Free Food for Referrals

The other day the owner of a tree trimming service stopped by my lawn

and garden center with a dozen donuts for my staff. He left several

business cards and asked that we refer to him anyone who asks about

tree trimming. The staff was excited and I'm sure will send business

his way.

This got me thinking about how retailers can do the same with other

complimentary businesses. Think about your store - what other stores

or service businesses deal with the same type of customer you target?

For instance, if you are a shoe store that specializes in hard to

find sizes, you could bring some free food and business cards to

plus size stores or clothing stores that cater to petites in your

area.

Your free food does not need to be limited to donuts - you could

bring coffee, fruit or veggie platters, cookies, sandwich platters,

or even pizza.

Your main purpose is to establish a relationship, and then drop by

with another food offering every couple of weeks so that your store

stays top of mind with the referring business.

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to grow a business.

Some free food for these mouths will very likely result is additional

sources of customers for your store.

==============================================================

Every Tuesday we send out a FREE Retail Profit Tip to those who have registered to receive our FREE newsletter.

If you have not registered yet, you'll want to do so that you don't miss out on this great free content.

This email newsletter is brief and on topic - we know that you're busy and don't have time to waste.

In it we discuss:

• Low cost retail marketing strategies

• Easy to implement ways to increase your sales

• Proven ways to cut your overhead

• First hand insight into running a profitable retail business

To register, simply enter your name and primary email address below: