Hospitality Doctor
Max Hitchins
COMING OUT OF ‘COVID’ #6
• USA: Shirley Johnson from Detroit, MI, wrote to me saying “Hi Max. One of the more successful marketing campaigns I do is getting real estate listings from local papers who ran names and addresses of recent real estate transactions. “I write a ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ letter to all the new home owners. As well, I write a ‘gone but not forgotten’ letter to the previous home owners. (Sending it to the old address invariably resulted in the letter being forwarded). • Bondi Junction OZ. In the 1990’s, when the internet took off we created a website for our Billy The Pig’s Pub at Bondi Junction. It was one of the first pub websites in Australia. We created our famous Billy’s Bucks at that time. People could go to our website and download a Billy’s Bucks voucher and bring it to the pub and we would honour the voucher. The idea was hugely successful and created much ‘word of mouth’ in the community. • ZEBRA MARKETING: Use Social Media to tell these stories. Think about using TikTok. You can employ someone to do it for you. Or, you can ask some clever teenagers to help you. Or, try doing it yourself by checking beginners guide to TikTok: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=apoVa0gwER8 or search YouTube for “How to Make Tik Tok Videos – Beginners Guide.” • MELBOURNE CUP. I have a heap of ideas you can use at Melbourne Cup time. Email me at max@ hitchins.com.au and I’ll send them to you FREE.
Hopefully the curse of Covid is now in the rear vision mirror… and, hopefully, it will stay there. But we are still left with the problem of getting our businesses back to ‘normal’ – whatever that may be these days! One thing is for sure… to stay alive, afloat and in business we have to be more proactive than we have ever been before. We absolutely have to find and give reasons for people to visit our premises be it our pub, club, hotel motel, restaurant, bar or tourist attraction. What can YOU do to make your business STAND OUT from the herd? If you can find a way to do this, you can get an enormous amount of FREE advertising and WORD OF MOUTH advertising. I call this Zebra Marketing… or “How to stand out from the herd when you have low/no budget!”
Here are some ideas from innovative business people.
• Bangkok: I was taken to Bangkok to do a marketing seminar. The hotel I was staying in had a small rectangular putting green in a hotel foyer. It was such a simple, low cost idea that was amazingly effective. I was stunned at the number of business people who were lined up awaiting their turn to ‘play’. Imagine doing this in your pub, hotel, bar or restaurant. You could use it to do promotions on the slow nights. You could have daily/weekly competitions. Offer prizes of free lunches or dinners. Involve other local businesses to participate by having them offer prizes too. Invite your local golf club to become involved. • USA: The Fox and Hounds English Pub and Grille in Cleveland Ohio, USA, does an extremely successful promotion called Working Women’s Wednesday. Every Wednesday between 5pm and 8pm they pamper women with free psychic readings, hand massages, manicures and flowers. The chain operates numerous outlets throughout America and all of them do this promotion. The evening promotes networking, showcases the pub and builds a database. They provide a free buffet and offer other local businesses the opportunity to participate by giving away gift certificates for jewellery, furniture, salon services.
Max Hitchins - Author Zebra marketing The Hospitality Doctor. HospitalityDoctor.com.au
45 Tasmanian Hospitality Review August/July Edition
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