Today at Toy House we launched our Birthday Club.

We looked into what our competitors were doing and figured out we could do a whole lot better.

Our biggest competitor offers a small gift certificate of $3.
So we offered $10.
Their gift certificate had a strict time limit.
Ours has (virtually) none.
Their program ends when the kid turns 10.
Ours has no limit. Yes, even adults can sign up!

Then, for fun, we installed a Birthday Bell in the store. When a Birthday Club member comes in, he or she gets to ring the Birthday Bell to let everyone in the store know he or she is celebrating.

Oh sure, we have some ulterior motives in all of this. All such programs do. Here are the benefits we hope to reap.

• More traffic in store. You have to come in to sign up and you have to come in to redeem the gift certificate and ring the bell.
• More information. You have to give us your mailing address and there is a place to opt-in to our email list, too.
• More fun and excitement. Ringing the bell in the store adds to the in-store experience for everyone.
• More memories. Will you remember a $3 gift? Heck, some of our Facebook friends said it wasn’t enough to even get them in that other store. A $10 gift certificate means you can get something of value. Add it in with other money they received and the gift becomes even more special.
• More sales. Yes, we expect to reap some incremental sales from this. The kid with birthday cash can go anywhere. The kid with birthday cash and a Toy House gift certificate is coming to see us.
• More exposure. Word of mouth? You bet! Plenty to talk about. The size of the gift certificate. The Birthday Bell. The fact that adults can join (and the added benefit of reminding people that we carry toys for all ages.)

We could have copied the other store. But that isn’t us. We’re bigger than that. We’re better than that. You are too!

Is your competitor doing something positive that you aren’t? See how you can do it better than them, and blow them out of the water.

Phil
www.PhilsForum.com

PS If you would like details of how we’re running this program, how we’re marketing it, or anything else regarding it, send me an email.