Page 172 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

82 GO TO THE SOURCE OF
CUSTOMERS

Customers do not just magically appear. Often they develop
their specific needs over a period of time—perhaps as a result of a
training program, or as a result of growing older, or simply because
needs develop.

In some cases it is possible to recognize a point at which someone
will become a potential customer, and help the process along. In
other cases it is simply a matter of identifying a cusp and being
there at the right time.

The idea

The Ikarus C42 is an ultralight aircraft with a difference—it looks
and flies exactly like a light aircraft. It has a cabin heater, is more
spacious than a Cessna, and can be flown on an ultralight pilot’s
license (which requires less stringent medical examinations and
less regulation generally).

The problem is the price. The Ikarus sells for over £50,000 fully
equipped, so it is not an aircraft the cash-strapped ultralight
community will flock to buy. The British distributors, Aerosport,
hit on the idea of selling the aircraft at a discount to flying schools
so that pupils would learn on the C42. They appointed the schools
as regional dealerships, so that as pupils got their licenses it would
be easy for them to carry on flying the C42, either by buying one
outright or by forming syndicates with other graduating pilots to
buy shares in one.

Some schools set up their own share schemes, in one case offering
one-twentieth shares in the aircraft, bringing the cost down below

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