It’s Girl Scout Cookie season. And the Girl Scouts’ new alliance to promote their cookies is the source of this week’s Business Lesson Found.
When you indulge in Girl Scout Cookies do you ever think: “This would make a great cake!” The Girl Scouts have teamed with the Food Network to make this a reality. In a new show, Girl Scout Cookie Championship, bakers are challenged to feature the cookies in original baked goods. From a marketing perspective, this show is a great way to extend the Girl Scouts’ reach. Not only are we reminded that it is time to buy these delightful treats, but we are offered a new reason to buy even more cookies as ingredients in baked goods. The TV show also promotes the Girl Scouts’ core brand including featuring Scouts themselves talking about how the episode’s theme ties back to their scouting experience.
This story offers two marketing Lessons Found for increasing sales. The first is promoting new uses of your product or service. While you could conjure up new uses, the most successful extensions capitalize on customers already using the product in “unusual” ways. And finding out how they use your product is simple: Ask them. Every customer contact by every member of your organization should include asking about the customer’s experience with your product or service. Not only does this inquiry open the possibility of finding the unexpected, but it displays the company’s interest in the customer themselves which, in turn, reinforces that customer’s loyalty to your company.
Every customer touch is an opportunity to expand your market.
The second Lesson Found is on extending your marketing message beyond your current customer base. Some may think this is as simple as building a website. Others recognize the need for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to increase their website’s “ranking” on Google search pages. But it is not that simple. With Google reportedly modifying their search algorithms up to 500 times per year, SEO expert Jason Shaffer emphasizes that “effective SEO requires a long-term relationship with the search engines that to needs to be nurtured on a routine basis.” Keyword strategies are critical in this process but must include diligent research and careful analysis of each keyword’s competitiveness to ensure success. Shaffer also points to an often-overlooked aspect of SEO: “Link building is one of the most important factors in how search algorithms determine which sites rank in search results.” While more daunting than most think, SEO, when done correctly, will increase your customer base and sales volume.
If you are an owner looking for creative new ideas to increase sales,connect with me by email mark@strategicbizgroup.com or call me at 717-439-6254.
Life brings us lessons every day. Sometimes from expected sources. And sometimes from sources and situations we never would have thought possible. Either way, they are a gift found. I am fortunate to find these types of lessons regularly and wanted to share them with you with this weekly series of “Business Lessons Found”.
Did you recently receive the gift of a Business Lesson Found that has helped you with management, marketing or another aspect in business? I would love to hear about it. Comment below or send me an email to let me know.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Image by Brian Legate under Creative Commons License
