Aspen Business Journal

PROFITABILITY

UPCOMING EVENTS

"To be stable, we have to constantly adjust everything that we do.

Like the rider on a bicycle, if we stand still, we fall over.

We can only keep our balance by constantly moving forward."

from "Stability: It’s Not What You Think," by Scott Simpson, in DesignIntelligence, November 12, 1997

DECEMBER 1997

Are you wondering how to make use of the Aspen Business Journal "Resource Guide"? And, once this issue lands in the recycle bin, how can you later get in touch with the people introduced here?

Glad you asked. The answer to the last question is that all the people who appear in the print edition of the Journal are also listed in the Resource Guide on this Web site.

You can phone them, fax them, or send them an email message right from the site, and if they have a Web address, you can click to that, too.

As for making the Resource Guide work for you, consider this month’s issue as an example.

When I listened to the three company owners profiled here talk about their businesses, I saw an opportunity for each of them to expand their customer base by "cross-marketing" with each other:

Global Fitness Adventures leads spa tours to exotic places (including Aspen) for people who want hiking and healthy living to be the core of their trip experience.

Mephisto Shoes are renowned for their quality, comfort and durability.

Aspen Luggage Company produces its own travel bags in Colorado for sale at its Aspen store, as well as creating custom bags imprinted with customers’ logos for premium and incentive sales.

It seemed to me their customers have several things in common:

high level of disposable income

demand for excellence in products, services, and experiences

desire for travel

connection to Aspen

The goal of cross-marketing is for each company to expand its customer base by offering products or services that complement those of another company.

It’s a win-win situation because each company is adding value to its offerings by providing its customers with new products and services that fit their needs and desires.

So, for example, since Global Fitness Adventures’ (GFA’s) customers are urbanites outfitting themselves for outdoor activities in exotic places, they’ll be concerned with packing the "right" equipment for the trip.

Knowing that Mephisto shoes are ideal for serious walking, GFA could offer its customers a discount on Mephisto shoes ordered from the Aspen store, including a catalog in the information package sent out before the trip.

To extend customers’ brand awareness of Mephisto shoes in action, the Aspen store could outfit GFA’s spa leaders with footwear for the trip. Mephisto, in turn, could tell its customers about GFA simply by dropping a flyer into the shopping bag with each shoe purchase. Customers will appreciate knowing about a unique type of vacation that may enrich their lifestyle.

To extend brand awareness of GFA, and to give its customers a stylish and practical way to pack for their upcoming adventure and future trips, GFA could arrange for custom imprinting of selected luggage items from Aspen Luggage Company with the GFA logo.

These, too, could be offered to GFA customers in the "preparing for the trip" information package.

And Aspen Luggage Company could tell its customers about GFA by including a flyer with each purchase at the Aspen store.

This is just a small sampling of several ways these three businesses can bring new, prequalified customers to each other by capitalizing on what their customers have in common: a high disposable income, an insistence on excellence, enjoyment of travel, and a connection to Aspen.

- Susan Bilenker, Editor/Publisher