Monday, June 26, 2006

Wanna Sweeten Your Business? Do like Hershey's does.....

Took my family on vacation last week. One of our stops was Hershey Amusement Park near Hershey PA. I'm not a big rollercoaster fan myself, but my wife and kids love 'em, so off we went.

Hershey is doing a very clever thing for business.

The park offers a "preview" - anyone who purchases a full-fare ticket for entrance the next day can come to the park for 2.5 hours the night before.

A VERY sweet idea! Why?

Because....

1. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. Customers feel like they get more bang for the buck....and it costs Hershey's nothing (zero, zip, nada) to provide this extra perk (they're paying the staff already....)

2. IMPROVES THE BOTTOM LINE. A small (but probably significant) number of customers pay the whole ticket price but do not return the next day. Other customers might cut their second day shorter. Either way, Hershey wins because they are either: (1) increasing profits; or (2) decreasing the # of people in the park (which increases the customer satisfaction of people who DO stay at the park).



BOTTOM LINE: THINK LIKE HERSHEY: What can you provide your customers with that will be experienced as a value-added perk, while costing your company $0.0?

tags: