I’ll admit, I’m a fast food, low quality kind of guy. I like my food, I like lots of it, and most of all I like it cheap. In fact, the cheaper the better. So naturally, yesterday was a great day for me. iHop was offering a free round of pancakes for a small charitable (and optional) donation. But when I went to check my e-mail, I found something even cooler. Friendly’s was offering a buy-one-get-one special on breakfast that very same morning! Incredible.
IHop Free Pancake Special
With two great offers in hand, I sprang for the one that would expire soonest — Friendly’s. Seeing as they only serve breakfast during normal breakfast hours, it was an easy decision to grab the girlfriend and head on over for a morning treat. The food quality wasn’t any worse than normal, but the cost was half price! And all I had to do was give them a cheaply printed coupon I received in my e-mail that morning. What a deal. I would head to iHop later, only…I never did. Because after all, who eats that much breakfast in one day?
Friendly's Offers Half Price Breakfast
I had fallen pray to Friendly’s E-Mail marketing campaign. It was surely no coincidence that two breakfast competitors offered competing offers on the same day. Only, Friendly’s did it better. Why? They offered me the coupon direct in real time as I needed it. They didn’t spend large amounts of money on an advertising campaign, posters, printed materials and the like. Rather, they sent out one e-mail with a coupon attached telling me to come in for breakfast. And the fact is, they even charged MORE than iHop and I still fell for it. Because it was convenient and it was there when I wanted it.
The power of immediate communication, such as that delivered through online mediums (social media, e-mail, search), won my sale. Had they used the traditional methods, I almost certainly would have opted for the competitors product in iHop. This case just goes to show what a little effort in knowing your competition and how effectively applying new channel marketing efforts can best the competition. Of course every product or service can’t use these tools in the same way, but I’m sure there are plenty of other methods out there. What are some good ones you know of?
