It’s great fun to call a customer to say that he or she has won a prize in a store contest or drawing. And if you aren’t doing promotions in your store that involve prizes, you’re missing a good way to build up your customer list.  Just be sure to include a line on the entry slip mentioning that you will use the customers’ email or mailing addresses to notify them of future specials and promotions unless they check the box to opt out.

Not everyone entering a contest will be a winner, of course.  At my recent seminar at the Toronto Gift Fair an attendee named Taylor shared an idea that he had used at an ice cream shop, and I thought it was such a great idea that I would like to pass it along.

The shop offered a monthly drawing for a big prize, and once a month they of course drew one name as the winner. But during their slower months, they called every single person who had entered to say that although they had not won the grand prize, they were entitled to a small ice cream cone as a consolation prize.

Since few people would come in alone for their small cone, they built traffic during their off season at a very low cost.  Why not try offering a small gift item or gourmet chocolate bar as a consolation prize when you have a prize drawing in order to bring more customers than the prize winner back into your store?

A consolation prize is defined as a prize for a loser, but in this case the customer is still getting something for nothing. And your store will be a winner by increasing its traffic and its customer list.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder