Do a back flip if you love Stewart’s!

If you happen to be from outside the upstate New York area and don’t know what we’re talking about, Stewart’s is a convenience store chain.  At Stewart’s, you can buy your basic convenience store items – although many of them are yummier than average, thanks to the fact that a lot of their merchandise is specially made at their own plant.  (Their gasoline, on the other hand, is neither yummier nor less yummy than average.)

In addition to having mad ice cream making skills, Stewart’s is also very proficient in something that all of our businesses could stand to work on – marketing skills.

They have this strategy of using one of their products to market another.  In other words, if you drop by Stewart’s to fill up your tank, advertising on the gas pump is going to remind you that Stewart’s sells milk.  If you go in for a cup of joe, the coffee cup is going to remind you to come back and fill your tank.  When you purchase milk, the packaging might remind you to buy coffee.  The point is, they like to make sure that patrons who are shopping there for one reason are aware of other products that are available.

We business owners know that although we’re always looking for new customers, our prior clients are often even more important.  Think about it.  They already found your company.  They already trusted you enough to buy something from you.  All you have to do is keep them coming back.  Stewart’s wants to make sure its customers keep on shopping there, and they try to make their customers branch out in terms of what they buy.

Think about the products and services your business sells or provides.  Is there some cross advertising you could be doing?  Can one of your products market another?  Could you put an advertisement for your nail manicuring services on the bag that you give to a customer when they purchase hairspray at your salon?  Could you give your lawn care customers a coupon for your snow removal services at your last visit of the year?  Or, for another spin on the idea, could you buddy up with another company and market each other’s services somehow?

If nothing’s ringing a bell for you there, let’s remember a few other valuable lessons we can learn from Stewart’s today.

1. If your business involves take-home food containers, let them advertise your business.  Coffee cups with a message on them are particularly wonderful.  The cup and message sit on the purchaser’s desk all day long.  Think of it as a mini billboard.

2. Sell strawberry milk at your business.

3. Rename your company something that reminds your customers of Jon Stewart.

4. Be awesome.  Then, maybe one day a random printing company will write an unsolicited blog post about your business and provide you with a little free advertisio, like we did for Stewart’s today.