Finding good marketing in unexpected places

It's a good habit to search out other industries for tactical marketing ideas. Why? Other industries may be more competitive than the one you're in, suggesting that marketing will also be relatively more innovative. Also, there's a good chance your competitors are not doing this (until you do).

I received today what I think is an excellent example of customer relationship management from a company that I buy music from. The files I buy are WAV files, which I then burn to CDs.

As a thank you for supporting Beatport in 2006 we would like to offer you three free credits*. To redeem your three free credits* visit Beatport, click 'Redeem A Gift Card' from the left menu and enter the code below.

This offer is great because it is a real "thank you" from the company to a customer (me) for supporting it during its first three years in business. It's not a measly 10% discount. It doesn't require making a purchase before getting the credits. No, it's a genuine gift! (The three credits amount to three free songs, which would normally cost me around 6 bucks.)

Somebody at Beatport really knows what they're doing. Sure, it's cost them a bit in the short term, but they've gotten themselves a loyal customer as well. So there you go: customer relationship management innovation!