Page 33 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers

A group of California bowling alleys developed a system to

serve both customers who were returning, and prospects who

were coming in for the first time. They found a very simple

way to separate the two groups to reward both of them prop-

erly. They asked a simple question: “Have you bowled with us

before?” If you said yes, a manager would stop by while you

were bowling, and thank you

Assignment for coming in again. He
would also give you a few

Design a key question to coupons good for your next

ask customers to sort out the visit. If you said you were

new from the returning, and there for the first time, you

set up a database to track were handed a simple bro-

them. Then devise a simple chure that identified a few

yet effective method to con- key things you would want

sistently reward both your to know about what made

old and new customers. their bowling lanes different.

The manager would also

make sure to stop by while

you were there, and he would thank you for coming in. He

would even give you a coupon to get free beverages while you

were there, as well as a coupon to come back a second time.

So they were recognizing and rewarding their customers, which

is the ideal situation for you. What are you doing to identify

your new customers, while still rewarding the old?

Epilogue

Everyone wants to feel special, so make sure your customers
know how much they mean to you. Customers will go where they
feel invited, and return where they feel appreciated.

32