Building Your List - Using Guilt?

Erik, one of our engineers here at VR, won a free lunch for 10 at a favorite Mexican restaurant here in the neighborhood. He invited the first 10 colleagues that RSVP'd. I went, I’m a sucker for great food and this place serves it up. He won it for putting his business card in one of those Plexiglas ballot boxes at the restaurant from Ameriprise Financial Services (the old American Express Financial Advisor's).

We were cordially greeted by a representative of Ameriprise. After we ate our delicious lunch we were passed a one-sheet financial quiz with questions that relate to the value of money, retirement, etc. We went over the answers as a group, nice little team building exercise. Then we were asked to write down if we wanted to be contacted by a representative to go over our personal finances.

For a second I was surprised. That’s all? Great free lunch with 9 of my colleagues and a quick pitch? Cool.

A few weeks later Erik won the lunch AGAIN at another restaurant. He brought a different group of 10 people. Then I started looking at restaurants in the neighborhood and the boxes are everywhere. Must be working.

Why is it working?

1. Obligation - First of all many of us have a sense of obligation, guilt, whatever you want to call it. We just had a great lunch, we feel like we should do something for that lunch. I don’t know if anyone wanted to be contacted but it was for a risk-free meeting so there is a chance that someone did. The restaurants like it because it fills the seats. To add to that, the restaurant might get a new customer, someone who hasn’t dined there before.
2. The Numbers Work - For Ameriprise they had to buy lunch for 10 people at about $15 per person. That lunch costs Ameriprise $150. Now if one of those people become a customer that could MORE than pay for not only their lunch but chances are many of those $150 lunches.
3. Ameriprise is Building a List - Chances are they’ve researched the company before Erik “won”. They know we’re a growing technology company with a number of employees that may match their demographic. They asked for our information so they could potentially cultivate a relationship at a later date.

Who Else Has it Worked For?

The Followers of Sun Myung Moon - If you remember they’d give you flower at the airport, then ask for a donation. Do they do that anymore?

Retail Shops - Ever walk into a retail store and get offered you a glass of wine or an espresso while you “shop”?

Non-Profits - Did you ever get personalized return address labels from a non-profit with a return envelope for your donations?

Time-Shares - How about those free weekend invitations to a time-share, where all they want is for you to sit through an hour video?

In the end, either Erik is bringing in some ringers or Ameriprise doesn’t have a good prospect management system. In any event I say that from the numbers perspective it's a pretty good customer acquisition campaign. Who knows? It might make sense for your business.

Comments

[Wayan Tsai]

It's a quite common sales tactic, but nevertheless very creative because you have to decide what 'gift' to give that is enough to invoke 'quilt' but doesn't add too much to your cost. Also, if it isn't executed properly, it can backfire, because some peoples (including me) don't like the feeling of being hijacked into buying something and choose to rather leave.

[Anita Campbell]

Once again, Janine, yours is one of the most incredibly useful blogs I've seen for small businesses. I got something of value out of every single post you've written in the past several weeks. Great content!

Anita

[Leonard J. Mills]

I liked the way they develop their list. If you are in business you ought to like this, if you're not then it is just the opposite. This gives us an idea how we can cultivate newer ideas of generating prospects...

-Leonard J. Mills

[Pete]

I also dropped my business card at a restaurant in Minneapolis, MN sponsored by Ameriprise. I didn't win. How did I find out (beyond the fact I didn't receive a free delicious lunch) that I didn't win? A friendly representative from Ameriprise called me to inform me I didn't win but that I did "win" a free financial planning consultation. I passed. No such thing as a free lunch I guess. I would have liked to see an "opt-in" notice on the Plexiglas bowl, had I know of the coming sales pitch I would have declined dropping my business card in the bowl!