Trading Coffee For Clients...

Something interesting happened the other day when my wife went to buy her morning cup of coffee... and it's a perfect example of marketing "outside of the box." (I hate the phrase but completely agree with the concept.)

Next to the register was a stack of business cards literally 8 inches tall. For a group of financial advisors here in town. My wife didn't think anything of this, of course... so she gave her order to the barista, then rummaged through her pockets for her money.

But instead of asking for payment, the barista handed my wife one of the business cards and said, "Your coffee has been paid for today."

My wife, pleasantly surprised, turned around to see a crowd of 10 or 12 people gathered around a group of three men. As it turns out, these three men were the financial advisors who were paying for everybody's coffee that morning.

Their reward? A steady stream of people coming over to thank them, to get information about their financial services... and to set up appointments. And I guarantee that even the people who didn't talk to them personally told their wives, husbands, or co-workers about the free coffee they got that morning.

So, was their effort worth it? Perhaps it'll be hard to measure right away... but over the course of six months, or a year... there's no telling how many new customers these three men earned just by "buying" a few hundred cups of coffee for people.

How does this relate to your photography business? Well, I think a similar approach could work for you... not necessarily at a coffee shop (although why not a coffee shop?), but maybe at a photography store. For instance, what if you "paid" $5 of every person's purchase at the local camera store... then hung out at the store to talk to all the people who would undoubtedly come up and thank you.

The odds are pretty good that you would walk out of that store with a couple of new clients. Even if you got just one... your time and money would be well spent.

This bold approach isn't for everybody, of course... but if you're trying to get new clients (and you should be trying to get new clients), it's definitely something to consider.