I like to do field trips or spend time with some of my clients. Last Friday I spent part of the day with a plumbing contractor client. We met up and I jumped in his van for a ride to a specialty supply house. I always have a notepad and pencil for jotting down ideas and any marketing or advertising I see that would be good or useful.
As we drove along, we talked about some ads he’d like to run this fall and we talked about things I am doing on my end that is working well for him and some things that are slow to get attention. As we drive along, he asks me to google map the store. So I look it up and it shows two different addresses not to far apart. I say the closest one is up ahead on the right. Well, we drive along and no plumbing store. We pull over, I double check the business name and he says let’s try the other location.
As we are driving, I am thinking how many times does this happen to this business and how many times to other businesses.
My phone tells me (How crazy is that) to turn right at the next light and we will be arriving at the store. We take the right and guess what…no store. He looks at me and I say, well lets call them.
I dial the number in 2017 fashion by saying, “Dial the number!” To my phone, I hear the ring tone and then hear, “Hello, this is ABC parts” I say, “Where are you located?” the lady answers and we drive off to the right address.
When we get there, he goes in and I stayed outside to make some calls. After my second call, nature called from all the morning coffee. I walk inside just as my client is walking out holding a special trap need for one of his jobs. I ask the lady if I can use the bathroom and she leads me to an office bathroom. As I am walking out, it hit me these people don’t even know about the Google maps, wild goose chase to find the store.
So I explain to the lady about what had happened with directions. She said, that they have been told before and didn’t know how to fix it. I asked who was their web manager. She said, they don’t have one. I asked who takes care of their website? She says, I didn’t know you need someone to take care of it. OPPORTUNITY number one. I kindly explain why a website needs a manager. Then I ask how much business they think they are losing because of it?
I ask her, what other type of marketing or advertising they do. She hands me a postcard, that she says they mailed out. (This supply house sells parts for mobile homes and RV, that is why my client had to go there, to do a repair on a sales trailer at a development.)
Anyhow, the postcard, that they mailed says, “Come in and sign up for our email and get a free T-shirt (Which has the company logo and is something you would ask an employee to wear to brand your company.) Who is going to drive there, fill out an email form just to get a T-shirt? Nobody, at least not a potential customer.
Oh, the opportunity to help this business was staggering. There wasn’t even an address on the postcard, but a return PO Box. So I take a pen off her counter and start circling things that are wrong with the postcard. As I’m circling flaws on the postcard, I ask her, how much do those T-shirts cost? She said about $11 each. Wow, I am thinking $11 plus stamp and a postcard asking you to stop in with no address on it and Google, well it isn’t going to help with the listing address wrong.
I think I’m up to like three opportunities now. When all was said and done, I got a new client for four services. Website repair/management, Direct Sales Copy writing, Facebook Page Management and Email Marketing Campaign Set-up.
Oh, and the opportunity didn’t stop there. I went out and got my plumbers business cards, gave them to the lady and in 30 seconds she asked if he cleaned drains. I said, yes, he did. He came back in talked to her. The next day he video inspected the office/store sewer line and did a drain cleaning at the store owner’s daughters house.
How many OPPORTUNITIES are you missing in a day?
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