A hotel in California
offered up a promotion wherein the first guest each day to sing a preselected
song received a free room upgrade. The performances were videotaped and
uploaded on YouTube, and a grand prize awarded to the best performance of the
summer. It was an outrageous idea that worked fabulously for the hotel. So what are you doing to include your customers in the fun and to actually get them involved in some way? Here are a few ways companies are including their customers (and keep in mind, everyone has customers, your customers might just be sitting down the hallway):
Hold a contest that gets your customers involved in your business in some way. Perhaps it's a contest to name a product or create a new idea. (One restaurant, for example, offers a prize four times a year for the most creative idea for a new menu item.)
Hold a contest for the most creative photo or video submitted by a customer that promotes a product or your company in some outlandishly fun way.
Create "behind the scenes" events where your customers can get a hands-on experience to find out what parts of your business are truly like.
Include your customers in brainstorming sessions.
Make your customers the stars of your marketing campaigns.
Hold outrageously fun and creative customer appreciation events and celebrations.
Highlight a customer in some fun way. Promote their business on your social media or website, include a write up about them in your newsletter, or create a customer hall of fame fun photo gallery - do something to make them feel like the star attraction, because, well, they are!
Mike's Fun at Work Tip
RealTruck Fargo, Shindigz, and Hyland Software are just a few of likely hundreds of companies that hold regular paper airplane flying contests. One engineering firm takes the whole event rather seriously (they are engineers, after all), using the occasion not just to blow off steam, but as a team-building creativity exercise with prizes for the most creative design and the longest flight path. Whether it's an impromptu way to break up a long meeting, a ten-minute stress-busting activity, or a more formalized monthly or yearly event, it's an easy way to inject some energy into any workplace.
Quote of the Week
"To succeed in life you need three bones: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone." Reba McEntire
It's a Wacky World
Welcome to October! It's Squirrel Awareness Month, Bat Appreciation Month, Right Brainers Rule Month, Positive Attitude Month, and Sarcastic Awareness Month. (We sure need that one.)
There's also a whack of wacky theme days headed your way, including:
October 3: Smile Day
October 6; Techie's Day
October 8: Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day
October 12: International Moment of Frustration Scream Day
October 14: Be Bald and Free Day
October 15: Information Overload and I Love Lucy Day
October 16: Boss's Day and Get to Know Your Customers Day
October 17: Wear Something Gaudy Day
October 20: Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day
October 22: Smart is Cool Day
October 27: Cranky Co-Worker's Day
October 30: Haunted Refrigerator Day
