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emerson consulting group, inc.
box 41
concord ma 01742
(978) 371-0442
(413) 521-0013 fax
By Ken Lizotte CMC
Well, truth to tell, there's no trick to it, that annoying competitor is probably simply doing something that you are not: contacting the newspaper directly and inviting them over!
A newspaper article or photograph (or TV/radio coverage) can reap great rewards for any business, due to the potential impact of positive media exposure on reputation, credibility and implied endorsement. But ironically, such coverage is rarely based on the quality of a business's products. Instead, there's usually some intriguing "hook" that attracted the media in the first place.
Does your store have a special birthday coming up, say 1 year anniversary, or 5 years, or 10 or 20?
Can you estimate your store will soon serve up a special number of some kind, say, 10,000 cones or 20,000 customers, and then plan to make such sale a special occasion?
Have you added a special offering to your menu, maybe an Election Year Sundae or a Milk Shake named after a celebrity?
Maybe you recently expanded your store, added a second one, or put in a line of special coffees or exotic produce?
All of these are potential sources of interest to the media. You're your hook is chosen, your next step is simply to call or email the editor of your local paper (or cable TV producer or radio news editor) and invite them to do an interview with you or send over a photographer.
Your local paper's editor in particular will likely be excited to take a picture of your new store, your 20,000th customer or your staff gleefully chowing down those Election Year Sundaes. If it's never happened to you before, you'll probably be quite surprised at how positive a reception you can elicit from a hook as simple as one of these.
Gaining free media is not hard, though it does require a little imagination on your part coupled with the willingness to pitch your hook to the media, then immediately accommodate any interest the media might express. Media stories come about when editors hear ideas from business folk just like you. They want to hear from you, it's what keeps them in business.
As a result, if they can, they'll willingly return the favor by spreading the word about your store to the general public. New customers will follow and old customers will be reminded to return. And best of all, this very effective form of advertising is completely FREE!
Ken Lizotte is media expert with emerson consulting group inc. in Concord Massachusetts. His Uncle Red Lizotte once ran a popular ice cream stand in Marlborough (MA). Contact Ken at 978-371-0442, or visit his website www.thoughtleading.com