By Brian Swichkow
Image Credit: http://bit.ly/eMLmjI
Formed in 1912 and currently 3.2 million members strong, The Girl Scouts of America are as dangerous as they are adorable. For most of the population, when you hear the word “girl” and “scout” used in the same sentence your mouth starts to water and you reach for your checkbook. The Girl Scouts of America have created an amazingly successful marketing strategy and continue to capitalize on this year after year.
Think of your favorite food in the world and imagine that it’s only available to you once a year. Now imagine that you haven’t had this for 11 months, maybe you’ve even forgotten about it, and all of the sudden an adorable little girl offers it you you – what do you do? For many people this cultivates a hoarding mentality where they purchase more than they would normally … a LOT more.
For the Girl Scouts, absence makes people buy an absurd amount of cookies. These little girls have created one of the most beautiful, yet subversive, marketing schemes in the history of door to door sales. While I’m sure that most people aren’t thinking about their cookies all year, the Girl Scouts of America have in my mind orchestrated and amazing marketing plan for selling untold amounts of cookies. While a once annual sales strategy isn’t going to work for most businesses, there is something you can learn from the GSoA about keeping your audience on a schedule.
I hope this has helped you to see the evil genius of these little cookie peddlers, I’m off to eat four boxes of thin mints.
Tags: Girl Scouts, Marketing, Tips and Tricks
