Free Incentives That Keep You and Your Customers Happy

My Planet Smoothie Story

I recently stopped in a Planet Smoothie franchise to buy a delicious fruit smoothie for my husband and I, and after paying for them, I received this little card. It’s a Planet Smoothie card (the size of a business card), that they stamp every time you make a purchase, and it reads, “Buy 6 smoothies and the 7th one free”! Talk about an incentive to go back! Not to mention, I got two stamps, for the two smoothies that I purchased. That means I’m almost halfway to my free smoothie! Since I love free stuff, this little card is going to be in the front of my mind, and I will be looking forward to heading back to Planet Smoothie in the near future.

Do you have some sort of incentive like this for your customers? If you own a dance studio, have you tried something like this? Your customers would definitely appreciate it, and it would motivate them not just to return to take more classes at your studio, but to tell a friend too! I’ve talked about doing free giveaways before, and I still strongly believe in them.

My Favorite Pizza Place

I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. I was at my favorite pizza spot in NYC with my hubby, and me being the Foursquare-addicted person that I am, I checked in. Now, for those of you who don’t know, when you check in on Foursquare, you have the option to update your Facebook and Twitter status with your check-in, which most people (including myself) tend to do. Then it hit me! I just gave City Pie free advertising to the 7,000 people in my Facebook and Twitter network! That should cost them! But, thanks to Foursquare, Facebook, and Twitter, it costs them absolutely nothing. How amazing is that?

Doesn’t it make sense to take advantage of an opportunity like this? It’s an opportunity to advertise, for free, to everyone in your customers’ social media network, which could be in the thousands!

The Bottom Line

I’m sure that if you’re reading this, and you own a dance studio, or some other type of small business, you already have a Facebook page. But, here’s the thing. It’s not just about the number of fans you have. It’s about how many people are sharing your business information, your wall posts, videos, etc. It’s about the engagement and interaction between you and your followers and fans. If people aren’t sharing, liking, re-tweeting, or commenting on your updates, it doesn’t matter how many fans or followers you have.

We’ve moved past the obvious (you need to have a Facebook page, Twitter, Blog, etc.), everyone gets that at this point (I hope!). But, what do you do next?

Your social media pages are supposed to inspire your current customers to testify about your business, and share your information, services, and products. Additionally, your social media pages should bring in new customers through online word-of-mouth, and online search optimization. If they’re not doing this, then you may need to re-think your social media strategy, or simply breathe some new life into it.

It’s important to determine exactly how you measure success as it relates to your social media campaign, and be able to tangibly track it, so you know what’s working, and what’s not. Remember, it’s not just about quantity, but quality.