Catching Flies

I’d like to share some lessons about marketing from my recent encounter with flies. The first half of the article talks about how I helped rid our area of the pesky critters, and then I’ll relate it to marketing as you keep reading.
Lately, we couldn’t walk out of our house without flies swarming around the porch. It’s difficult to capture them, so I thought of my options. First, I could use some sticky fly paper that has had limited success in the past, but it is unsightly and tends to lose its effectiveness after dust and debris gets stuck to it.
Second, I could give my young children fly swatters and give them a penny for every fly they kill. I’ve employed this tactic with success in the past. After a quick training session on the art of sneaking up to a fly and the proper fly swatting technique, they enthusiastically jumped into their new job. However, their enthusiasm typically lasts for a couple of hours before something else grabs their attention and they are no longer my willing accomplices.
My third option is to use some type of a fly trap that causes the flies to enter a container and stay trapped until they expire. I’ve bought commercial traps before at a hardware store, but decided to go to the Internet to find a solution. I picked the simplest design which consists of taking a plastic bottle – a two liter soda bottle works well – and cutting the top portion where the bottle curves into the straight cylinder.
Take the cap off, invert the top portion, and tape it to the bottom of the bottle so it creates a funnel into the lower half. To make the hole smaller and more difficult for the fly to get out, I take a 5-inch, round section of screen that is cut to the middle, folded into a funnel-shape, and secure it to the bottle top with a rubber band. If the hole is not large enough, push a pencil into the bottom of the funnel or just cut a larger hole with scissors.
Now it’s time to put some bait to attract the flies. You can use anything that attracts flies, but if you want to get fancy, you can put some brown sugar in hot water and after it cools, add a pinch of yeast. If it’s a liquid mess, it will also drown the flies when they land on it to feed. I have three containers silently working their magic on the back porch. The traps are simple, inexpensive, effective, and work continuously with no effort.
Okay, now time to segue to your marketing efforts. There are three elements to capture flies and customers: 1) The target – who you are after, 2) the temptation – how you will attract the target, and 3) the technique – what method you will use to capture the target.
Your customers aren’t pesky critters – although they might feel they’re treated that way. They are valuable individuals who allow your business to exist and continue operating. As a business, you should focus on how to capture more of the right customers and then contain them for ongoing revenue. Your target should be your ideal customer.
The temptation is your offer and the value it has to the customer. This includes your goods and services, as well as anything that adds value to your customer such as packaging, after-purchase service, or delivery. The greater the temptation, the less resistance you’ll encounter and the more customers you’ll attract.
Next, you should consider your technique. If your marketing efforts take a lot of time or money and yield little for the effort, it could be like chasing flies with a swatter – you sometimes get lucky and get a customer, but it takes a lot of effort. The sticky fly paper can be compared to marketing that attracts a few customers, but quickly loses its effectiveness.
You must use a technique to both attract customers and keep them coming back continuously. It should be simple, inexpensive, and effective to be a winner. Colonial Penn was an insurance company that wanted to target older people. They tried to work with groups that had affiliations with their target market, but had difficulty so their technique was to start their own organization. They started the American Association of Retired People or AARP and the recommended insurance provider for the members was …you guessed it, Colonial Penn.
An amusement park analyzed their average purchase amount of their customers and discovered it was $25. Their technique was to contact all the non-amusement vendors on the park premises, like the balloon vendor and the hot dog stand, and offer them tokens they could give to their customers that were good for amusement rides. For example, if someone bought a hotdog and drink for $3, the customer would receive $3 in tokens from the vendor that could be redeemed at the park, knowing that the customer would end up spending $22 more.
There are also techniques on the Internet that can be used to capture customers and keep them coming back. Lead capture pages typically offer a free report or some type of incentive to get the customer to share their email. Through ongoing, value-laden emails, the customer is primed to make a purchase or join a membership program
What techniques do you use to attract more target customers, get them to make a purchase and keep them coming back? Like the simple fly catcher, you should have a product or service that tempts customers and utilize a technique that is simple, inexpensive, and works continuously.