Even Bad News can be Good News
by Greg Milner on 28/04/09 at 7:13 pm
Perception IS reality. No matter that President Obama says there’s ‘no cause for alarm’ over the swine flu sweeping the world.
People are alarmed, and that means you need to be concerned – not necessarily for your own personal health, or that of your staff and family, but certainly for the health of your business.
There is a silver lining in most clouds. And the quicker you act on this, the quicker you’ll achieve what famous ad man Robert Collier described as
‘entering the conversation already going on in people’s heads’.
Agile marketing brains will see this growing crisis as an opportunity for salon and spa owners – if you act fast.
I’d be getting you and all your staff immediately checked by your local doctor, if only so he can sign off that you’re all flu-free.
Then I’d be producing a BIG window sign, “Flu-Free Salon”. I’d be putting out a press release to the local media, “Doctor Clears Local Salon of Swine Flu Symptoms…” and running an ad in the local paper along the same lines. There are endless permutations of this, and we’ll be advising our Inner Circle members with more specific examples, including actual ad and flyer examples.
In times of trouble, people seek safety, and the faster you can offer sanctuary, the more rapidly you can respond to current affairs, the more successful you’ll be.
As with that other Global Crisis, those fast on their feet will leave the vast majority in their wake.
Another example: one of those ‘extreme makeover’ shows has just started in Australia, it’s called “How to Look Ten Years Younger in Ten Days”. These shows pop up from time to time all over the world, and for me they beg the question, why aren’t more salons and spas using this to ‘enter the conversation going on in people’s heads’ with advertising that says
“At ABC Salon You Don’t Need Radical Surgery to Look Ten Years Younger in Ten Days!”
You should be constantly asking yourself, ‘how can I leverage off what’s already happening?’
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A post by Greg Milner The odd idea, a bit of prodding, a nudge here and there, a little fun, and the occasional dose of brutal reality. Greg is co-founder and CEO of Worldwide Salon Marketing, a writer, direct response marketing consultant, specialist marketing systems adviser and coach. He (sometimes) accepts private consulting clients. |
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