by Chan Hou Ping
Many marketing guys, when assigned a product, tend to lean towards popular forms of media to market it, i.e TV, Radio, newspapers etc.
It's okay to use all these, but what if you're on a tight budget or allocated only 1 print media to use? Won't you be dead?
When I was a Fiat Van dealer and later, working for Toyota, I didn't have much of a marketing budget. Yet you can see a lot of Fiat vans and Toyota Hiace in Singapore.
Let me reveal some tips and tricks how I promoted the new models. It may take up a bit of time and may not be overnight, but hey, you saved quite a bit on budget. These tips can apply to non auto products as well:-
- Survey + free gift: Nowadays people on the street avoid you like the plague if you come with a survey form. BUT if you come with a free gift (something cheap, not a whole car!) 1st, then request a fast survey after that, people are more likely to respond. Survey results will form the backbone of your marketing campaign as you have captured the mind of the layman.
- Membership card/Official Forums: Join the Fiat van club! Our members meet up at starbucks, go on road trips, network, exchange business ideas, even met their life partners here! Or Join the Toyota van club and get discounted prices when the whole group goes to hardware store to buy wood/hardware in bulk!
- Joint Ventures: Tie in with related companies or products. Example: For every fiat van or toyota van you purchase, you will get a cash voucher to the supermarket or hardware store at 30% off! Or apply for your fiat/toyota membership card and get 20% off your petrol bill at all xxx gas stations!
- PR/Media article/Advertorial: "Since Mr. Tan bought himself XYZ industrial product, cleaning his house has been a breeze! 'I never saved so much time than before!' says Mr. Tan" or " Ms. Lee absolutely loves her new vans, they are part of her life! She saves so much on gas and her 2 dogs, woowoo and fluffy love the ride too!" Advertorials are usually free as you gave the reporter something to write about.
- Financing schemes (for autos only) : Flexible loans and easy to pay schemes work as a carrot to hook young, 1st time automotive buyers. " For only $220 a month you can own a spanking new Daihatsu! Call us to find out more!"
- Advertising van / car (for autos only): Paste logo on side of vehicle, e.g " Fiat van's fuel consumption is only **km/100L! That means you can travel more for less! Call me at xxxxxxx for more surprises!"
- Service (for autos and electronic goods) : Work on customer service. Good , well trained customer service officers will make a happy customer spread work of mouth to his network. Have parts on standby or even offer free parts/servicing for the 1st 3 visits (applies to automotive). Go the extra mile for the customer and he will spread the good news an extra mile!.
Many marketing guys, when assigned a product, tend to lean towards popular forms of media to market it, i.e TV, Radio, newspapers etc.
It's okay to use all these, but what if you're on a tight budget or allocated only 1 print media to use? Won't you be dead?
When I was a Fiat Van dealer and later, working for Toyota, I didn't have much of a marketing budget. Yet you can see a lot of Fiat vans and Toyota Hiace in Singapore.
Let me reveal some tips and tricks how I promoted the new models. It may take up a bit of time and may not be overnight, but hey, you saved quite a bit on budget. These tips can apply to non auto products as well:-
- Survey + free gift: Nowadays people on the street avoid you like the plague if you come with a survey form. BUT if you come with a free gift (something cheap, not a whole car!) 1st, then request a fast survey after that, people are more likely to respond. Survey results will form the backbone of your marketing campaign as you have captured the mind of the layman.
- Membership card/Official Forums: Join the Fiat van club! Our members meet up at starbucks, go on road trips, network, exchange business ideas, even met their life partners here! Or Join the Toyota van club and get discounted prices when the whole group goes to hardware store to buy wood/hardware in bulk!
- Joint Ventures: Tie in with related companies or products. Example: For every fiat van or toyota van you purchase, you will get a cash voucher to the supermarket or hardware store at 30% off! Or apply for your fiat/toyota membership card and get 20% off your petrol bill at all xxx gas stations!
- PR/Media article/Advertorial: "Since Mr. Tan bought himself XYZ industrial product, cleaning his house has been a breeze! 'I never saved so much time than before!' says Mr. Tan" or " Ms. Lee absolutely loves her new vans, they are part of her life! She saves so much on gas and her 2 dogs, woowoo and fluffy love the ride too!" Advertorials are usually free as you gave the reporter something to write about.
- Financing schemes (for autos only) : Flexible loans and easy to pay schemes work as a carrot to hook young, 1st time automotive buyers. " For only $220 a month you can own a spanking new Daihatsu! Call us to find out more!"
- Advertising van / car (for autos only): Paste logo on side of vehicle, e.g " Fiat van's fuel consumption is only **km/100L! That means you can travel more for less! Call me at xxxxxxx for more surprises!"
- Service (for autos and electronic goods) : Work on customer service. Good , well trained customer service officers will make a happy customer spread work of mouth to his network. Have parts on standby or even offer free parts/servicing for the 1st 3 visits (applies to automotive). Go the extra mile for the customer and he will spread the good news an extra mile!.
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