[MUSIC PLAYING] DREW SANOCKI: Welcome to module 4 lesson 2, the right distribution. We want to increase multiplier three of the total number of new customers and distribution is a big overlooked opportunity. Think about it, Coke isn't the best drink, McDonald's doesn't make the best burger-- In-N-Out does-- these companies are number one because of their distribution advantages. Distribution is the ability to get in front of a potential customer and sell, think beyond direct response.
Every one of your customers uses multiple products and services, in each one of these products and service businesses has its own customer list, just like you do. What if you partnered with just some of these businesses, you'd instantly be in front of a large amount of high quality leads. In this lesson I want to give you three distribution platforms you might consider. The first platform is the providers of products and services that are complementary to your own.
The other day I received a new pair of Bonobos pants and was surprised to see this BaubleBar $20 off coupon inside the package. BaubleBar is betting that a lot of Bonobos customers have wives or girlfriends, and that those wives or girlfriends might like shopping for jewelry at BaubleBar. So they're leveraging Bonobos as a distribution platform, and I bet this deal goes in reverse too. Pulling off this deal probably took all of a handful of emails between the companies, genius right?
The second killer distribution platform are your own customers. Referrals represent the best leads you can get, referrals are already qualified from a trusted source. But most businesses do a terrible job at encouraging them. Most say something like, hey, if you know anybody else who would like our product send them our way, thanks very much. Instead you've got to be more systematic, at Karmaloop we revamped that messaging to read something like this.
Hey Zach, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being one of our best customers. At Karmaloop we believe in building our business around our best customers, and that's you. So we'd love it if you hit reply and let us know how we can do better, or what other products you'd like to see. P.S. We found that our best customers also refer other best customers. So if you do this, we'll give you a 15% off your next purchase.
See the difference, you can automate a message like this in your email software and it's going to pay dividends forever. Third killer distribution platform are social platforms. Again most e-commerce businesses do not fully exploit social, they just mail it in, they aren't systematic about it. What's systematic? Well at Karmaloop we figured out that we were getting heaps of referrals through YouTube influencers. We were able to identify the 20 or so top influencers, approach them and work them into our affiliate program.
Ultimately those 20 accounted for a significant percentage of our new customer acquisition. If you want more detail on how to leverage YouTube, Instagram, and other channels, listen to my podcast at nerdmarketing.com/15. To recap, I would encourage you to think beyond direct response. Take your Facebook hat off and put your business development hat on. Leverage distribution to gain an unfair advantage that can create new customers by the truckload.
And in the next lesson I'm going to talk about how acquiring the right customers, not just any customers, is vital if you want to grow. [MUSIC PLAYING]
