CPQ Studio Marketing Ideas Contest
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Marketing Idea Winner # 3
Using Gift Certificates as a Giveaway is a Smart Way to Land New Clients!
Submitted by Vicki Bedford, of Vicki Lynn Photography

When we started giving away Free Holiday Gift Certificates last month, we had high expectations for how our clients would use them to attract more business to their studios after the holiday rush was over. We got extra excited by the overwhelming number of requests we received each time we sent out a new email announcing that they were available. That was fun! And, it continues to be a fun project as more and more of you catch the vision of the power of gift certificates and how they can positively affect your business.

Still, we have to admit, we were caught off guard when we received this innovative twist to using gift certificates from Vicki Bedford. It’s a simple, easy-to-use concept that yielded excellent results for Vicki at a bridal show this past weekend.

Here’s what she writes:

“This past Saturday I had a booth at a local wedding show. I decided to use the free Holiday Gift Certificates from CPQ as door prizes.

I gave each gift certificate a value of $100 toward any wedding package. I asked the brides-to-be to fill out a small form including their name, address, phone number and email.

Almost every bride-to-be filled out a form! Two names were drawn and announced during the show. Both winners returned to my booth and booked their weddings with me!

In addition, I now have the names and contact information of dozens of prospective customers that I can follow up with!

Thanks CPQ for the free Holiday Gift Certificates! I will be using them again at the next wedding show…you're the best!”

Vicki’s idea is based on the proven marketing concept of giving, rather than selling and it obviously gave her big results! It’s also important to note that she gathered important contact information from the other attendees -- a smart move! By doing this, Vicki has positioned herself to have additional opportunities to show off her work to those who did not book with her while at the show!

Good marketers know that people don’t usually buy the first time they experience you or your work. Because this is true, you need a cost-effective way to stay in touch with potential clients over an extended period of time, giving you more chances to convert them to buying customers. (For further reading on an inexpensive way to stay in touch with potential clients, see 7 Reasons to Use Email Marketing).

In closing, we were impressed with how Vicki got creative with the gift certificates and instead of just selling them (which is what we intended them for), she gave them away as a prize! What a great idea! (Don’t miss out on how she made the gift certificates a $100 credit toward a specific event or service that she wanted to offer!) We recommend that you use both selling and giving concepts to fully utilize the power of your gift certificates.

Keep in mind -- a gift certificate costs you nothing until someone uses it – so put them into the hands of as many people as you can! Your workload in January, February and March can be greatly impacted by how effectively you sell (or give away!) gift certificates this holiday season!

If you'd like to obtain your own set of Free Holiday Gift Certificates, from CPQ, this is your last chance! We said last week was the end, but because of Vicki's fantastic idea we've decided to extend our free offer for a few more days. However, Monday is the last day they'll be available, so don't wait, request your certificates now!

If you’d like to order custom gift certificates with your own images on them, just use CPQ Press Product Creator software and look under the “promotional” tab. Or, you can create your own JPG files and upload them to a blank template, also found in Press Creator.

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