Idea of the Day: Let your customers win something

Do you know why Happy Meals have been so tremendously successful? Is it for the food quality? (err…) How about the portion size? Nope, I don’t think it’s either of those. The appeal used to be about the package (remember when the container was shaped like a treasure box?), but even more importantly, it’s about the prize.

There is a simple principle at work here: people love winning. Even when the prize isn’t that great, we still get pulled in by the anticipation of seeing what we’ve ‘won.’ And we remember it. In 3rd grade my class had one of those “guess how many jelly beans are in the jar” contests and I won the prize. You probably have your own memory of winning too. See what I mean?

How can more companies benefit from this cardinal rule?

Virtual scratch cards are one of my favorite things, yet I’ve never actually received one for any of my purchases. One the other hand, every time I buy a piece of electronic equipment I am asked to complete a warranty registration. Why? So the company (like HP) can spam me each week about their latest and greatest gadgets? No thanks.

What if every registration, or every enewsletter had a virtual scratch card built right in, and you were almost guaranteed to win something? Call it a Customer Loyalty program. Through a company like HP you might win:

• a 10% off coupon good for any purchase
• free software
• a free printer
• an hour of tech support
• an instant service contract upgrade
• 50% off your next purchase of photo paper

Would you be more excited about the brand? Would you feel like you had an actual relationship with them (beyond buy/sell)? Would you be more likely to think highly of them, and tell others about your experience?

Final note, for a different perspective: Webkinz nailed this concept. They sell stuffed animals (yawn) that are cute, but not significantly different from Gund, etc. However, the company is out of this world at merchandising and built an entire experience around the purchase. Your prize is the ticket to the virtual world that comes with every pet. Last time I counted my kids had over 30 webkinz. Now that’s customer loyalty.