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By Jay Abraham
One of my clients gives everyone a gifts--a free car wash--on their birthday and the Fourth of July. Ask yourself how you can acknowledge your customers at special times and in a way that favorably distinguishes and differentiates your business or practice above all the competition.
Following are some examples of what some of my clients do:
* A cosmetic surgeon throws an incredible annual Memorial Day and Christmas party for all of his past clients and their friends. The last one drew nearly 1,000 people. Half were referrals invited as guests of my client's past patients.
* My bank rents a prestigious art museum in Pasadena, CA, once a year for their top clients and holds a truly wonderful dinner and "Art Appreciation Night."
* A leading clothing store would close down the entire store one Saturday a year, rope off the parking lot and hold a 12-hour Western barbecue for their customers and their customers' friends--2,000 people would show up!
What special events or activities can you start sponsoring as a regular, annual or semi-annual aspect of your business--something that so distinguishes you above your competitors that it becomes no contest?
If your business or profession deals with an issue that's far too serious to lend itself to fun, another idea is adapting or adopting? Maybe a Christmas party isn't appropriate, but perhaps a Christmas
remembrance process is. Maybe you pay to plant a tree or place a plaque in a forest or in protected wetlands. I've seen funeral directors hold memorials for deceased loved ones, and I've bankruptcy attorneys play the role of Santa Claus for financially impaired clients and their children.
Believe me, if you'll allow your mind to travel beyond the narrow limit of what you have been doing, you'll come up with some wonderful ways to distinguish your customers or clients. That's what you really end up doing when you hold any kind of special event for them. You respect and distinguish each and every one of them, their families or businesses, as being truly important and special to you.
I have also talked about customer lists in previous issues. Well, I was surprised at the many innovative ways people utilized their own customer and client lists. Here's a sampling:
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