A Marketing Challenge For Y'All

Some brief, scattered comments, since I'm still waking up:

Thanks for pointing me to www.radio-locator.com, where I can at least get phone #s for all the local stations.

I am aware of "remnant" advertising (thanks to Ted Nicholas) but hadn't thought of it in regards to this situation.

I really like the "'Christmas gift' to the community" idea, especially if it's connected with the local shelters and social service agencies. Off the top of my head, I'm guessing the local Salvation Army and Market Street Mission would be good prospects, too (assuming no one already has a similar arrangement w/ them).

Tom says a lot of his business is by referral, which is why he doesn't do much advertising. (He may need to rethink that strategy now.) However, he could stand to systematize the referrals a bit more and perhaps add a couple more methods for requesting them. We talked about it a little a few weeks ago, and I drafted a combination Thank You letter & announcement of new-&-improved Referral Program (offering money & discounts). He liked it OK, but, again, we need to get his current list into a database. (I'm pushing ACT!, but I've also recommended putting the basic info into an Excel spreadsheet just to get going.) On the other hand, he could be testing a new, "formal" referral system on new patients -- that is, assuming he's getting any...

Regarding the guy who's going bankrupt, based on my talks with Tom, he already approached the guy 2 or 3 weeks ago, and he was quite amenable to selling his list to Tom (as well as endorsing Tom to them) with nothing up front. I had given Tom 2 or 3 arrangements to approach the guy with, but I don't remember what they decided on. The thing is, I don't think the guy knows exactly when he's going to "hang it up" (sometime in the next few months), so Tom can't really pursue anything there, yet.

As for the computer stuff, I already mentioned Tom's reluctance to get into a lease situation, although I still think that may be his best option. I have also suggested he have a college student (or mature & computer-savvy HS student) do the data entry. Right now, though, he is still hoping that his wife can arrange for an underutilized secretary or someone from her office to do it on their computers. While that would be great (if they can do it), it would probably only work as an initial effort with something like MS Access or Excel. If they did it in a contact manager like ACT!, the software would have to stay installed on their computer (not good), and I don't think there's an easy/inexpensive way to transfer the data elsewhere. I'll have to look into this more.

One of the problems with the whole "Free Eye Exam" thing is that Tom doesn't control the exams. As I understand it, the optometrist uses Tom's facilities in exchange for rent or some sort of percentage, but he (Ramy) can charge what he likes. He charges $80, which seems to be standard for the area. Getting him to agree to the "$29 Exams on Fridays only" took a bit of convincing, and in fact he will be raising it soon. I should mention that Ramy is fairly young and not long out of school, so he is still learning the business side of things. But, he's pretty sharp and seems to understand and be "on board" with the marketing stuff he's heard me talking with Tom about. However, as much as he might like to give discounts & free exams to get people in the door, he's gotta eat, too. (Not to mention, pay off those school bills.) I suppose maybe Tom could offer to give Ramy $X for any free exam patient who buys anything, but as I've said, Tom's cash flow is barely a trickle as it is.

As long as I'm laying out the negatives, as you may have inferred from things I've said before, Tom seems to be in a bit of analysis paralysis. And he has admitted this himself. He knows that you (generally) need to spend money to make money, even if it's a limited test of an ad or a mailing. But, with business being SOOOO slow and bills still needing to be paid, there just ain't much to play with. He figured that those recent ads (and especially the one I wrote) that ran in the biweekly paper I mentioned should have pulled a decent response, if anything would. But, they didn't. I think he's pretty convinced that the economy just sucks and nobody's spending money -- or, at least, not on eye care and eyewear. If only I'd gotten together with Tom a few months earlier, I could have helped him build up his business enough so that the recession (or whatever we're in) didn't matter.

F.y.i., I hope to speak with Tom either this afternoon or tomorrow, before he leaves for his Thanksgiving trip. (Lest anyone think he's wasting money on an expensive trip, he's just visiting family in Ohio.) Hopefully, I can get him to seriously consider some of these terrific ideas you guys have shared. But, don't stop now...! ;->

Many thanks,
Chris

> Chris
> 1)Offer FREE eye exams for a limited time,
> by appointment only to anyone who needs the
> gift of enhanced eyesight.
> 2)This will entitle you to PSA's thru local
> TV and radio stations. You can find any
> radio station at www.radio-locator.com
> 3)Talk to radio stations and newspapers
> about being put on list for
> "remnant" advertising. This is
> unsold inventory that's dumped at the last
> minute for a fraction of the cost.
> 4)Press release announcing Tom's
> "Christmas gift" to the community,
> which provides the "hook" the
> media desires before running a story.
> 5)Have Tom contact local shelters and social
> service agencies. They provide vouchers for
> exams and glasses that the govt. pays for
> low income people.
> 6)Contact Tom's competitor who is going
> bankrupt.
> propose a 50/50 JV of his customer list that
> is hopefully computerized. An endorsement
> letter from bankrupt merchant would be
> optimal.
> 7)Start a referral program from new leads
> offering discounts for new paying referrals.
> They've already had the exam and this will
> help subsidize the products Tom recommends.
> 8)Go thru his old list, calling everyone to
> inform of free exams, referral program
> etc... Let these people know they get first
> bite at the apple before the public is made
> aware of upcoming offer...ONLY if they act
> now.
> 9)Hire a college student to perform data
> entry for Tom.

> Of all the ideas presented, this and remnant
> adv.will be the only costs incurred. As you
> know, he will then have a relatively free
> way to communicate with prospects to inform
> and market.
> 10)Please wish Tom a Merry Christmas for me.
> I'm confident if he follows these
> suggestions, he'll have a good one also.
> Michael Madden