A lovely visit to Heathrow Airport
Like so many, my bride and I collect magnets as souvenirs of the exciting places we’ve visited. New York, Vegas, Rome — all are represented on our refrigerator.
Our recent Italian journey included a layover at London’s Heathrow Airport. We never got into the city itself.
Wandering from one airport kiosk to another, we noticed numerous refrigerator magnets with double-decker buses, Buckingham Palace and the like.
The problem: We’d never left the airport. To us, buying a memento of London wouldn’t have made any sense.
This suggests magnet makers are missing a trick. Because if they’d had a magnet announcing, “We Visited Heathrow Airport!” we’d have bought it.
THIS BELONGS IN EVERY BUSINESS LIBRARY!
If we’d visited Spokane, we could have gotten a magnet promoting their airport. Harrumph!
With roughly 30 million layover trips at 4,072 commercial airports worldwide, over 3 billion passengers face the exact same scenario we just dealt with.
Talk about a lost opportunity!
Think about it: A tourist is traveling from Tokyo to Atlanta with a 2-hour layover at Lindbergh Field. Even if he has access to an airline’s lounge, he’ll invariably wander into stores en route to his gate in Terminal 2.
Buying a magnet showing the Gaslamp District makes absolutely no sense for him. Ah, but a magnet showing the airport, perhaps layered over images of the beachfront, Gaslamp, Old Town and downtown … that might make sense, plus provide a constant reminder to return to San Diego and see what he missed the first time.
Currently, tourists can choose from a selection of magnets, priced between $5 and $10 each. If just 1 million of his fellow passengers doing a layover at Lindbergh bought one of these airport-only magnets, up to $10 million in additional revenue would come to Hudson News and others.
You, too, may be overlooking a potential brand extension. Regardless of what you sell, odds are good that you’re going to continue doing what you’ve always done, but may be blinded to new, slightly different opportunities.
To overcome this, speak with individuals who fit your customer profile, even if they’re not currently purchasing from you. Ask for thoughts about what they’d like to buy that they can’t currently find.
If you listen carefully, you may just uncover an idea that’s not so flighty.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Get more ideas at www.askmrmarketing.com.