MAIL DISASTER In 1992, women across Spain received anonymous letters inviting them to go on a “little adventure.” The letters stated, “We met again on the street yesterday, and I noticed how you glanced interestedly in my direction.” Fearing a stalker, many women locked themselves in their homes. A few days later, another letter arrived, revealing the identity of the “secret admirer” as the new Fiat Cinquecento. Yes, the creepy letters were part of a marketing campaign by the Italian car company. Fiat apologized and ended the campaign after criticism from consumer protection groups, Social Minister Cristina Alberdi, and the 50,000 women who received the letters. KFC AND HOOVER CAN’T DO MATH A shocking number of companies hold giveaway promotions without calculating exactly how much they will cost. Here are a few examples.
THE ECONOMICS OF GIVING DISTILLED INSIGHTS
On the cover, Dave talks about how gifting products to your members on special occasions can be a powerful gesture and smart business. In case any of you were unconvinced, let’s game out two scenarios, using O2 as an example, to illustrate how profitable giving away free cans and offering sales can be. Put on your math hats — it’s time to crunch some numbers. FREEBIES To keep things simple, let’s say you have 100 new members join your gym in one year. Taking Dave’s advice, you give each of these newbies a can of O2 as a welcome gift. Since O2 costs you $2.09 per can, you’re out $209. Or are you? Most folks who try O2 love it. But let’s be extremely conservative and say that out of all of your new members, just 10 of them become regular buyers, drinking two cans a week. The numbers add up quickly. If you have 10 members buying two cans a week at $3 a can spread across 52 weeks, that’s $3120 in retail sales from these members alone. Whoa. SALES You know we’re big fans of affiliates like CrossFit Unstoppable that have done “$2 Tuesday” sales of O2 in the past. The rules were simple: Members could buy one can of O2 that day for $2. Not only was this a great way to introduce our new caffeine free flavors to longtime members, it’s also a sound business decision.
Here’s the breakdown:
Let’s say that on the day of the sale, Unstoppable sold 48 cans. Since these sold at $.09 below cost, they’re down $4.32 for the day. But look at the big picture — 48 people bought O2. Assuming only half of them have ever tried our natural recovery drink before, that’s 24 new members exposed to the brand! Now, if just 18 of these newcomers like what they tasted, and became regular O2 drinkers (two cans a week), Unstoppable is looking at $32.76 dollars in profit per week, or $1,703.52 in profit per year. Suddenly that $4.32 investment doesn’t seem so bad after all.
Whether through freebies or sales, this sort of generosity pays off tenfold. Not only are you increasing your retail figures in the long run, you’re giving your members something they can feel good about!
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• Back when “Oprah” was the biggest show on television, KFC ran an ad offering a free two-piece chicken meal with two sides and a biscuit for anyone who went to their website and downloaded a coupon. Over 10.5 million coupons were downloaded, and KFC had to give away $42 million in free food. • In the 1990s, Hoover Company in the United Kingdom offered two round-trip plane tickets with the purchase of a vacuum. Unfortunately, even in the ‘90s, most vacuums were still cheaper than plane tickets, and Hoover lost 50 million pounds in what remains the biggest promotional disaster ever. CARTOON NETWORK CAUSES A BOMB SCARE Guerrilla marketing can create valuable word of mouth — think about the success of the movie “IT” last year. The marketing for the film included simple red balloons tied to storm drains. But Cartoon Network didn’t have quite the same luck in 2007 when they tried to promote their show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” When the network put electronic devices featuring a character from the show all over Boston, city residents thought the strange contraptions looked like bombs and called the police. This triggered a terrorist scare that ultimately cost the general manager of Cartoon Network his job.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
CROSSFIT 313’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Keeping with the theme of building meaningful relationships, we wanted to spotlight a new O2 retailer this month that excels at making their members feel like part of the family. CrossFit 313 got started a little over a year and a half ago in Burleson, Texas, but you couldn’t tell by looking at their numbers. Although it’s still early in the game, they’re already running out of room and looking to expand. According to CrossFit 313’s co-owner and head coach Ashley Thompson, their success lies in treating members right. “What sets 313 apart is that we’re very family- and community- oriented,” Ashley explains, “We get to know people and build friendships.” When asked how an owner can encourage that kind of relationship building, the CFL-2 coach’s advice was straightforward: “Get personal!” Sometimes this is as simple as asking members about their hobbies and interests outside of CrossFit. “As affiliate owners and coaches, it can be easy to forget that CrossFit isn’t everyone’s whole world,” says Ashley. “Learn more about your members than just their fitness goals.” Between Team WOD Saturdays and kid-friendly socials, 313’s members are given ample opportunity to rub elbows with coaches and foster meaningful bonds. This is something the founders of CrossFit 313 are very familiar with. Ashley and her husband, Clint, met at a CrossFit gym where Clint was a coach. They were engaged in November 2016 and founded their box two months later. “Clint was still doing police work while we revamped our garage into a gym,” Ashley remembers. Between Clint’s background in military service and Ashley’s business degree, the husband-and-wife duo makes quite the team. “Clint’s more of the ‘have fun, go coach’ kind of guy, while administration is my wheelhouse.” Ashley and Clint have certainly built a box they can be proud of. One thing we can say is that they are absolutely crushing it with O2 sales. When asked how such a new gym can do so well at the retail game, Ashley’s answer is, of course, all about the coach- member relationships. “People look at what you’re eating and drinking. All of our coaches use our retail products. Our members make the connection.”
This recipe combines pumpkin seeds, a seasonal favorite, with cashews, sunflower seeds, and spices. It’s a perfect homemade snack for the fall. SPICED PUMPKIN SEED CRUNCH
INGREDIENTS
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1 large egg white
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1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
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1 teaspoon light agave syrup
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1/4 cup raw cashews, coarsely chopped
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1/2 teaspoon garam masala or curry powder
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1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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Nonstick vegetable oil spray
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1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 300 F. 2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. 3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg white, agave, salt, and spices. Add nuts and seeds and toss until evenly coated. 4. Using a slotted spoon, strain spoonfuls of mixture over bowl and transfer to baking sheet. Discard excess egg white mixture. 5. Bake 20–25 minutes, tossing once. 6. Let cool and serve.
Great advice, Ashley!
O2 | PAGE 3 | DRINKO2.COM
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1481 Showcase Dr., Columbus, OH 43212 (614) 321-9TLC support@DRINKO2.com
Birthdays and Good Business Page 1
Would You Survive These Marketing Nightmares?
The Economics of Giving Page 2
Spiced Pumpkin Seed Crunch
CrossFit 313’s Recipe for Success Page 3
This Book May Change Your Life Page 4
WHAT MAKES AN 82-YEAR-OLD BUSINESS BOOK RELEVANT? It’s a tall claim to say that a book will change your life, but this one has certainly had a profound impact on many people. Despite having been originally published 82 years ago, Dale Carnegie’s effervescent classic “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is still recommended by everyone who comes across it, and it’s one of the best-selling books of all time. In 2011, the book was No. 19 on Time’s most influential books list. How has it remained relevant in a massively different, technologically advanced world? Fundamentally, Carnegie’s book focuses on people, who may evolve, but whose basic needs don’t change much. according to Carnegie, it may be “the sweetest and most important sound in any language” to that individual. BE NICE Carnegie’s ideas are revolutionary in their simplicity. This is what makes almost anyone who reads the book able to implement them immediately and see results. As Robert Kelsey, author of several business and self-help books himself, points out, Carnegie’s first principle was simply “Be nice.” “That will always be an important thing to remember in whatever business you’re in,” Kelsey says. “His advice will always be relevant.”
We all need to feel valued, appreciated, and respected. By fulfilling these needs for your business associates, you will indeed win friends and influence them. When it comes to business, showing a genuine interest in the other person goes a long way toward building a lasting relationship, something we all know is key to converting leads into sales. With a message based on relationships, Carnegie’s book hasn’t grown stale with time. Here are three of his suggestions that you can implement today. BE AUTHENTIC Carnegie’s methods for winning people over are, at their core, about authenticity. “Show a genuine interest in others,” he instructs. “Give honest and sincere appreciation” and “Be a good listener.” Adopt this advice by paying extra attention when a client introduces themselves. A person’s name is important, because,
In the chapter entitled “Six Ways to Make People Like You,” Carnegie’s second suggestion is similarly straightforward: “Smile.” We’ve all read science on the psychological effects of smiling, but it’s still too easy to forget this simple gesture. BE HONEST Be transparent with partners and clients, and as Carnegie suggests, be quick to admit when you’re wrong. When it comes to conflict, being right won’t win you anything — it’s better to avoid that lose-lose scenario and instead listen to your associate’s point of view. Respect their opinions. Even better, begin with something you know they’ll say an enthusiastic “yes” to.
Set your relationships up for success by implementing Carnegie’s timeless, genuine advice, and see the results for yourself.
O2 | PAGE 4 | DRINKO2.COM
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