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Papa Johns has a new promotion: free pizzas to “every American” (with some small print) if Sunday’s Super Bowl goes into overtime.  Any thought as to why?

Well, their head of Marketing says it’s because they’d rather give away millions of pizzas than spend three million dollars for a 30 second commercial – but that’s less than a complete answer. The fact is potential recipients must register online to be eligible and the national chain is likely to grow its email data base by tens of millions.   Then with a monster data base that cost them next to nothing to generate, they will be able to direct market on a personal basis to millions of Americans for next to nothing.

Who benefits? Well, certainly all those who register in the unlikely event the game goes into overtime (it never has) but the biggest winner has to be the Papa Johns chain. They have already generated millions of dollars in free advertising with news coverage of their promotion, and their local franchisees who certainly are getting their money’s worth given the franchises’ marketing fee.

If you remember, Denny’s started this a number of big bowls back when they announced Grand Slam breakfasts were on the house the next morning.  Local papers had pictures of the long lines, all four of the national networks had the story on their evening news the next day and a sheepish Denny’s CEO told a USA Today reporter they’d garnered 50 million dollars in free publicity before the day was done, never mind all the first time customers, the folks who hadn’t been to Denny’s for a long while and, by the way, the margin on the drinks folks ordered with those breakfasts almost paid the cost of the meal.

SEO guru Brad Fallon said it best more than three years ago when he told my CEO groups, “If you give it away, you can sell a lot more.”  That proved the case for Denny’s, but now Papa Johns has one upped the competition. PJ’s is now able to sell a lot more (as a result of their huge new data base) to a lot more without having to give anything away …  in fact, by doing no more than holding a news conference.

And think of all publicity they’ll get if the game does go into overtime.  I don’t know who will win the football game, but the winner of the Marketing competition is clear.

The taste buds of the masses seem to go through phases… periods during which a certain type of food becomes popular. As a kid, I remember when Chinese restaurants became all the rage, then Italian; Sushi led to Thai and then Indian – and now Barbecue.  And, unfortunately, with massive acceptance comes attempts at franchising. Corporate types seeking to put more black ink on the bottom line by stamping out cookie-cutter operations offering mass production of the latest food fad.

Barbecue, to this point, has proven the one niche with which the mass market folks have had trouble. Famous Daves and Smokey Bones are but two examples.  Now, however, there may be an aberration about to make good on a big scale.  A ramshackle restaurant getting its start in the Deep South appears poised for explosive growth.  And all because a dumpster diver was looking for something to do with his “stuff.”

Born on the bayou (Ocean Springs, Mississippi), The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint, is just that and less.   The restaurants (I’ve been to two) appear to be patched together by neighborhood kids building a ground level tree house.  The décor is decidedly sparse and certainly patron provided: think old tools, car parts, signed dollar bills, sports gear, tie dyed shirts, business cards etc., nailed, stapled all about. Tables, in some instances, are doors on saw horses and you’ll have a tough time finding any two chairs that match.  Table cloths?  Wet Wipes?  Valet parking? You’ve got to be kidding.

Why? Because real barbecue addicts know that the best barbecue is usually is found in some building in severe disrepair in a bad section of town with bars on the windows and just enough grease on the table for you to be able to write your initials.  Think of three great barbecue joints: Finchers in Macon, Georgia, McNeeleys in Memphis, Tennessee, and McMillan’s in Whistler, Alabama, as prime examples.  The two Shed locations I visited were both well off the main drag and in areas where appearance and/or restrictive zoning was not an issue.

Food at The Shed is fairly priced ( plates with two sides range from $8.99 for chicken sausage, or pork, to $9.99 for beef brisket and 11 or 12.99 for spare or baby back ribs plus a couple sides) and better than  average. The sauce is a thick molasses based concoction. Four sides are offered: baked beans (promoted as ‘famous), Cole slaw, macaroni salad and potato salad. Collards and French fries were conspicuous by their absence. Everything comes with pickles and onions. All in all, better than average.

The colorfully written menu notes at the bottom, “Oh yes, there are more Sheds. Each one totally unique, no cookie cutter franchise stuff for The Shed.”   The others, at this point, are in Gulfport, Mississippi, Scott and Mobile, Alabama and Destin, Florida.

Ironically, it may have been the former CEO of  Porsche, Peter Schutz, who put it best when he said, “If you listen, your customers will explain your business to you.”  Shed founder Brad Orrison (a self confessed dumpster diver while at Ole Miss) obviously has listened to his customer base and knows the DNA of the true barbecue fan, and is betting on the theory that “if (he) you build(s) it, they will come,” and one may be coming near you soon.  Enjoy.

Burger King recently gave away free coffee… not a free cup of coffee if you bought something, just a free cup of coffee – no purchase required.

Why, because as Vistage member and speaker Brad Fallon said years ago, “If you give it away, you can sell a lot more.”  In Burger King’s case, it wasn’t just about selling more coffee. It was about selling more of everything; the folks at Denny’s proved that following their announcement at the Super Bowl several bowls back.

A TV ad during the event announced Denny’s would be serving free “Grand Slam” breakfasts to all who asked the next morning.  The next evening, every network TV newscast, most local newscasts and the next morning’s daily all featured stories of the long lines outside the Denny’s in their communities.   A few days later, Denny’s CEO admitted to a USA Today reporter that the promotion had brought many folks back who hadn’t been to a Denny’s in years, attracted new customers who had never been inside, and, by the way, most everyone bought coffee or a soft drink to go along with their free breakfast.

Those in the restaurant business will tell you that their margin on drinks is a multiple of what they make on the food. And the Denny’s chain logged more than one hundred million dollars worth of free publicity that served to significantly raise the brand’s profile.

