Marketing: What lesson can holiday teach us

If you want to direct your customers to a given shop send them a discount coupon for Holiday. If you want to bind them with a brand, offer them a holiday cheer chain, the way American Starbuck marketing masterminds did. Lets compare the most spectacular case statistics. According to BIGresearch survey American consumers react best to discount coupons, newspaper inserts and WOM (their friends' opinions).

Though e-marketing techniques were also taken into account (e-mail coupons, internet recommendations, etc.), none of them is as efficient as other forms of advertising. This doesn't imply you can disregard online marketing. Experts remind that shops which use tradtional media, that customers are used to, should have full online informatiom that allows prices comparison and helps to find the way to the shop. If you want to be state-of-the-art and have online sales, you've got to bear in mind that in order to do it free shipment is a must. In April 2007 Advertising.com conducted a survey according to which 2 out of 3 inquired consumers consider this service the most important.

Internet may be an effective customers acquiring tool for the shops that have already mastered e-commerce basics or eliminated all fears that stop customers for shopping online. Most of them are afraid that:

1. Some goods will be out of stock

2. The goods will not arrive on time

3. Someone will steal their money while they are paying with creadit card or money transfer.

Starbuck Cheer Chain contaminating promotion showed how to use theory in practice. What was the chain about? Among Starbucks freaquent visitors there appeared a nice custom: it's Chrismas, so be nice and treat a stranger next in line to a cup of coffee.

Have your coffee been paid for? Then buy another one for the person behind you. The 'virus' spread at startling speed. According to Pittsburg local paper over 100 consecutive people paid for someone else's coffee at a local drive through one morning. Only one 'asocial' declined.

It soon turned out this 'spontaneous' holiday action was inspired by Starbucks sent coupons, the purpose of which was down to earth help the sales of peppermint white chocolate coffee. In the original promotion on purchasing this type of coffee you got another one for free. And here's the coupon:

Christmas mood made the campaign live its own life and customers unaware that they were being inspired by professional marketers. The ones who found out who the real author of the idea was were disappointed. 'My faith in humanity is crushed' is what one of Consumerist online magazine readers said.