Do U Have The NERVE to Imitate a Billionaire at FastFood Lines?

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Adman

Yup....people would come into my wife's Antique Shoppe....I'd welcome them and ask if they were looking for something in particular.

Their response was ALWAYS..."No! Just BROWSING!"

So.....I thought; "How can I get them OUT OF the "Browsing" mentality into the "Buying" mentality?

So....I thought; "Why not FORCE them to get into a "Buying" mood by... GIVING THEM A COUPON WORTH $1 TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF ANYTHING IN THE SHOPPE"?

Well....that did it! They'd come in....I'd welcome them and say, "Here's $1 to spend on ANYTHING in our Shoppe!"

I called the Coupons, "BROWSER BUCKS"!

Worked like a charm. Sales doubled. Had a few people bring me 4, 25cent marbles and hand me the Browser Buck. AND....had quite a few people hand me the Browser Buck and ask...jokingly, "Can I use this Coupon towards the purchase of this $2,500 CupBoard?"

What this coupon did also was....STOP THE NEGOTIATING MENTALITY!

When people see an item in an Antique Shop they're interested in...they usually ask, "Would you take anything less, on this?" or...."Would you take X$ for this?"

By handing shoppers a FREE $1....I had ALREADY given them a Discount and, because most people aren't "Greedy"....my Browser Buck STOPPED most negotiating. Can you see the Psychology here?

Hi Don,

It was a smart solution...

I can see how giving them a "gift" like that would turn them from a "bargain-hunting" mentality, to more of a "reciprocity" mentality, where they may even feel a debt of gratitude...

My view on these kinds of things is, it's "win/win" for everyone. The shop owner wins, and the customer wins, too!

I used to live in a place where I was a short walking distance from a "falafel" restaurant in a popular strip of restaurants and other small stores. Pretty much every weekend (since it was a "touristy" area), at around lunch time, they'd have one of their staff standing outside the restaurant with a tray of falafel balls, holding a pair of tongs, and offering a free falafel ball to everyone who walked by.

I took one whenever I passed by and saw them offering one. Yes, I knew it was a marketing tactic to get me to eat at the restaurant. And yes, as a result, I did eat there sometimes!

I loved the free falafel balls - and even though I knew why they were doing it, I still loved it!

They kept doing it, week after week, so it must have been working for them... (I've moved since then, so I'm not sure if they're still doing it today...)

Best wishes,

Dien