This Purple Goldfish Has Balls (three of them to be exact)
I had a chance to catch up with Will Prest last night at Tennis Night in America. Will is from Minneapolis and he shared this gem from the twin cities. It comes in as #245 in the Purple Goldfish Project:
Michael Lynne’s Tennis Shop
“When you pick up your professionally strung racquet, you get a new can of Penn balls with the Michael Lynne Tennis logo and name in big letters on it. It is a nice gesture, plus his balls are left all over the clubs around town. Here is the website. It got me to visit the site and I read a few of the articles on there…they were a nice surprise.”
Companies that tend to really get the concept of marketing lagniappe, tend to have multiple examples in their arsenal. Maybe it has something to do with fish wanting to swim in schools. Here is an excerpt from an article about Michael Lynne’s in an industry publication:
“…it’s not only about sales. Fully supportive of Minneapolis’ large tennis community, Lynne puts kids’ and local team photos on his back wall along with local tennis stories and news. And he’s happy to offer tennis tips to his customers and encourages them to “test drive” racquets for free.
…Clothing is grouped by size and the price is always visible. Racks are never overcrowded and pieces are displayed on the wall so customers can see them as “outfits.” When customers try on clothes, they find large dressing rooms with excellent lighting. Also, all the employees don various tennis outfits to work so customers can see what the clothes actually look like “on.”
The store also has six stringing machines, so, as Michael notes, “You can have your racquets strung while you wait.” But even “waiting” at Michael Lynne’s Tennis Shop is a pleasure. Customers can watch the Tennis Channel on TV while having a snack or sipping gourmet coffee the shop supplies.
“We’re a destination point,” Lynne says. “People have to drive here, so we want to make sure our staff is well-informed on the merchandise and offers great customer service.”
“Michael and Mimzy personify customer service, and they teach their staff to take this approach,” says Greg Mason, senior director of sales for HEAD. “It’s the little things like greeting each customer, then thanking them as they leave, writing thank-you notes to repeat customers — that really makes the difference.”
The staff, adds Mason, is always upbeat and motivated. “It’s apparent they ‘get it,'” says Mason. “The Minneapolis tennis market is the real winner.”
Let me count the purple goldfish:
1. Free balls with restringing, 2. Free racquet Demo’s, 3. Stringing while you wait in style, 4. Large well lit dressing rooms and 5. Hand written thank you’s.
I love the last paragraph of the article, “It’s the little things . . . that make the biggest difference”. AMEN
