Marketing lessons from the Streets – of Vienna

Useful marketing lessons can be learned as you wander the streets – provided you’re tuned in and on the look out for them!  These lessons may be things not to do  and they may be ideas that you could adapt for your business or organisation.

Here are just a few that I came across during one afternoon  wandering in the late summer sunshine of Vienna.

This street musician started to play to these two children when they took an interest in his music and yes the parents dropped some coins into his case.

Something worth thinking about – who is your client – the person who consumes or the person who pays?

Some not good marketing moves included the people selling tickets to concerts who were very pushy. Their focus was on selling rather than telling people about a concert and giving them the opportunity to buy. People generally don’t like to be sold – they like to buy.

As to showing fresh tuna in the menu photo of your tuna salad and then serving a scrappy little portion of tinned tuna – that’s a total no-no. In many jurisdictions it’s illegal to misrepresent your products. It’s definitely unethical. It’s also not smart from a business perspective. You won’t have happy customers, you won’t have positive word of mouth and you’ll probably get a bad review on Tripadviser (they did).

But let’s stay with the marketing actions that could give you ideas as to how to market your products or your business or organisation.

One of my recent blog posts was about making your products available to people where it’s convenient for them. The Franciscan Church didn’t have a shop but it was using a machine that normally would have snacks or drinks in to sell CDs, books, candles etc

The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien provides deckchairs for people to sit in in the gardens outside the museum.

Each deckchair has a copy of a portrait that hangs in the museum. Maybe you could do something similar to promote your products or your organisation.

The same museum has a world famous collection of items made in gold.

On the day I was there they were bringing to life one of the items (the Saliera). You can see it on the poster in the photo to the left and then below the two people painted in gold.

As an aside the friends I was with thought it would be fun to have our photos taken sitting on it –  fortunately we were warned (just in time) that the  gold was wet and we’d end up with golden backsides!!

Your action point

• next time you’re out and about keep your eyes open for marketing lessons – you’ll be surprised what you discover !