The Benefits of Being Un-Conventional

Unconventional Advertising by Allan J. Katz

Your customers are so valuable, national advertisers are taking notice and hanging their hats on your coattails.



The Wall Street Journal reported in its March 12th issue that Mitchum brand Deodorant, made by Revlon is now including dry cleaning hangers as part of a $20 million ad push for their new Smart Solid products aimed at men.



According to Andy Von Kennel, Vice President of PHD, a media buying firm, “People are getting hit with so many messages… they are zapping commercials and not looking at print ads, so marketers want what is going to make consumers stop and look.”



Dunkin’ Donuts put a coupon on 300,000 dry cleaning hangers in Westchester County, New York. They spent $78,000 and received a 1.5% coupon redemption rate.



In 2005, Walt Disney’s ABC Television network put the slogan, “new dirty laundry” on dry cleaner bags to promote their new show, Desperate Housewives.



All of these example are desperate attempts by national advertisers to capture the attention and imagination of captive consumers. Your customers who come home, begin to relax after a long hard day and put their freshly cleaned shirts away. Suddenly out of the corner of their eye they spot a Dunkin’ Donut coupon. If they’re not on Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Slim Fast, L.A. Weight Loss or the South Beach Diet, they rip the coupon off the plastic bag and head down to enjoy some coffee and a cream filled donut.



If you’re lucky, they might even spill some of that coffee on their shirt and fill the coffers of their local dry cleaner.



The Golden Rule

If national advertisers think your customers are so valuable, what are you doing today to keep them loyal to you? After all, they already know you. They appreciate your quality and service. They come back because of the extra touches you and your employees pride yourselves on.



Think about this. If a dry cleaner hanger supplier can approach national advertisers to advertise to your customers and you save money by not having to purchase hangers, why can’t you do the same thing?



Beat The Media Slap

The media is abuzz with California’s announcement to phase out all polluting dry cleaning machines by 2023. Consumers are beginning to question different business methods and how these practices relate to the environment. The pros and the cons. As a franchisee you need to become the information resource in your community to educate your customers and the general public on issues which are important to them. .



One idea is to explain to your customers and prospects in a newsletter format what is really involved. In sales, it is always better to answer objections before they come up. Take the high road and express your opinion. You’ll be rewarded for your honesty and respected for your integrity, just by addressing the issue in a non-confrontational way.



Just like the hanger manufacturer, approach a nearby non-competing business and ask them if they’d like to place an ad in your newsletter. Let them help you defray the cost of educating your valuable customers and prospects.



Don’t wait. Begin today to educate and build relationships with your customers by taking control of your Point of Sale marketing machine and using it to the fullest. Have you lost customers in the last few months? Do you know why? Was it competition, the environmental issue, did they move?

Do you know that 15% - 20% of the consumers in the U.S. move every year. Find out why they’re not your customers anymore and send them an incentive to come back, along with a questionnaire to find out the reason. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results. Clients I’ve used this strategy with have recaptured 15% - 20% of their lost customers with one mailing.



Local Web Advertising

If you have a web presence, your website is a perfect vehicle for educating consumers and gathering information about their concerns, questions and issues involved in dry cleaning methods and services.



Pay per click local advertising on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Ad Center and help you economically attract environmentally sensitive consumers to your site and your physical location, where you can help them make informed decisions.



Building Store Traffic

Unconventional advertising is another perfect way to attract new customers to your plant. One of my clients brightened up their store during Easter season with a colorful Easter Egg Hunt, right in the store. Or sponsor one in your neighborhood or in the parking lot. One of my retail clients put out a big bowl of colored Easter eggs on the counter and anyone who came in during the hours of 7-10 to buy something received an egg with a special offer inside. Certificates were made up for $1, $2, $3, $4, and $5. The eggs were mixed up and whatever you chose you took that much off their next purchase. It was a lot of fun and created an enormous buzz in the neighborhood. Contact your local newspaper and have them run a story on the promotion. Or send them a press release.



Whatever unconventional advertising technique you employ, stick the fundamental principles of direct response advertising. Target the customers you want to do business with, send them memorable advertising that gets their attention and measure your response. In this way you’ll test your way to success, the unconventional way.





Allan J. Katz, The Loyalty Coach, helps small businesses attract new customers and keep them loyal by creating and writing website copy, direct mail copy, local and national pay-per-click campaigns & PR Releases. He is the author of the Complete Guide To Retail Loyalty Marketing and the popular marketing e-zine, “Remarkable Marketing Results” which can be found on his website at www.LoyaltyCoach.com.



The Benefits of Being Un-Conventional - To learn more about this author, visit Allan Katz's Website.

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