American Onslaught

So it has been a bit, be let me catch you up on something that many of you out there in virtual world might appreciate. I am talking about giving something away for free to get something better back. Easy right, well maybe not.

________________________________________________________

Recently, I traveled. Let me tell you, that is something that has become distasteful. Not because of any line, or boarding procedure, but rather because of the business practices executed within the hopitality industry. However, they are not the only industry guilty of this practice. I am of course talking about the services sold in conjunction with modern day travel.

So you start by buying a ticket or renting a car. But of course you cannot just pay money for the service these days. There are the extras. If your flying its extra to check your bag and even, in the case of my recent trip, the soda while your 3,000 feet above the ground. I mean come one, I’m trying not to think about the fact that I am in a 50 ton vehicle that by all logic should not stay in the air but does, and I’m getting asked for $2 for the can of coke that should cost me $0.60.

But Airlines are not the only ones in on this new game in travel. Hotels are right on board, asking their guests to pay $12.95 for two days worth of internet access on top of the couple hundred spent on a several night stay. I mean its the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers for crying out loud.

This nickel and diming is happening everywhere in America these days, and it is bad for business.

Some reading this may be thinking, “Well I cannot give it away for free,” or  ”I have to get paid.” Well if this is your attitude you might want to take a few hours and come up with another way to develop a strong reputation, strong brand, and loyal customer base. 

Far too many businesses now a days are putting out their hands for more and more money, without ever having to earn it. It comes in all forms too. Some beg the government while others pick the pocked of consumers. The idea and feeling people are let with are the same either way.

Now, I am not saying you should give something huge away for free, but help your customers without the all mighty dollar being the focus of every action. Do this and people will want to help you, which means spending their money. And they know this. It is not lost on anyone that businesses is valuable and the more of it there is the stronger a company will be. 

What I am taking about can be done in a variety of ways. Here let me explain.

In the instance of small business owner with a website, here is a tip teach the basics. Don’t actually teach your customers some of the basics of your service, but offer them a way to learn via your business’s website. 

So if you are a pool man, post a video about how to properly clean a pool or maybe how to change a filter. If are a bakery, then show the backing process in the morning or . This kind of content on your website does to things.

First, by offering people away to learn for themselves on your website, people will go to your website to learn. They will tell other people to go to your website and learn. It’s pretty straight forward and logical is this action reaction chain. 

Second, they will be indeared to you and your company. If I find out how to clean my pool on this website, where do you think I am going to go to find someone who can fix my water pump. So instead of hassling the customer to make sure you got the $100 for cleaning the pool, you have made sure to get the $1,000 for fixing the pump.

So in the case of my trip, if the hotel had just given me Internet access I might have enjoyed my stay better and wanted to say there in the future. Now, I wont. Same is true for the airline, though it is trickier because they all charge for checked baggage far as I know. But if I find one that doesn’t I will make sure to fly on them, even if my tick is a few dollars more sometimes.

So business owners an operators, don’t be afraid to give something away for free. In fact, when it is something small it is a good business practice to do just that.