FREE DRINKS

The first rule when checking into your hotel room, especially with kids is “don’t eat or drink anything from the minibar”.

It doesn’t matter if you are staying at a top end hotel or budget motel, there is something about the margin they put on mini bar items that makes you feel ripped off.

So, can you imagine the shock and excitement when my family and I were travelling through Asia at the end of last year and were told that all items in the mini bar were complimentary?

What a fantastic idea. In addition to shocking us in a good way, this Small Act set the tone for a place that was willing to go above and beyond. A Major Impact for the rest of our stay.

This got me thinking.

Every company needs to have a “Free Drinks” strategy that creates a “wow” factor.

I recall a Marketing Strategist who turned up for a pitch with a bottle of wine for each of the people he was presenting to. Every bottle was individually labelled with the company’s logo, the person’s name and included a play on the company’s tag line that was relevant to the work he was pitching for. An impressive show of appreciation for the opportunity to pitch and a clear indication of his talent.

Or then there was the personal trainer who gave his clients a digital alarm clock set with their wake up time creating an instantly increased commitment for both the parties to the relationship.

What “Free Drinks” do you offer your customers?

When was the last time you were surprised by a great and unexpected experience?

It’s not hard to do.

Add a brainstorming session about your “Free Drinks” strategy to your next agenda. If you are a big company, make sure you get different divisions across the company to add it to theirs. Have a “Free Drinks” champion collate the results. You’ll be amazed at the great customer service and marketing strategies to emerge from the sessions.

Oh, and you may want to offer the staff who made the suggestions some “Free Drinks”.

Cheers!