Sure, you might not be able to get Lebron James to try out
your company’s line of sneakers while he’s out on the court, but athlete
branding by sporting goods companies isn’t the only way you can use the
Olympics to promote your business. We know the Olympics in Beijing
are huge, and that millions of
Americans are watching. Why not leverage that interest for your own business? Here
are five simple things you can do to promote or increase goodwill towards your
small business while the Olympics are running.
Give customers the
Olympics event schedule.
Odds are, your customers in the store right now
are going to go home tonight and turn on the Olympics. Odds also are that they
don’t really know who’s going on at what time. Why not talk to your customers,
and ask them which events they’re looking forward to watching? If they don’t
know, you can create value for them by giving them a free schedule of the
night’s events. It doesn’t have to be complex, but it should have your company name and logo on it.Your recipient will remember your considerate
gesture, and will see your name and logo while checking the listings, which is great brand priming.I found
an easy-to-manage list of the Olympic events here, and
you can re-write and simplify the schedule to suit your needs.
Keep track of the
medals won.
Everyone watching the Olympics is interested in knowing where
the US stands in the
medal race. So, keep an up-to-date list posted in your
storefront or lobby.Now, your customers
have a cool fact to go home and report to their friends. In doing so they’ll
think of you when they’re showing off their knowledge, and maybe some of their
friends will ask where they heard about it.
Give out Olympics
merchandise.
We all like free stuff—especially
when it’s plastered with American flags during Olympic season. You can get
pens, buttons, fridge magnets, cups and other little trinkets very cheaply,
and can put your name or logo right opposite the American flag. Your customers
now have one more useful reminder of your company in their homes.
Give discounts if Team
USA
wins a given event.
Consumers love sales, and really love tie-in sales. When they see your promotion, psychology dictates that they’ll associate the
positive feelings of last night’s victory with your promotion. The downside, of
course, is that with athletes like Michael Phelps on board you’re bound to be giving out lots of discounts.But in the end, is converting more sales
really such a bad thing?
Put the Olympics on!
This
might be tricky if you don’t have access to a TV or to cable.But see if you can set a television up
around the sales floor, in the lobby, or facing out of the front window. Customers in your store can enjoy the games
while shopping or waiting, and customers outside just might notice the TV and
get drawn in.Heck, you could even put
it in the break room and give your employees a spirit booster during their
breaks.If you don’t have cable
access, here’s another idea: record the matches from the night
before for everyone in the store to watch.Who wouldn’t want to see team USA’s
dramatic victory over Team France
in the Men’s 400m swimming relay over and over again?
Hopefully you’ll be able to use these tips to give your
business a quick sales boost. But more importantly, you should walk away with an
even bigger overarching message: You should always be on the lookout to capitalize on popular events and
culture, and use the already-established massive public interest to the benefit
of your business. Have you thought about giving out custom #2 pencils to
parents with kids going back to school?
It’s the small, personal touches like these that help separate your
small business from the big-box competitor, and keep your customers coming back
for more.
Enjoy the games!
