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KNOCK! KNOCK!
aka: Internet Marketing Application for 'Non-Internet' Businesses
My doorknocker is getting rusty! I don't know about your
neighborhood but it seems only the occasional vacuum cleaner
saleskid flashes free dishsoap through my screen door anymore.
On the other hand, the phone sure rings a lot more and I'm sorry
to have to announce to telemarketers several times a day that
Mr. Beneteau, or the "man of the house", has passed on.
Is it just me, or has the daily newspaper gone on a diet?
Looking a little thinner these days with less display ads.
My eyes and ears don't deceive me when the now several hundred
TV channels pump out hour upon hour of infomercials.
And radio has put its hyper-than-ever voice onto the Web,
electing to follow you out of your car and onto your computer.
Have you also noticed it's a 24 hour-a-day news broadcast on the
Internet?
The times they are a changin' one songwriter said. Question is,
are you changing with the times? Being aware of this giant media
shift and being a part of it are two totally different things.
I've written this article mainly for those entrepreneurs whose
businesses might not seem to them like a logical candidate for
Internet exposure and marketing. If that is not the case with
you, please keep reading, as I'm sure you will get something
useful from my ramblings.
Knock, knock, still with me?
There is no business as apparently "far away" from The Internet
as drycleaning. Customers have to show up live and in person at
your counters with their cleaning. And, it's a drycleaning
business I used to own and operate so this will serve my purpose
well. Although I sold my company just prior to the laying of the
pavement of the Information Super Highway, I would like to make
a theoretical case study of how I would "marry" my drycleaning
business and the Internet if I still owned MyCleaner (fictitious
name of course) today.
Ok, these were the areas of advertising that worked best for me:
Newspaper (I ran a Dr. Drycleaner column once a week in our
200,000+ local newspaper plus seasonal institutional and
promotional ads)
Television (1 general commercial and 1 wedding gown commercial,
run seasonally on the only local station at the time)
Direct Mail Coupons (run seasonally, rotated in upscale
neighborhoods)
Welcome Wagon Bridal Parties (we specialized in wedding gown
restoration and preservation - 4 large bridal parties a year)
Local TV Guide (I ran weekly wedding gown service ads)
The reason I mention the above advertising mediums will become
evident soon.
Knowing what I know today, this is how I would apply the
Internet to MyCleaner.
GENERAL INTERNET APPLICATION
Of course MyCleaner would have a website. I would hire the best
webdesigner in my locale and work hands-on with this
professional to design a website that I've planned out very well
in advance. The designer will of course bring a lot of great
ideas to the party. I would create the following website
sections:
The History of MyCleaner (old and recent photos of buildings,
delivery trucks, staff, pricelists, memorabilia etc.);
All About Drycleaning (history, evolution to modern-day
techniques);
We "Green" Clean (how we protect the environment - a large issue
today);
Wedding Gown Restoration & Preservation (explaining the process,
perhaps using video streaming);
Links to all the national and international trade organizations
MyCleaner belongs to;
Links to our local Better Business Bureau and Chamber of
Commerce;
Our Testimonial Page (featuring letters of praise about our
services);
Online Coupon Specials and a refer-a-friend program (you will
see this soon);
Employee of the Month.
And, I would include advice from good old Dr. Drycleaner. But
this time, I would make the column into an interactive web board
where customers could write in and ask, and get posted answers
to, particular questions about garment care.
Knock, knock, try to keep up here, ok?
FUNDING OF MY WEBMARKETING
My intention here is NOT to increase my advertising and
promotion costs one red cent. MrCleaner is simply going to
transfer advertising mediums and their budgets. In my case, I
would resolve this issue easily. I would reduce my newspaper
advertising by 50% right away (after all, the newspaper is
looking kinda frail) and apply these dollars to my Internet
exposure. I would also reduce the coupon mailings and their
costs (remember, I will be using online coupons now) and
transfer these savings into the erection of two billboards on
high-traffic roads that promote the website and the online
coupons. The billboards will appear "down the road" only when
the website is working perfectly (so the coupon budget becomes
available instantly). These two items will fund the webdesign,
domain registration (mycleaner.com) and server costs. I would
also print a flyer announcing the MyCleaner website. All other
advertising activities and budgets would remain in place (you'll
see why soon).
ADVERTISING ADJUSTMENTS/ADDITIONS
Instead of producing expensive new television commercials I
would just add "chirons" (text images 'pasted' over existing
video) to my television commercials promoting the new website.
Dr. Drycleaner and the online coupons would stream across the
screen during the existing spots. Probably cost me nothing in
production costs as the TV station would gladly do it just to
keep my business.
