Coughlin’s Law – Free advertising is the best kind

A patio is free advertising?  Yes.  As long as you have a good product and your customers are enjoying themselves.  People are funny creatures.  Without knowing anything about an establishment, if you see a full patio of people having fun and enjoying your establishment, people will make a decision to do business with you over another restaurant or pub.  Why?  Free advertising works.  We make an assumption that since we can identify with the people we can see on the patio or we would like to be like or with those people, then we believe that we would like the establishment as well.  “It’s busy so it has to be good” Is a saying I have heard many times.

Since the patio brings your business outdoors, it also gives the customer a preview of what you are selling as well as an opportunity for you to show off your product.  Most business are closed off to the outside with walls and doors and this makes people somewhat hesitant about walking in.  “I don’t know what it looks like on the inside and don’t want to take  a chance.” Is a thought that could run through your customer’s head.  By bringing your business out to meet your potential customer you can take that hesitation out of the equation.

Does a patio translate to other industries?  Of course it does.  The psychology of why we believe that if others like then we will or that if a place is busy then we can be popular if we go there was translated into the social media realm by Dan Zarella.  Dan explained that an email news letter that has a lot of subscribers has a much higher likelihood that you will also sign up for the same list than a list with fewer advertised subscribers.  A busy retail store would receive the same benefit by having large windows and a crowd inside like a pub with a busy patio.  A busy blog with comments will attract more followers than one with out comments.  Are you more likely to “like” a Facebook page that has a lot of Fans already?  I think so.  For the very same reason.

We want to be a part of the crowd and hopefully the cool crowd.  That need strongly influences our decision making and purchasing decisions.

Having the right crowd at the right time could really change the course of your business.  Having a highly active and fun group of FANS can easily take your business to a new level through their influence.  For those businesses online, a product from Klout might be of interest.  The Klout Perks product allows you to offer discounts to visitors based on their Klout score.  A Klout score is roughly determined by the amount of influence you have online in the social media circles.  How many followers, fans or connections do you have?  How many interactions do you have and who do you interact with all help improve your score.  The higher their Klout score the better the discount or prize.  All in hopes that they would like your product and then tell others.

Take aways:

• Meet your customers where ever they are
• Show off how many FANS you have
• Allow your FANS to show off how much they love your business
• Reward them

Got a favorite patio?

Related posts:

1. Know the cool crowd and how they are good for business
2. Inviting the Pretty Girl to the Dance – How to Have a Successful Event
3. Know how to give them a discount – reward them
4. Taking Service to the Customer – Social Media CRM
5. Know how to create regulars – creating fans