What was that noise?
A car alarm?
A siren?
No, it was more unusual than that.
What the hell was it?
As I lay awake at 6am in my hotel room, I tried to figure out what on earth was making these unbelievably weird wailing noises.
And when I checked out later that morning, I asked the receptionist what had been going on.
‘Ah…,’ she said, looking embarrassed. ‘I’m really sorry. It’s the, er, monkeys.’
Of course! The hotel was situated slap bang next to a zoo. I’d arrived late at night so had barely registered the
fact.But instead of making the most of this amazing wake-up call, the hotel had tried to brush it under the carpet.
And they were missing a HUGE opportunity.
What they had clearly decided was a negative could have been an amazing USP for the hotel.
It’s proximity to the zoo should have been a key draw for their customers.
The early morning ‘rainforest wake up call’ could have been a unique quirk that they marketed.
Hell, they could have gone the whole hog with a simean-themed restaurant, complete with Little Monkeys Kids Menu and Chocolate Chimp cookies. (Sorry. I never could resist a dad pun).
And it got me wondering: are you missing a marketing trick?
Are you trying to brush something under the carpet that could be a huge opportunity for your business?
Perhaps you’re:
- trying to hide the services that you don’t offer – when you could be positioning your business as a niche specialist
- worrying about not having grand offices – when in reality you’re passing cost savings on to your clients
- nervous about your relative lack of experience – when you could be promoting your fresh, new approach
So next time you’re fretting about a negative, try turning it on its head to find a more positive take. You might just uncover a brand new reason for your clients to choose your business over the rest.