The other day, after picking him up from his part-time job, my son and I were looking for something to grab for dinner. I was heading to our regular pizza shop, when my son suggested that we try someplace new.The place he suggested was a tiny hole-in-the-wall pizza joint in a strip plaza. I had never seen an advertisement for, or heard of, this place.
It was approximately 10:30 at night; we walked in the door and stood in line behind 4 other patrons. I was amazed at how busy the place was; the location wasn’t convenient: far from bars, the mall, or any form of evening entertainment. The pizza was not necessarily all that good, and the sanitation was somewhat substandard. There were also 15 other large franchise pizza facilities within 2 miles of this place, in seemingly better locations. So why were people lining up?
My son ushered me over to a large wall full of pictures of students his age. The owner had taken the pictures when the students dropped in for lunch and at other times throughout the day.
That's when it dawned on me; that’s why we are here because of these students .The owner of the establishment had built a sales force of students who bring their parents in. In exchange for bringing their parents, the students get a sense of community, their picture on the wall and possibly a student discount.
What's brilliant about it, no fancy technology, no expensive advertising, no gimmicks or coupons: just simple networking and viral marketing.
I tip my hat to that pizza man. He chose to embrace the students instead of, like other establishments, send them away. As a result, he built a customer base to generate more income in addition to his lunchtime revenue.
As a professional technology salesman, this is a simple reminder that, as good as I think all my technology tools are: they are only tools. CRM stands for “customer relationship management”. Ultimately it's the people that build the relationships.
Steve
Certified Microsoft Dynamics CRM Business Professional
crmguru@crmlivelab.com
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