Free-For-All-Friday

First things first... Jack's party was fun - though I will say the best laid plans can go awry.  If you think I can be over the top, you would have been pleasantly underwhelmed last night. Unexpected snow meant no party hats, one balloon, and store-bought cake.  Party goers did, however, make predictions.  The most worrisome... "Jack, you will make at least one trip to the emergency room."

As you may remember from last week, I am trying to dedicate Fridays to sharing - even showcasing - the group's collective creativity.  You pose a dilemma for which you are seeking a creative solution and our fellow blog readers get to weigh in with their suggestions.  I'll wait until the following Friday to share my thoughts.

Last week, Stacie posed the challenge to be addressed this week.  She said... "I need creative ideas for a grand opening campaign for my massage business (to start in June).  I can't spend a ton of money upfront to make this happen, but ideas for a small open house or coupons or package deals or whatever will help.  I'll be working from home to start so I can't exactly have a big-free-massage-for-the-public kind of event.  Can't wait to hear your thoughts (and others)!"

One anonymous and diligent reader posted last Friday, suggesting that Stacie consider purchasing gloves from the Target Dollar Bins and attaching promotional tags reading, "Can't wait to get my hands on you."  Her other suggestion was to do a spin on the Yellow Pages with a tag line saying something about, "Let your fingers do the walking."

Here's my crack at it... stream of consciousness...

• Mother's Day is in May, so you'll miss the boat on that, but maybe Father's Day.  Could this be a recommended Father's Day present that thoughtful wives could purchase for their husbands?
  
• My sister has a couple of Pilates studios and she uses the first day of each new year to promote her studio by selling Pilates sessions for $20.08, $20.09 next year, and $20.10 the year after... you get the idea.  If you don't like the idea of using the calendar year, maybe you could use the birth date of your new arrival (Stacy is expecting any day now). If the baby's birthday is today (3/7/08), for instance, maybe you could charge $37.08.  If nothing else it earns you an extra $17.00.  
• From my hand to yours... maybe you could coordinate with a local manicurist to offer a package deal - massage, plus manicure - for a reduced rate. 
  
• The woman in Louisville who cut my hair would give a free hair cut for each new client I sent her way.  I don't know if she considered it cost effective, but it was certainly an incentive for me (and it did land her at least four new clients in the four years she cut my hair).
• Compliments of my friend Quynh, who was riding in the car with me today when this topic came up.  How about a CD?  She suggested burning Cds of relaxing music and using the face of the CD to put your logo and contact information.  I love the idea, because a CD is functional and is something people will use repeatedly. 
• If you held an open house, maybe you could incorporate an adaptation to the tried and true Lollipop Pull.  Use hands instead of lollipops.  Each hand could reveal a different price point.  When I was a kid a local ice cream store used to do this with banana splits, except they used balloons.  Pop the balloon and inside was a strip of paper revealing the cost of your dessert.  I loved the anticipation of the unknown.  Come to think of it... maybe that's responsible for my ice cream obsession.
• Massages seem like either the antidote to stress or the ultimate indulgence.  So, a question you might ask is what do people stress about or when are they most likely to indulge... Stressors might include paying taxes (April 15 - too soon for your purposes); exams (do students have enough extra cash flow?); or children out of school for the summer (good timing for you).  Indulgences might happen in connection with weddings; work promotions (which might mean extra cash flow), or  a tax refunds! 

That's my crack at it.  Now, loyal readers, your turn.  What ideas might you have for helping Stacie promote her massage business?  Equally as important... who will pose the challenge/question for next week?