Lahaina Strikes Again!
May 13, 2009
Most business owners and salespeople seem content to sit back, complain, and rattle off an endless stream of reasons why business is slow…while they continue to work in exactly the same manner they did when the economy was strong – or worse still, sit around and wait for business to come to them.
This second strategy is unreliable even in the best of circumstances, and downright foolish in today’s economy. And yet you see it in use constantly. We certainly do…with one notable and recent exception.
First a quick bit of background. Lorie and I like Asian art. In fact, we like Asian food, Asian culture, and, of course, Asian martial arts. We joke that if there’s such a thing as “previous lives” then we were both certainly Japanese during the samurai period.
One of our favorite artists is Hisashi Otsuka. Lorie bought me a framed poster of one of his pieces as a wedding present nearly 25 years ago. We’ve since bought two prints of his that grace our living room.
So it came as a pleasant surprise when Lorie got a call from Mike Summers last week. Mike works at Lahaina Galleries, the company that represents Otsuka and many other prominent artists. Based in Hawaii, Lahaina Galleries has locations in Maui and on the Big Island, in San Francisco and Newport Beach, California, and in Bend, Oregon.
Mike called to let us know about a new release by Otsuka we might be interested in, and to tell us about an October event they’re having at the San Francisco gallery called “I Found My Art in San Francisco” – a play on words on the classic Tony Bennett Song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”
As a bonus, they’re hoping to have Otsuka at the gallery for the event, which would be a real treat since I’ve never met him before.
There are three extremely important things Mr. Summers did, and I’m hoping you’ve already picked up on at least two of them:
1. He contacted previous customers – We’re not big-time art collectors. In fact, the two Otsuka prints and one poster we own make up our entire collection. But we did buy two of them, the most recent one a little over a year ago. So in addition to sending us periodic e-mails and print newsletters (hey, there’s a bonus strategy for you!) he reached out and presented us with an additional opportunity to acquire a third piece from the artist.
When was the last time you got in touch with past customers?
2. He called – The personal touch of reaching out and talking to us personally is something that’s not done quite enough, particularly with people who’ve suddenly and mysteriously stopped buying from you.
Do you call regular or lost customers with special information and updates?
3. He took initiative – I’ve never met Mike Summers. He didn’t sell us the recent print we bought, and he certainly didn’t sell us the first one we bought back in 1995. For all I know, he could have been seven years old back then. What he did do was compile a list of the gallery’s customers, call to introduce himself, and offer something of interest (the October event) to get our attention. This took a lot of time and effort, and was certainly more difficult than sitting on his butt in an empty gallery, complaining about how bad the economy is, while waiting for buyers to walk in off the street.
What creative, innovative, and proactive strategies are you using to get new business?
With no clear end in sight to this economic downturn, you simply can’t rely on previously successful strategies or simple good fortune to see you through – you need to develop a new mindset and a different approach that will seem like a “work of art” to your customers, clients, and members.
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