Also, as we re-order our printables, the new website and its
features would soon appear on our letterhead, envelopes,
invoices etc. As mentioned above, I would design and print
good-looking flyers announcing the "Grand Opening of the
MyCleaner Website", again highlighting all its features.
Ever seen I.D. IT! Plates? At $34.95-$39.95 per set, these are a great
marketing tool! I would invest in a set for each of my
employees, delivery vehicles, family and friends so that their
vehicles become "travelling billboards" for the MyCleaner
website. Check these out later at: http://www.iditplates.com.
But here is an 'option' I might use because I'm a fan of
first-class flamboyancy. I would probably purchase mid-line PC's
(which I could write-off and later give away as gifts to my
employees or customers) and install a monitor and mouse on each
stores' counter, proudly displaying the new MyCleaner website.
Invite our customers to surf the site. They will receive a flyer
anyway on their drycleaning order so the "connection" is
strengthened and we of course, look more "leading edge".
Today, MyCleaner would be the only techno-cleaner in this market
of over 300,000. The promotional exposure and image enhancement
benefits would be immense to say the least.
GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS
Drycleaning is a luxury service. I had a customer base of 20,000
families. Figure 90% of my customers are middle to upper middle
class. Further, assume a conservative 50% have computers at home
or work and are online. That's 9,000 customers. Let's be frugal
again and estimate 25% of these customers actually visit our
website because of the high exposure we have given it. That's
2,250 at-home or at-work customer viewers. Now please hold that
thought.
MORE PROMOTION
The billboards I mentioned would be bright, bold and clean (and
funded by the reduction of snail-mail coupons). Feature the
www.mycleaner.com address, the online coupons, Dr. Drycleaner
and I would implement a "refer-an-online-friend" program where
the referring customer receives a lifetime 5% bonus discount for
bringing in a new customer.
The MyCleaner website and its features are also appearing on
television, what newspaper I am still running, my TV Guide ads,
and I would definitely make sure my about-to-be, mainly
computer-literate brides-to-be from Welcome Wagon receive my
flyer highlighting the online presentation of the entire wedding
gown process.
Also, I would set up a meeting with the large local online mall
in this region. Knowing me, I would talk a deal where I would
offer the Dr. Drycleaner column as a service for their customers
in trade for a main page link.
OK, let's say another 2,250 people visit because of all the
above.
IS THAT NOT A REASON TO PUT OUT A NEWSLETTER?
You bet it is! I now have 4500 visitors to my site and the
ultra-conservative me predicts 25% of them will register to
receive a periodic newsletter. My monthly newsletter circulation
is then 1,125. This newsletter will feature upcoming specials,
online coupons, the refer-an-online-friend program, the Dr.
Dryclean column, and I would probably now run an online contest.
Give away free drycleaning or pay for their Internet access for
a year. Bear in mind that these newsletter recipients are
dedicated, died-in-the-saddle cyber-customers. In other words, a
captive audience.
MAKING THE MOST OF A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
I'm not naïve. If I have consumers at arms-reach, I'm going to
sell them everything within reason that they would have to go
elsewhere to purchase (photo finishing was a great add-on to
drycleaning for me). So, I would take advantage of my captive
online audience and now offer them the best Internet shopping
available.
Yes, I'm talking about affiliate programs. I would include
books, music CD's, videos, software and a mainstay shopping
site. Promote to my customers using the "for your convenience"
approach.
Knock, knock, I'm just about done.
‘NET’ RESULTS
What I have done is taken a non-Internet business and made the
Web work for me and my customers. I have increased my
visibility, added to my customer base, increased my sales and
enhanced my profile in one fell swoop without increasing my
advertising and promotion budget. I now have in my newsletter a
"free" way to contact my customers and make them appreciate the
information they receive and the notification of upcoming
specials. I may have saved them even more money on their yearly
drycleaning bill because they referred their next door neighbor
to MyCleaner. Plus, I have an additional income stream coming
from purchases through the affiliate programs. It's win-win all
the way.
This has been a rather lengthy article but I'm confident that if
you've stayed with me this long you will understand that the
Internet CAN be made to work for you, regardless of the nature
of your business. It is this writers hope that if you are aware
of what's going on and still haven’t made plans to expose
yourself on the Internet, that you will consider doing so now.
There is a country music saying, "where there's a Willie,
there's a Waylon". You CAN make the Internet work for you and
your customers. It's simply a matter of some creative thinking
and developing the right application. If I were still in the
drycleaning business, I'd be cleaning up in town right now just
using the basic approach I've outlined in this article.
OK gotta go, there's a knock at the door!
Copyright © 1998 Rick Beneteau, InterNiche.net. Reprinted with permission.
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