The week before last a friend called me and asked me to meet him for a free breakfast at Denny’s. Denny’s was offering a free breakfast for anyone who would show up between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. that day. We arranged a time to meet but he got there before I did. He called my cell phone and notified me that there was a long line at Denny’s; the promotion was a smashing success. Time is money and therefore we decided not to wait. We both agreed to forgo the “free” breakfast and we headed over to the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) which was about one mile away.
You won’t believe what was going on at IHOP… The place was packed. You might be thinking so what Powers, get to the point. If you are, here’s the point. Your company might also benefit from the marketing efforts that your competition is generating during this economic recession! All hope is not lost after all. In fact, there might be some great upside for you while others are getting desperate (no offense Denny’s). My friend and I probably wouldn’t have had breakfast together except for the offer that Denny’s was advertising. It got me out of bed and on the road vs. out of bed and eating a banana and a bowl of captain crunch at my house. Who benefited from Denny’s breakfast campaign….. Denny’s did, I did…. and so did IHOP.
So keep your spirits up and consider these few items to generate more sales:
- Stand close to the Hype. Okay, start thinking about what your competition is doing that might get people moving. How can you position yourself so that you catch the people that start moving towards your competition but might end up with you because you have a similar solution? Stand close and be ready to make an offer.
- Leverage the Hype. Keep an eye on what others are doing and be ready to respond. IHOP didn’t spend a dollar getting me on the street looking for food, but they were ready when I walked in the door. With what looked like a supersized crowd at IHOP they weren’t overwhelmed. Our food came out fresh, hot, on time and the service was also great. They hit a grand slam (pun intended) by leveraging the Hype of Denny’s marketing.
- Link up with the Hype. Consider a joint marketing campaign with your competition. No Way. Yes way. Why not? Haven’t you heard the old idiom that you don’t want to be the only restaurant on the street corner? If there are several restaurants on the corner, generally the traffic to your restaurant will be higher. You might not get all of the business, but you might get more of a larger volume of potential customers. Look for and propose a complementary sales and marketing strategy that might work for both you and your completion. You both might win. By the way, IHOP owes Denny’s one for their “Grand Slam Breakfast offer”.
It is a difficult economy that you can still profit from. Stand close, leverage or link up with your competition. Doing so will keep you profitable during this difficult economic environment.
