So, you want new customers, don't you? With everyone vying for the attention of customers, the way to be the signal through the noise of marketing to these prospective customers is to do things that are unique and different.
It is then that you will grow your customer base and bring them into your business.
What's the best way to do this?
We can't give you a secret sauce. That's unfortunate. What works for someone else may not work for you. However, we can give you ideas from which to draw inspiration. The rest is in your hands.
Orabrush
In 2009, Bluffdale, Utah company Orabrush, the maker of a tongue cleaner, decided to give social media a whirl, with its founder, Dr. Bob Wagstaff, posting video on YouTube. To date, that video has garnered nearly 25 million views, generating millions of dollars of sales since it was first posted.
The company embraced social media so well that it has nearly 200k YouTube subscribers and 314k Facebook fans. It posts video reviews and testimonials by customers that get hundreds of thousands of views apiece. Without a doubt, the company's early adoption of social media has gained itself true fans, and awareness of a product that would have otherwise been forgotten or not on your radar (unless, perhaps, you worked in the dental space!)
One other note: Orabrush doesn't have a significant Twitter following. Not every company needs to embrace Twitter and Facebook equally. What works for some doesn't work for others. Be where you feel you get the most traction, not where you don't!
Namecheap
Domain name registrar and web hosting company Namecheap took advantage of the competitive landscape to grow its footprint.
When you think of domain name registration, you often think of one big company that advertises itself pretty heavily in Super Bowl commercials. Namecheap, in being a much smaller company with a fraction of the revenues and employees, realized that in order to be relevant, they needed to do things that differed from that competitor, even starkly and loudly.
In 2011, this competitor's CEO shot an endangered species for sport and posted a photo of his "score" on social media. The result was a firestorm, with people denouncing the entire company.
As a result, Namecheap (disclosure: I had a lot to do with this!) swooped in, aligning with a non-profit and raising funds to support the effort to save those animals. Its previous participation in social good initiatives had made this a very natural fit.
But that's not all. When the same company embraced a proposed law that would curb Internet freedoms, Namecheap stood tall and said they would support Internet freedom, thereby going directly against this larger competitor. It later aligned with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to raise funds to directly support this initiative.
What did that competitor do? When it realized people didn't like their tactics, they switched sides. (Unfortunately, they couldn't unkill the elephant.)
MLT
Miami, Florida based cheesesteak restaurant, MLT (now closed), took advantage of Yelp to boost its offline footprint through online means. With the help of an external agency, a competition was created to facilitate foot traffic.
The idea was to create an eating contest with the one of MLT's most popular cheesesteaks. The winner would receive a gift card to the restaurant. This achieved brand awareness, consumer loyalty, and increased sales both before and after the competition. In fact, the restaurant and contest was trending on Yelp weeks before the contest was held.
These days, with the launch of Google+, Yelp is not the only place you would need to focus. Knowing what people are saying on Yelp and other review sites is paramount to your business. These days, Google+ is also a relevant part of a business's review footprint, as every search result often includes Google reviews! While this becomes particularly overwhelming when you think about how your reviews could be just about everywhere, I recommend using Synup to see what your reviews are across the review site spectrum.
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
If you want people to see how much fun someone is having at your local establishment, you create a hashtag and tell people to share it on the social network of their (or your) choice.
That's exactly what The Children's Museum of Indianapolis did. Signs across the entire museum encouraged its patrons to post images on Instagram with the hashtag #atTCM.
What's the result? There's a daily trickle of new photos, to the tune of nearly 4,000, showing people having fun, the incredible sights, and much more.
Think that's pulling in foot traffic? I'll bet it is!
Crazy Cups
Crazy Cups is a flavored coffee, hot chocolate, and cider company that sells their popular products in recyclable k-cups. The names of their coffees are incredibly unique: Banana Foster Flambe, Italian Chocolate Cheesecake, Death by Chocolate, Cinnamon Churro, Salted Caramel, and much more.
Crazy Cups has a smartphone app that encourages customers to vote upon new flavors. More importantly, the company constantly solicits customer advice for new flavors. Customers have asked for an eclectic variety of flavors, including those that represent bacon and cheese.
Who knows--perhaps the company will make it happen. They have been listening a lot already!
It's evident that a little creativity can go a long way. As a business, perhaps you'll be inspired to do something unique to your local establishment or small business, and get people to know you exist and to patronize you repeatedly.