A blog called the Austinist mentions that a local music retailer, Waterloo Records, is accepting gift cards from competitors, including the national chains. This is the second year they’ve done this, so they must believe it’s a good idea. The poster doesn’t know how they manage to recoup their loss, but a commenter believes Waterloo may be using some of the many Web sites set up for gift card exchanges. If you think this might be something in which you are interested, contact Waterloo's management. This is just the kind of "edgy" idea that might help you inch in front of your competition next Christmas. Perhaps a news release touting this could be sent to the business section of your local newspaper resulting in additional publicity. I also think a unique idea like this would garner a lot of word of mouth marketing for you as well.
Still think it's risky? Imagine a loyal customer of yours who receives a competitor's gift card from a relative. What if that customer has a better customer service experience when he or she shops at your competitor? The risk is in losing the customer. Of course this would take careful research and I would certainly contact Waterloo to discuss this before proceeding.
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- Jeffrey Summers
- I am the expert you call when you need to learn how to increase top line sales, lower your operating costs, increase your profit margin, hire and train better managers and staff, evolve your operation into more and better ways of doing business, buy or sell a restaurant, improve your service, engineer (or re-engineer!) your menu, market your business better and less expensively, keep yourself from going nuts because you have no life anymore, open more and better restaurants, don't want to have to give up your first born child to pay a consultant and have more fun! My mission is to enhance the quality of life for my clients by providing the best products and services to help them achieve their personal and professional goals. I take great pride in my clients, my company, my commitment to service and the products I sell. I am a recognized expert in the hospitality industry with over 24 years of success at planning and executing strategies for delivering dramatic results, a former "GM of the Year" for 2 major, full-service, franchises, an Award winning Multi-Unit Executive with 2 of the largest restaurant chains in the U.S., published author, husband and father of two.