Page 54 - 100 Great Marketing Ideas (100 Great Ideas)

23 BAIT THE HOOK

Often purchases of one product encourage purchases of another.
A gift or loan of one product creates demand for something else that
shows a profit. People sometimes need a little nudge to buy from
you rather than from somebody else—and you can often arrange
to give them that nudge at very little cost, if you just think about
people’s needs.

In some cases, providing a free service is enough to tip the balance!

The idea

Waitrose, the upmarket supermarket chain in Britain, are well aware
that people like to throw the occasional party. They sell everything
anyone would need, from invitations through to cleaning products,
but of course so does every other supermarket chain. Waitrose’s idea
for nudging people was to offer a free glass hire service. If you’re
throwing a party, Waitrose will lend you the glasses, no strings
attached, for free provided you bring them back clean. Breakages
are charged at £1 a glass (although it’s actually cheaper to buy a
replacement glass from the store and put it in the box).

Obviously if someone is collecting the glasses from Waitrose the
next step is to buy in the booze, the food, the napkins, the paper
plates, and so forth. Few people would borrow glasses from the
store and then buy everything else in Sainsbury’s: the loan of the
glasses shows trust of the customer, which in turn will reflect back
on the store. The advantage for Waitrose doesn’t stop with the sales,
either—lending people things is a way of demonstrating friendship,
which creates a longer-term obligation on the part of the customer.

100 GREAT MARKETING IDEAS • 45