So, if you’re in business, but not necessarily the CEO or owner, the question becomes what can you give away that will attract business? For many, the answer is ‘expertise.’  Ever stop to wonder about “the why” in back of all those emailed newsletters you receive that offer unsolicited (and unpaid) business tips? It is information being provided you free that others charge a fee to provide.  The hope of the originator is that the reader will provide the sender with credibility and recognize a degree of expertise – and then assume if the sender offers this for free, there must be a lot more in back of it –  and then makes a decision to spend for more.  They are buying because they got a taste, something of value (a cup of coffee, a breakfast, a few Sales tips) for free.

Some decorators give away ideas as to how you can improve the look, feel of your home in hopes you will hire them. Some Search Engine Optimization folks offer suggestions for improving your web site’s rating. Burger King gave away coffee.

What do you have for sale?  What could you give away that might open the door to that sale? Not a key chain, not a letter opener or a Swiss pocket knife, but something of value that ties closely to your core product or service.

What can you give away for free, no strings, no conditions, that will be of value to the recipient and cause them, at some point, to want – and be willing to pay – for more?  Yes, it is counter intuitive, but you will sell a lot more… ask at Denny’s.

Bud Carter, www.businessquotes.com

Yesterday was Cyber Monday – the day we were encouraged to go online, seize what are purported to be great discounts, and spend the nation back into prosperity… or, at the least, financial stability.

Most have electronic relationships (or is that an oxymoron?) with established suppliers, the Amazons of the world;  but for those in search of a specific product, a web search is typically the first order of business: go to Google, enter the product, and then check out the first three or four firms  showing atop the first page.   And that, as it turns out, may not be such a good thing.

Sunday’s New York Times headlined their story about Vitaly Borker “A Bully Finds a Pulpit on the Web.”  My choice would have been “Bad Guy Makes Big Bucks Abusing the Web.” Long story short, Borker’s company has a history of unimaginably poor customer service and, believe it or not, selling a lot more because of it. The more customers his company abuses, the more customers they get.

How?  Well, you don’t want to be one of his dissatisfied customers. Borker (who uses more than one name) routinely responds first with curt emails, then frequently follows with profanity laced emails. Then if the customer remains adamant in his demand for a refund or by stopping payment,, the newspaper account say his responses have escalated to threats of physical violence.

Frustrated, many take to the internet to warn others. But by blasting the New Yorker online, by joining groups seeking to publicize the abuse he heaps on customers, they, albeit unwittingly, drive up his ratings on the search engines, so instead of being somewhere on page six, his company ranks even higher on the web page than the name brands of the eye glasses he advertises.  Boasts Borker, “I out rank the designer’s own web site.” And the higher your position on the search engines, the more people who will visit your site and, hence, the more people likely to buy.

Borker, who works out of his home, caught onto this Catch 22 quickly and has made it a practice to go far beyond reason to agitate initially and then literally threaten those who had the misfortune to buy from him and then seek to return their designer eye glasses.  His record is one  of threatening to take disgruntled customers to small claims court, and later emailing copies of “documents” showing a suit has been filled. If the consumer persists he has escalated to the point of emailing pictures of the customer’s home (to prove he knows where to find them), noting “I am watching you.” He typically doesn’t stop until the customer surrenders and withdraws his stop payment order.

The Times quotes Borker as saying, “I’m not a sales girl at Macy’s following a customer around the store to make sure you’re happy.”  Nor is he interested in doing business with those who have researched his company and read the scathing reviews. The Black Bart of the internet knows there are far more potential customers than those he has already alienated, and those are the folks whose money he wants.  He literally makes more money by abusing his customers and then gaming the system.   The more people go online to complain about Borker and his company, the higher his ranking; the higher his ranking, the more business he does. And yet who can fault consumers trying to caution others who may be in the market for the same product.

What’s the answer?  Research.  Know our vendor before you make an online purchase… and, as the  DecorMyEyes.com has proven, those resting atop  Google’s first page are not, by placement alone, guaranteed to be quality merchants.

Bud Carter, check out my web site www.businessquotes.com – home of “Pithy Quotes”

Baseball fans all,

For most, today is the day we remember that President Kennedy was shot and killed.  It is also, however, the day that Stan Musial was born…   and today The Man celebrates his 90th as the newly named recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom…

Stan The Man follows DiMaggio, Williams, Clemente, Frank and Jackie Robinson and Buck O’Neil in receiving the honor… and likely is being so honored only because the owner of the Cardinals mounted an overt effort utilizing the social media, pressure on the US Senators in Missouri and neighboring Illinois, and a educational cartoon character called Flat Stan.

For me, the pride of a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania, takes on even a more personal appeal.  He was Mother’s all-time favorite; “My Stanley” was the way she referred to him.   I opted for his restaurant, Musial and Biggies, for my first bachelor dinner.  Note, I said “first;” the restaurant lasted longer.

And when it came time for my folks to celebrate either their 65th or 70th wedding anniversary, I’m not sure which, I contacted his office and Stan Musial sent a personal note which was framed and showcased in a far more prominent place  than the letter from President Clinton.

As a kid, my younger brother and I pressured our folks to hang around the ballpark, Sportsman’s Park, long after the game so we could get autographs…  sometime in September 1951, the Cardinals played Cincinnati and there in my autograph book are the signatures of Nipper Jones,  Del Rice and Stan Musial …  Musial, not once, but twice.

Stan Musial was not only a great ballplayer, a successful businessman (he was also President of a bank) but a great citizen - a good guy who just happened to hit .331.

Happy birthday Stan