"Last Minute Louie" is a Marketing Opportunity for Your Business.

Many of us tend to be “Last Minute Louies.”  We procrastinate, put off and wait until the last minute to do anything.  That mode of operation has worked for us in the past, so why shouldn’t it work now?  Yes, most of the time it does, but every now and then, you come up short and there is no way to fix it.

With the holiday season approaching, there are a lot of corporate “Last Minute Louies” out there that haven’t planned or even thought about their company party…which means a lot of opportunity for you and your center.

Try to craft a story about your “Last Minute Louieness” and communicate that to a prospective corporate decision maker; maybe it goes something like this:

“Dear Executive;

Last year, I had a big problem and I need your help.

You see, my business, Happy Lanes located at ________ was getting ready to host company parties, when on December 10^th  I received not one, but three desperate calls from company executives, requesting time at Happy Lanes to have their company party.  They had heard about what a great time other people had and how affordable it was that they wanted to get in on the fun too.

Unfortunately I had to turn them away, because I had no room.  This year I called them in October and reminded them about last year’s problem and they quickly reserved their holiday party with "the friendlies" at Happy Lanes.

So I am asking, if you know anybody who hasn’t made company holiday plans or who hasn’t gotten that task off their desk, would you please, please  tell them that we still have some openings, but I know after this email is read, my phone will start ringing. 

So please, tell a friend today. And remember, “Friends don’t let friends go without a great company holiday party.”

Yours Truly,

Sam Proprietor                                                                                                                     

Happy Lanes

P.S. Oh yes one more thing.  Please tell them if they reserve their party before (date) they’ll get a $100 discount. I just feel so bad for these “Last Minute Louies” that I want to help them out.”  

P.P.S. You know what, tell them that if they dont like their party or if we didn't meet or exceed their expectations, I'll give them back all of their money. If we didn't deliver the goods, they don't have to pay. Thanks for your help...and for your time.

   With that email letter in hand, I would send emails to my entire “company data base.” 

You do have a company data base don’t you. No?  Ok, Google www.Infousa.com  and follow the instructions on how to find out how many companies are within (x) miles of your center.  Then follow the instructions to find out which companies have employees over (Y) number of employees and under (Y) number for employees.

I usually look for companies with over 15 employees to about 75 because these companies are probably privately owned and don’t necessarily have stringent "corporate" deadlines and reporting dictates…and probably haven’t booked their party yet. 

But I would also get a sample of 75+ companies and mail them the letter too, just to test Fred’s theory. (What works in one market doesn’t always work in other markets, right?)

Buy about 2,000 addresses. Even if there are no emails associated with the title you want (smaller companies, the title is President; bigger companies the title is VP of Human Resources). 

But as a marketer who believes in “frequency”, I would email and mail at the same time.  Maybe even a fax!

This may cost you about $500 for the names and if you had to MAIL all of them at 46 cents; it would be an additional $920 in postage and about $100 to print the letter on you stationery.

So your investment is about $1400.  That’s 3 $466 parties or 6 $233 parties.  As a percent of the 2,000 mailings, that would be between .003% to .006%...less than one third of a percent.  

What are you waiting for?

If you like this idea, just go do it. (You already have the start of a story letter above. It just needs your center’s personal touch). 

Otherwise, you’ll be a “Last Minute Louie” too J