As a Marketing professional I spend countless hours poring over various social media sites and blog posts trying to find creative ways to reach out to our audience. I’m drawn to social media of all sorts, because…well, it works. There are various platforms with different options that range from fancy and pretty to edgy and informational, all of which can offer tremendous value. However, every once and while I have to step back from the collage of Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram, Vine, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Tumblr and Pintrest and go with a good old word-of-mouth tactic.
Last week I did just that, something so 1995 – I picked up the telephone to do a little “old school” marketing. I called my neighbor (who we’ll call Kim), who happens to be a very enthusiastic golfer, with A LOT of golfer friends, who love to find good deals. With a quick explanation of our 12th Man Golf Promotion (which we started running 12 days from the Super Bowl and includes $12 green fees and $12 cart rentals) and a glance at the weekly weather report, she was amped! She was so excited to share the news with her golfing group of 12 gals, on the course later in the day. That was last Tuesday…
Yesterday afternoon, as I was puttering around my yard in the 60 degree weather, Kim popped out of her house all dressed in her golfing gear and smiling ear-to-ear. She had just returned from a SPECTACULAR day at the Port Ludlow Golf Course with some of her friends. She was giddy about the experience and thrilled that she was able to golf such a beautiful course for such a great price. She thanked me for letting her know about it, to which I replied, “Don’t thank me, Kim. Thank your Seattle Seahawks for that one!”
To make it a little sweeter, Kim informed me that a few more groups of her friends were thrilled to be heading out to golf at Port Ludlow over the next couple of days.
It was encouraging to hear that my 2 minute phone call to a friend did what an e-blast that took two hours to put together would do, and maybe more. Just another reminder to us in Marketing to keep it simple, make it personal and don’t be afraid to pick up the phone every once and awhile.
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