Last night as I was catching up on everyone’s Facebook status, three of my friends posted pictures of a crowded parking lot in front of a local Italian ice shop. It was mobbed! There were customers waiting in line as far as you could see.
The shop has been in our town for more than four years now, yet it looked busier yesterday than ever before. I felt the urge to check out for myself what the big deal was—and suddenly I had an appetite for a strawberry-flavored icee.
In celebration of the first day of spring, the Italian ice shop was giving away free cups of frozen ice. Apparently, I must have been the only person in our town—no—our county, to miss seeing the first-ever televised commercial the shop put out for this momentous occasion.
The commercial wasn’t what drew me to the shop. The pictures of a crowded parking lot full of customers waiting to get in was what made me curious about (and strangely hungry for) Italian ice. I had been duped.
Sometimes that’s all it takes. If it looks like everyone else is supporting a business or a store like the Italian ice shop in my town, interest and ultimately sales will only grow—but take it from me, this isn’t how you want to gain business.
While I didn’t mind this time because they fed my appetite for free, don’t decoy your customers in the door—even if you’re as innocent and sweet as Italian ice.
This method is sometimes only a temporary fix. Next week the Italian ice shop will be empty again and everyone on Facebook will be back posting about local gossip and news. So find creative ways to gain interest in your business day after day after day that won’t be just a stamp on the Facebook timeline of your target audience.
No go do what you do, only better than before.
Or call us, the experts in creativity, and we’ll help you get there.
