Badge of Honor

“Free publicity and word of mouth is probably the best and cheapest form of advertising. Learn to use it to your advantage.” – Richard Branson

Early in my career I had a lot of lousy sales training.

But, I recall one thing that has been the most helpful over the course of time.

The trainer said,

"If YOU say it, they doubt it. If THEY say it, it's the gospel truth."

Even if you are not a business owner, you would likely agree with the assertion Mr. Branson makes in the display quote above.

Other people talking about and promoting your business has FAR more power than any ads you run.

That being said, the smartest and most successful companies in the modern economy will continuously be coming up with better ways to encourage folks to talk about them.

This week's strategy is one way to do that.

Badge of Honor

Badge of Honor is a limited time promotion in which people who are spotted wearing a pin, win.

Here's how it works.

Everybody who comes into your business is given a pin with your establishment’s logo and a unique ID number.

In addition, these pins are also be given out anywhere - at street fairs, farmers markets, car shows, etc. - via guerilla marketing.

You might be thinking, 'Yeah, sure Bob. That's an old idea'.

It is, BUT...

An Old Idea With New Twists

Twist # 1: The spotters are not company employees.

If anybody?spots someone wearing a pin, they both win!

• This twist greatly increases the numbers of people who will intentionally involve themselves in your promotion.
• It also helps your brand rise above the noise and keeps it in the forefront of people’s consciousness.
• Because people develop the habit of looking for your logo repeatedly, that increased brand awareness will continue for long after this short promotion ends.

Twist # 2: There are various prizes given out during the promotion period.

• The prize associated with given ID numbers changes daily - and people must visit the business to find out what it is and collect their prize.

Twist # 3: Everyone who gets spotted - and the spotters - during the promotion period is entered for a major prize(s) drawing at the end.?

Each time you spot someone or get spotted you get an additional entry for this major prize drawing.

This will work well for certain types of brick and mortar businesses.

It may work even better if done digitally.

A digital badge would be easy to spot, more easily displayed and virally disseminated.?

In what ways might you apply this idea in your business???

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Are you on the verge of being left behind in an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing world? ?? You can avoid being run over by hiring me to develop ideas and strategies that will help you increase sales and reduce customer acquisition cost.

Your organization can also help develop a culture of innovation by having us train your team on methods of thinking more creatively - on purpose.

PM me?so I can help you.

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About?Bob Sager

The Founder of?SpearPoint Solutions, Bob’s professional background includes over three decades of experience in sales, leadership and training. Combined with creative thinking, he uses that experience to develop business strategies that help organizations increase sales and margins. Additionally, Bob facilitates training on methods of thinking more creatively that organizations can practically apply to all aspects of their business so they can thrive in the modern?economy.?