Key Question:
A: Be funny if you can. We have always called Marc our favorite one-man marketing band and it's probably because he is always smiling and getting others to smile.
Q: Why does having fun make marketing sense?
A: Because everyone wants to laugh and smile and have a good time no matter what situation they are in. Of course you wouldn't use humor to sell caskets and some industries don't lend themselves to humor. But, more often than not, making people laugh will translate to profits.
The boxer shorts for sale in the Katz Deli store are so funny people can't resist buying them. They are part of the marketing because they bare the famous Katz marketing slogan: Katz Never Kloses.
Marc drives around town in a taxi-yellow convertible vintage Cadillac with the Katz Deli logo on the side. People smile and wave and call out his name when he drives by.
When he started the business and had no money, he would get referrals from the nearby hotels by stopping to visit with the doormen and slip a tiny bottle of scotch into their pockets. He admits he doesn't do this today, but he has something even better. He created Katz dollars which he gives away to develop referral sources.
The funniest offer Marc makes that becomes a wonderful marketing phrase is a lifetime guarantee on anything you purchase at Katz Deli. Think about it. He sells BIC lighters. The idea should be making you laugh right now. When a BIC lighter runs out of fuel, it no longer works and he promised you that if you bought it from him that it would work for life. His goal is for you to first laugh then come back to get a free replacement. While you're there, Marc is sure you will sit down and eat.
This whole concept of being funny won't work unless you are funny or have someone on your team who is naturally funny. It can even work if you love funny people and are happy to pay them for their ideas. This won't work if you just try it because you think it will make you money.
Think about it
Can you use this idea? What could you do that would put a smile on the faces of your customers?
Clip from: Katz's Deli & Bar
Austin, Texas: A New York deli in Texas... now that's a concept! Meet the man who believes corned beef is a food group of its own and whose mission has brought more than great eating to the music scene on 6th Street at Rio Grande.
Known around town as the unofficial Mayor of Austin, fifth generation kosher butcher Marc Katz, brought his family recipes from New York City and says his deli in Austin serves the best sandwich west of the Hudson River. Marc tells us that he copies the best practices of the companies he admires and this led him to the insight, "You only get to keep what you give away."
Learn how this one-man-marketing band rings up millions in revenues from one location that brims with excitement. He has declared "...fat is back" and added a milkshake to his menu that he calls "a heart attack in a glass." He warns, "You should not operate a vehicle under the influence of this milkshake."
Katz's Deli & Bar
Marc Katz, CEO & founder
618 West 6th St. at Rio Grande
Austin, TX 78701
512-472-2037
Visit our web site: http://www.katzneverkloses.com
Office: 512-472-2037
Business Classification:
Restaurant
Year Founded:
Make Marketing Fun and Funny
MARC: Right. And a dinner or they might even buy a T-shirt. By the way, I can't help it; I got to tell you, our T-shirts have a lifetime guarantee. Anything you buy that has a Katz's logo on it has a lifetime guarantee.
Cashier: Anything. One is our boxers and, as you can see, we `Never klose,' right on the fly.
MARC: And I plagiarized, to a certain extent, the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, made it look like the deli seal of approval. It says on there -- everything you buy from us has a little insignia on it that says it has a lifetime guarantee. And see, what that does is, it gets people talking about the place. They show their little insignia to somebody else. It gives the place customer responsibility. It seems like we're really here.
HATTIE: But it's outrageous to tell somebody their T-shirt's going to last forever.
MARC: And I can't wait till they bring--we sell the disposable cigarette lighters with a lifetime guarantee. I only want them to come back. I only want to gladly give them another one. I mean, for the price of a lighter I have somebody coming back in...
HATTIE: You buy one, you get the rest of them for your life for free.
MARC: Forever. Just bring it back out of fuel, bring back the T-shirt; you don't like the style, it faded, you washed it with your wife's pink underwear. Any reason there is, you don't like it, we're going to give you another one. Your pen runs out of ink, you break the mug you buy from me, I'm going to give you another mug.
HATTIE: All right. Now have you put the pencil to this? Is this working?
MARC: My gut tells me, and my intuition tells me, I keep what I have by giving it away. It's the only way for a signature restaurant to grow.
