As a marketer, I like to believe that my social media posts, blogs, and designs are the things that convince others to take action. And while that is true sometimes, often it is the influence of existing customers that make the real difference.
The Case of the Boot Cover
My client Goldstream Sports started carrying a selection of boot/ski covers made by Dogwood Designs, an extension of the poagie line we have carried for several years now. I created two posts with the tagline Locally Made for Our Conditions for Facebook and posted them with a note that temperatures had started dropping below zero.
No immediate sales.
Two days later one of our frequent customers, who I’ll call Dr. Awesome, bought a set of tall boot covers. Soon after, she posted a review on her personal Facebook page with a link back to the Goldstream Sports Facebook page:
The response to her post was phenomenal:
By Thanksgiving, we sold a quarter of the inventory. Dr. Awesome’s influence lasted waaaaaay past her initial post. On Black Friday, when we were having awesome sales on sports watches and bikes, two women came in for the full-priced boot covers. They mentioned seeing Dr. Awesome’s post. They bought boot covers plus other top quality head lamps, head buffs, and more.
Moral of story: Keep marketing, but make sure it’s reaching your key influencers. These are the people who are really doing the selling for you.