Thin Mints
Can you repackage your services for different markets ?

Smoky stone fired calzones and sweet hot antipasto- that’s standard fair for Picasso’s Pizza in Sedona Arizona. They say “It’s pizza that’s art.” I liked the tagline and our experience was picture perfect too. We loved it so much, that we actually ate there twice on our recent vacation to Arizona. And this from the queen of “we must always try something new!”

Like a successful gallery opening, our dinner and service were all excellent. For the second showing, we had a great meal of fire roasted vegetable pizza, delicious breadsticks, and sweet tasty salad. After we finished, the staff presented the check. Some tiny mints in shiny wrappers tagged along inconspicuously. While I was calculating the tip, I untwisted a wrapper and popped one in my mouth. Most of my attention was on the check, until the flavor made its debut. I knew that flavor. I had tasted it before. But since I really don’t eat that much candy, it wasn’t immediately obvious what kind of candy it was. It was mysterious and familiar all at the same time.

It was not an Altoid, not a Certs, and definitely not a Lifesaver. Hmmm, curious I looked at the other tiny wrappers on the table. They were small, about a centimeter, they were round, spearmint, and a little sweet. The lettering was so small, it took a little arm adjustment to be able to finally read it.

To my surprise, we finally discovered that they were Tic Tacs! They were in a very new shape and in a trendy, zippy new package. They were decidedly upscale from the packages I knew. The Tic Tacs from my youth were oblong little bullets in a clear pop-top dispenser. They were never individually wrapped. The Tic Tacs that I’ve seen were at the check out area in supermarket, never served as after dinner mints. What happened to the Tic Tacs I knew as a kid? Had they grown up or gone up stream?

They tasted the same – same recipe- but the packaging was for a whole new market. Which begs the question – can you market your products or services to a very different market?

You bet you can! 

Can you create a different E-Newsletter for each one of those markets? 

Of course you can. 

But how do set up a business process that is as easy as it is effective?

Here's an example of how you can present your services to multiple markets (Our example is borrowed from one of my clients- Rollz Royce Transportation):

E.G. A limousine company can service 3 markets:

o       Executive clients

o       Wedding clients

o       Limousine operators

You can create 3 E-Newsletters – one for each of the clients above. As it turns out, much of the same news applies to all their clients. All they have to do is package it up a little differently for each. To play off the pizza analogy, here's the recipe:

The Branding

o       Executive

o       Wedding

o       Limousine Operators

3 Different Brands, 3 Different Logos:

o       Rollz Royce Transportation       

o       Rollz Royce Limousine Service 

o       The Brewster Consulting Group 

3 Different Styles, 3 Different Images, 3 Different Websites

o       Black Sedan                            

o       White Luxury Vehicle               

o       The Board Room                      

The Content:

Here are the E-Newsletters that they create.

For executive clients:

o      Introduce your employees. Create employee profiles that show the people behind the voices of customer service.

o       Tell stories for the traveler, “quick trips”.

o       Share news about industry awards and philanthropy.

For wedding clients:

o       Provide the same employee profiles

o       Tell wedding stories about the clients they serve

o       Share the same industry news

For limousine operators:

o       Provide the same employee profiles

o       Tell them about industry events and seminars

o       Share the same industry news

Provide specific details for each audience and present it in a way that really gets to the heart of the matter for each reader.

You can do this too!

Just like Tic Tacs, you can market your products to different markets. If you give it a different wrapper and create a pitch for a different channel, you can bring it to another market. When your customers peel back the wrapper, they will get the same sweet taste.

Flavors of Bedford is one event each year that my husband raves about! He lines up the babysitter months in advance(ok one month- but still!). It is great food and great company. It's one of those events that showcases Bedford as a great community to live and work.

Over 20 restaurants and 500 members of Boston area nosh and network at this annual event. Last year my clients cleaned up at the raffle! Check out the 2007 menu and buy your tickets online.

Sunday November 11, 2007  

4-6 pm

Sponsored by the Bedford Chamber of Commerce, Brown and Brown, PC, Bistro 44. Click here for the complete list of sponsors.