Really good ideas are almost as rare as natural redheads. So when I spotted one at the salon recently—a good idea, not a natural redhead—it jumped out at me.
The salon was offering to take 10 percent off whatever hair product they were promoting that day if you brought in an old hair product of your own. Ladies—you get why this is a clever ploy to increase hair-product sales. My medicine cabinet, for one, is absolutely littered with products I’ve bought—when my hair was somehow different, or somebody recommended a brand, or whatever—but used only once or twice, or never. There aren’t many people who this promotion wouldn’t cause to think of their medicine-cabinet graveyard and resolve to return, exhumed hair product in hand.
The problem is, I wasn’t interested in the products the salon was promoting—but I would have been interested in a discount on a salon service or another promotion.
Those who market professional services have a lesson to learn from this. The salon had a good idea, but it wasn’t executing the idea to its full extent. When you’ve got a good idea, really question yourself about whether you’re taking full advantage of it. Could it be implemented in a different area of your business? Could it be used to reach another market? Ask yourself: Am I giving my good marketing ideas the full treatment?
