Reverse Marketing Strategy?
Seeing everybody's talking about attraction marketing I became really curious about the concept of 'Reverse Marketing' and particularly old style reverse marketing strategies.
Wikipedia defines Reverse Marketing as: 'The concept of making the customer seek the firm rather than marketers seeking the customer'.
Thinking about this definition took me back to the days as a teenager when I would work on the open air *Markets in Ashton-U-Lyne Northern England for a couple of months prior to my stint in College.
The markets were well established and steeped in the old traditions of face to face trading.
*The Lord of the Manor, Sir Thomas de Assheton, was granted a King's Charter to hold a market in 1284...
This is one 'old' place! It was a great place to work.
All the traders would be hustling trying to sell their wares to everyone that past by.
They had some great tricks up their sleeve to attract and get people interested in their wares.
There was a lot of friendship amongst the Stall Holders/Traders and some real stand out characters could have you laughing most of the day.
Some of the stalls would seem relatively quiet with the odd person browsing and asking prices etc.
In the case of the Crockery stall, the stall holder would tell them to come back in a few minutes because there was going to be a 'clearance sale' or simply tell the punter that "this lots all goin' for a song t'day".
The stall that sold the Crockery, plates and cups and saucers etc was the one to watch.
The guys on that stall were pure class.
When they were ready to give their pitch they would summon every Tom, Dick and Harry to gather round.
They would magnetically pull the shoppers with their choice of compliments and questions.
The spruiker (salesman/showman) was the man up front.
The Stallholder would charm all the ladies (target audience) and say things like "excuse me love, who touched you with a magic wand, come over here and look at what I'm giving away, gather round".
He would then begin to promote the quality of what he was selling "I can tell you know quality my dear, take a look at these China plates" etc.
The ladies, usually in small groups would laugh and always join the growing crowd to hear what the deal was.
If they had husbands with them the Traders would also attract them to the stall as well.
"I need a good looking couple to stand here in case someone photographs us" the Trader would say.
Once a good bunch of people gathered around the trader would go into his pitch.
His off-sider would pass him different pieces of Crockery until he held a whole set in his hands, all fanned out and a couple of feet across.
He would be talking and offering funny one liners to the crowd while this was going on, everyone was having fun.
With every piece of Crockery passed the Trader would tell everyone the retail price of each item.
There would be a carving plate 10 dinner plates, 10 side plates, cups, saucers, a tea pot plus some other stuff.
I couldn't imagine how he could even hold it all together.
Like a Circus act he'd then throw it in the air, say about a foot high and then catch it.
The crowd would all look in amazement and sigh as he caught it.
I still can't imagine how he performed that feat.
Up to this point, about 5 minutes in; his only goal was to get the punters attention.
They liked him because he told them that he liked them "You wonderful people" he would say.
They also liked him because he entertained them and made them curious about what the deal was.
And so the pitch started.
He pushed the quality and durability of his wares.
Price perception however, was his tool of trade.
"As we all know" he said (he'd told the crowd just before), "this set of the finest bone China would sell in Harrods for 250 quid (Pounds) and it would be worth every penny, wouldn't it" Everyone would agree with a loud endorsement.
You can imagine what came next.
"I am not going to sell any of this to you today, I am literally giving it away and I'm not going to charge you 250 pounds.
This one's has a slight chip on the plate...
I won't even charge you 200 pounds for this fine set.
Call me mentally ill and my wife will get me locked up but I am not even going to ask you to take it from me for 150 pounds.
" "Come closer" he'd say, "if the other market traders hear what I am going to say next they have me evicted from the markets.
" As the crowd gathered closer to him, he moved like a Master, a slick seasoned trader ready to unleash the verbal sword that always drew blood.
In three moves he had only dropped the price about 40%, as the crowd anxiously awaited the final price he would then tell them that he only had 3 or 4 sets left.
"I'm not asking 150 pounds or even 100 pounds.
Call be crazy but at 80 pounds I know you'd bite my hand off" he'd say.
"I'm sorry but it's first come first served basis" he went on to say...
...
Not 80 or even 70 Pounds, call me an idiot and I'll agree...
last 3 sets at 50 pounds and I'll throw in a tea pot cosy to keep your teas warm...
he would then quickly point to someone at the back and say "SOLD" to the good lookin' lady at the back! Punters would be rushing at him with their hard earned money demanding a set.
He would then plead with his off-sider to open another crate supposedly sold to some Hotel or some other fictitious person, saying "open the crate for the XXXX Hotel, they'll have to miss out!" Is this Reverse Marketing? I think it is.
Sure he asked a few to gather round his stall but he became a magnet to the curiosity of the crowd.
He made the crowd seek him out, they actually waited.
How many people do you think went to the market that day to buy a set of crockery? Maybe some.
Probably none.
The people that bought the crockery knew that they were all 'seconds'? Did they really care? They were entertained, they believed they got a good deal and the trader would end up selling quite a number of sets that he would have paid maybe 2 or 3 pounds for from the factory reject warehouse a few miles up the road.
My Mums still got her set of crockery, some 30 + years old.
As Warren Buffet stated: Price is what you pay for something, value is what you get! Everyone had a good time and at the end of the day all went home happy.
Sadly, the days of the true outdoor market traders may well be gone.
But now there's a new breed of Trader/Marketer...
The 'Attraction Marketer'.
A new era in reverse marketing strategy is upon us! His market stall is Global.
He still calls out people but with his articles, video's and blogs, yet different it is still somewhat the same.
He offers value to those who seek it! You can learn more about attracting people around your 'virtual' market stall' by visiting my blog.
To Your Success...
Keep it Simple and Professional! Russ Stewart
Wikipedia defines Reverse Marketing as: 'The concept of making the customer seek the firm rather than marketers seeking the customer'.
Thinking about this definition took me back to the days as a teenager when I would work on the open air *Markets in Ashton-U-Lyne Northern England for a couple of months prior to my stint in College.
The markets were well established and steeped in the old traditions of face to face trading.
*The Lord of the Manor, Sir Thomas de Assheton, was granted a King's Charter to hold a market in 1284...
This is one 'old' place! It was a great place to work.
All the traders would be hustling trying to sell their wares to everyone that past by.
They had some great tricks up their sleeve to attract and get people interested in their wares.
There was a lot of friendship amongst the Stall Holders/Traders and some real stand out characters could have you laughing most of the day.
Some of the stalls would seem relatively quiet with the odd person browsing and asking prices etc.
In the case of the Crockery stall, the stall holder would tell them to come back in a few minutes because there was going to be a 'clearance sale' or simply tell the punter that "this lots all goin' for a song t'day".
The stall that sold the Crockery, plates and cups and saucers etc was the one to watch.
The guys on that stall were pure class.
When they were ready to give their pitch they would summon every Tom, Dick and Harry to gather round.
They would magnetically pull the shoppers with their choice of compliments and questions.
The spruiker (salesman/showman) was the man up front.
The Stallholder would charm all the ladies (target audience) and say things like "excuse me love, who touched you with a magic wand, come over here and look at what I'm giving away, gather round".
He would then begin to promote the quality of what he was selling "I can tell you know quality my dear, take a look at these China plates" etc.
The ladies, usually in small groups would laugh and always join the growing crowd to hear what the deal was.
If they had husbands with them the Traders would also attract them to the stall as well.
"I need a good looking couple to stand here in case someone photographs us" the Trader would say.
Once a good bunch of people gathered around the trader would go into his pitch.
His off-sider would pass him different pieces of Crockery until he held a whole set in his hands, all fanned out and a couple of feet across.
He would be talking and offering funny one liners to the crowd while this was going on, everyone was having fun.
With every piece of Crockery passed the Trader would tell everyone the retail price of each item.
There would be a carving plate 10 dinner plates, 10 side plates, cups, saucers, a tea pot plus some other stuff.
I couldn't imagine how he could even hold it all together.
Like a Circus act he'd then throw it in the air, say about a foot high and then catch it.
The crowd would all look in amazement and sigh as he caught it.
I still can't imagine how he performed that feat.
Up to this point, about 5 minutes in; his only goal was to get the punters attention.
They liked him because he told them that he liked them "You wonderful people" he would say.
They also liked him because he entertained them and made them curious about what the deal was.
And so the pitch started.
He pushed the quality and durability of his wares.
Price perception however, was his tool of trade.
"As we all know" he said (he'd told the crowd just before), "this set of the finest bone China would sell in Harrods for 250 quid (Pounds) and it would be worth every penny, wouldn't it" Everyone would agree with a loud endorsement.
You can imagine what came next.
"I am not going to sell any of this to you today, I am literally giving it away and I'm not going to charge you 250 pounds.
This one's has a slight chip on the plate...
I won't even charge you 200 pounds for this fine set.
Call me mentally ill and my wife will get me locked up but I am not even going to ask you to take it from me for 150 pounds.
" "Come closer" he'd say, "if the other market traders hear what I am going to say next they have me evicted from the markets.
" As the crowd gathered closer to him, he moved like a Master, a slick seasoned trader ready to unleash the verbal sword that always drew blood.
In three moves he had only dropped the price about 40%, as the crowd anxiously awaited the final price he would then tell them that he only had 3 or 4 sets left.
"I'm not asking 150 pounds or even 100 pounds.
Call be crazy but at 80 pounds I know you'd bite my hand off" he'd say.
"I'm sorry but it's first come first served basis" he went on to say...
...
Not 80 or even 70 Pounds, call me an idiot and I'll agree...
last 3 sets at 50 pounds and I'll throw in a tea pot cosy to keep your teas warm...
he would then quickly point to someone at the back and say "SOLD" to the good lookin' lady at the back! Punters would be rushing at him with their hard earned money demanding a set.
He would then plead with his off-sider to open another crate supposedly sold to some Hotel or some other fictitious person, saying "open the crate for the XXXX Hotel, they'll have to miss out!" Is this Reverse Marketing? I think it is.
Sure he asked a few to gather round his stall but he became a magnet to the curiosity of the crowd.
He made the crowd seek him out, they actually waited.
How many people do you think went to the market that day to buy a set of crockery? Maybe some.
Probably none.
The people that bought the crockery knew that they were all 'seconds'? Did they really care? They were entertained, they believed they got a good deal and the trader would end up selling quite a number of sets that he would have paid maybe 2 or 3 pounds for from the factory reject warehouse a few miles up the road.
My Mums still got her set of crockery, some 30 + years old.
As Warren Buffet stated: Price is what you pay for something, value is what you get! Everyone had a good time and at the end of the day all went home happy.
Sadly, the days of the true outdoor market traders may well be gone.
But now there's a new breed of Trader/Marketer...
The 'Attraction Marketer'.
A new era in reverse marketing strategy is upon us! His market stall is Global.
He still calls out people but with his articles, video's and blogs, yet different it is still somewhat the same.
He offers value to those who seek it! You can learn more about attracting people around your 'virtual' market stall' by visiting my blog.
To Your Success...
Keep it Simple and Professional! Russ Stewart
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