A little kindness can go a long way!
Wednesday was free cone day at Ben & Jerry's. Being right in the heart of the U of M campus, u are bound to have a mad rush for it. Why would a business do such a thing? Why give away free icecream for an entire day especially right in the middle of campus where students are ready to try out all the flavors on offer even if it means standing in long queues. This may not run you to bankruptcy but is surely not going to be profitable by any stretch of the imagination. What did they themselves have to say..........."It is our way of saying Thank you". Cool, I'm not complaining but i just failed to see the reasoning behind it. Its almost laughable.
Atleast till today. Ever since then, I dont know if its just me, but this place has gone ice cream crazy......more specifically Ben & Jerry's crazy. The people coming in and out and the number of people on the road with icecream cones just seems to have suddenly gone up. Whenever I walk on the road just a couple of blocks to the bus stop I see atleast 5 people with icecream cones in their hand. Its unbelievable. Wonder how just one cone made such a difference. For regulars like me, it was just another icecream but it seems to have done the trick on most people who otherwise wouldn't have even come near the place otherwise.
Now I wonder who is laughing all the way to the bank!!!
5 comments:
ladh...probably has to do with a certain season comin g up! rather already here to stay.....
Rohini
Haven't you heard the basics of marketing. Its called "Promotions".
And to think that you are the descendent of an IIM A grad .... pity !
BTW there are plenty of ice cream places on campus . Are you sure all the ice cream cones were B&J's ?
this was not a promotion and neither was it advertised as one. a promotion is if u give something at an introductory offer not give away unlimited icecream for free.
its best that u stick to computer science and not worry about business for the time being
Well there have been plenty of "weird" promotions or sampling techniques (not random processes mr math but techniques which make people try your product) and this definitely classifies as one.
The other standard promotion which all grad students are familiar with is getting resumes by giving away free pizzas. You would be surprised to know what grad students are ready to do for free food ...
And for your acerbic post ... Whether you agree to it or not. I consider myself a business man first and computer geek next !
interesting....is Ben and Jerry's coming to UIUC anytime soon :D??...
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