On Wednesday, July 15, Amazon introduced what they called “Prime Day.” They trumpeted it as an event bigger than Black Friday for its Amazon Prime members, with deals on everything from televisions to toys. Throughout the day, Amazon put deeply discounted items on the site that only Prime members could buy.
Though Amazon’s Prime Day did have its struggles, it was genius marketing. According to Amazon, they sold 34 million items on Prime Day, and, more importantly, sold more $99 Prime memberships than on any other day. Plus, with Prime members buying 398 items per second, there’s no doubt that Amazon cleared out some inventory.
You may not think the online retail giant’s Prime Day has any application to your field service business, but it certainly does. Here are three lessons you can learn from Amazon’s Prime Day event:
Create “Membership” Opportunities
Not only did Amazon Prime Day help Amazon move products, but it also helped them sell their annual subscription to Prime, which is not to be overlooked. At $99 annually, Prime helps Amazon bring in consistent revenue at the cost of two-day shipping, and some other perks. Amazon probably makes a great deal of money from most Prime members.
Take a lesson from Amazon - membership has its privileges. For example, if you own an irrigation service and repair business, create membership service packages. For your highest tier you might offer discounts on service or preferred scheduling. Determine what your customers want, and then give them better service akin to Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping.
Leverage Technology to Streamline Your Business
Amazon has significant advantages over brick and mortar stores (and has put many out of business) because of the technology they use. Everything from recommendations to robots help them sell more products and deliver those products quickly to customers around the globe.
If you run a field service business, you need to leverage technology to stay competitive. Obviously, we recommend field service software like HindSite, which can help eliminate paperwork throughout your entire business - from sales to invoicing - so you can not only be more efficient, but gain more insight from data that your competitors don’t have.
But field service software isn’t the only technology you need. For example, if you run a lawn maintenance business, the mowers you use can significantly impact your productivity. So invest in equipment that can help you do more.
Use Events to Build Brand Awareness
Amazon Prime Day was the talk of the Internet on July 15. They had an entire day where their business was the focus of conversation around the world. Sure, a lot of that conversation centered around how quickly some items sold out or how Prime Day resembled a garage sale, but the end result was that they sold more Prime memberships in one day than they ever had before.
Obviously, your local business will probably never own the Internet like Amazon for a day, but you can certainly own your town for a day. Think big - what type of event can your throw that will help generate publicity for your business? It could be as simple as throwing an ice cream social at your business. Or as complex as organizing a 5K event for a charity. Whatever it is, make sure to invite local news organizations as well as some of the heavy hitting companies in your community to try to garner as much publicity as possible.
At the end of the day, Amazon’s Prime Day was really about marketing their Prime membership. Need some marketing tips of your own? Why not download our free eBook, 15 Sales and Marketing Tips Guaranteed to Grow Your Business?
