Standing Apart From the Crowd As The Preferred Provider
February 6th, 2012 by Diane Conklin under Event Planning & Marketing, Information Marketing, Marketing. No Comments.
Sometimes you can find great marketing lessons in areas you might not think to look, like from the cruise lines. Cozumel has three ports, and two of the three are exclusively used by Carnival Cruise Lines. And, one of the ports was built specifically for Carnival Cruise Lines.
Carnival is the only line that can go into their port. Apparently, there were so many ships going into Cozumel, that the city, built an entire area just for Carnival. There are shops at the port, restaurants, and all sorts of other things.
Does the city of Cozumel benefit from this? Absolutely! Does Carnival Cruise Lines benefit? Absolutely, they benefit, because they now have exclusivity and things they can offer that no other cruise line can.
Some of the shops there are what are called “preferred shops” for Carnival. That means Carnival’s advertising for them – telling people on the ship specifically about the shop and usually offering some special gift just for stopping by and telling them you’re from a Carnival ship. It would seem that Carnival has figured out how to make money in ways so they don’t have to do any work, but are just a conduit for a product and they get paid for the referral. It’s like a joint venture we might do with another complimentary business to our own.
You might be wondering how you can utilize this. Maybe you can’t build your own thing, maybe you’re not interested in having a proprietary system, but maybe there’s something you can put your name on.
If you’re an event promoter and you have shirts and hats at your event, or those kinds of things that brands you more and people wear them. When you put on your own events, think about the things you can do that will make your brand more apparent or stand out more. The signs you put up, tablecloths with your brand and your name on them are just some easy things you might do to bring more recognition to you, your brand and what you do.
One advantage the cruise lines have is they have a very captive audience because once you’re on the ship you can’t really get off.
What kinds of things can you do to captivate your audience so they become more of a community? People want the feeling of community, because we don’t get it in many other areas of our lives anymore.
You can create a community by creating things that people will come back for, by creating things that are branded to you that only you provide.
What are the things only you can provide? The biggest thing that sets you apart and makes you different is you! And, access to you is one of the biggest advantages you have as a small businesses owner or entrepreneurs.
Your job is to figure out ways you can give your clients and prospects more exposure or perceived exposure to you!
