First. Yes, I’m getting older.
Second. I’d like to thank ULTA for my birthday present!
THANK YOU, ULTA!!
So, how did I get a birthday present from ULTA? I signed up to earn points on purchases by giving them my email address. And around the time of my birthday, I got an email telling me that there was a free gift waiting for me at their store.
Honestly, I was expecting a cheap chap stick, blush brush or lipstick sample… something that couldn’t retail for much more than $1.99. But, I love a good deal — and FREE is about as good as you can get!
I went to ULTA and presented my email to the cashier. And, to my surprise, do you know what I got in return? A $21 (retail price) eye shadow from Urban Decay! What!?
As a small business owner, it is difficult to give anything away… every penny is so important. I wonder how much more of a production promotions and samples are for a major corporation! Finances are not my strong point, so I don’t know the technicalities. But, it is my guess that ULTA uses this marketing strategy of getting someone into their store [hoping they’ll by something] and lets a company, like Urban Decay, pay the expense of the product [using the opportunity to market to an audience they wouldn’t typically sell to]. Both, either or neither… but, anyways – this is my point:
If I would have gotten something “cheap” or that had little [or no] value to me, it probably would have gotten used a couple times, then lost or thrown out. But, because I got something that I wouldn’t normally spend my own money on… I kept it and use it almost every morning.
So, good marketing strategy?
Well, every morning I think, “Thank you, ALTA. (Yes, that’s how I spell it in my head.) I hope I can so wisely make the impression on my customers like you have made on me!”
I’d say so…
What does “Space Cowboy” have to do with any of this? TWEET ME your guess and include the hashtag #TSMspacecowboy!
The Social Market LLC 