June 3, 2011 49 Comments

10 Cent Wings

hot buffalo wings

If I owned a restaurant or bar, I would have a 10 cent wings night, where we served buffalo wings for ten cents a piece. That’s super inexpensive, because normally, you’ll pay something like $7 to $9 for a plate of maybe six wings. But why would I do it? Because I’d want you to buy the beer, which is an even higher markup. In marketing terms, I’d give you a loss leader so I could sell you a high margin, high volume transaction and thus entice you to spend more and increase your “dollar per customer” ratio for me.

Your Ten Cent Wings

Now, flip that idea into your own business. If you run a dry cleaner, what’s your ten cent wings to get more people in to give you their suits to press? If you sell unique artwork, is there a ten cent wings to get people into your mailing database so that they can see your new pieces and eventually fall in love with one of them?

We’re experimenting with ten cent wings at Kitchen Table Companies. For instance, we have a free option for you to register with, just so you can be apprised of what new things are coming along. The goal/hope is that you’ll eventually buy our “beer” of a full membership and become part of a growing small business advisory board. But if that doesn’t work exactly as such, we’re planning to launch a 10 day trial for $4.97. So maybe that becomes our ten cent wings.

What Is Your Offering?

What’s your cheap wings that bring people to your place and get you to buy beer, maybe a burger, and to get to appreciate the atmosphere of your business? How do you put together a ten cent wings offer for your online world? What’s the difference between the two?

What do you think?

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  • http://SuccessNexus.com Ankesh Kothari

    Thanks Chris for talking about loss leaders.  I think its a valuable idea. But there is a caveat. Your loss leader product has to be complimentary, or your entire product line has to be sticky.

    There are a lot of articles about how shops made losses using Groupon and other sites that work on the concept of a loss leader.  And thats because these people have products that are neither complimentary to their loss leaders, not sticky in nature and demand repeat sales.

    One unusual story of a loss leader incentive program not working was by the online gambling sites.  They used to come out with incentives and bonuses: make bets worth $1000 and we’ll give you $100 for free.  What people used to do was start an a/c with $100, play blackjack (which is the game where the house had the lowest advantage), and only lose $50 in the time they’ve reached the $1000 bets milestone.  They would then get the $100 bonus and leave with $150 and never bet again.  There are folks who made 6 figure incomes doing nothing by following bonuses offered by online gambling sites.

    I think your loss leader option with the advisory board works – because an advisory board is pretty sticky in nature.

  • http://opencrm.co.uk Thomas Chapman

    I think a loss leading product is a great enticement. Sure you will have customers who come in  on every 10 cent wing night and feast on a plate of wings and nothing else. But you’ll also have a group of people that come in for some drinks, a couple of folks want to eat more than just wings, another doesn’t eat wings at all and opts for a different dish. A family comes in for wings and finishes up with bowls of ice cream.

    In my line of work in the CRM industry there are many ways of enticing customers. It could be offering large volumes of cloud storage space for a cheap price, or top quality customer service for a low price. We are in a business where different products are inevitably tied together and that means we are able to make these great offers knowing that they come as part of a product bundle.

    A relative of mine is in the hotel and restaurant business and can make great dining offers to hotel guests. The loss leading product is bound to the high margin hotel business.  

  • http://opencrm.co.uk Thomas Chapman

    I think a loss leading product is a great enticement. Sure you will have customers who come in  on every 10 cent wing night and feast on a plate of wings and nothing else. But you’ll also have a group of people that come in for some drinks, a couple of folks want to eat more than just wings, another doesn’t eat wings at all and opts for a different dish. A family comes in for wings and finishes up with bowls of ice cream.

    In my line of work in the CRM industry there are many ways of enticing customers. It could be offering large volumes of cloud storage space for a cheap price, or top quality customer service for a low price. We are in a business where different products are inevitably tied together and that means we are able to make these great offers knowing that they come as part of a product bundle.

    A relative of mine is in the hotel and restaurant business and can make great dining offers to hotel guests. The loss leading product is bound to the high margin hotel business.  

  • http://www.margieclayman.com Marjorie Clayman

    It is enticing as @ThomasChapman:disqus says, but there are a few ways it can backfire too. For example…

    Let’s say you have a person who has been coming to your restaurant for years. They have an engagement on 10¢ wing night so they can’t make it, but they’re hearing that all of these folks are getting as much as you can eat wings at 10 cents a pop. They come in the next day and say, “Hey man, is there any way I could get those wings for 10 cents? I’ll buy this $5 beer here. You know I love this place.”

    But you can’t do it because you’ve established one night for this special, right? So now you’re at risk of losing a regular, consistent customer.

    Also, it’s a big gamble when offering something pretty below scale in the hopes that someone will increase their spend when the time is right. I drive bars crazy because when I go out with my friends, I get coke, pepsi, or even coffee sometimes. Who does that at a bar?? Do I still tend to get some icky cheap bar food? Sure. But it’s not really paying off for them, especially if they’re offering the food at a special discount.

    As for Kitchen Table Companies, all I can say is that I’m paying the full amount for forum usage for the month and I am finding it valuable, but hearing that it is going to be offered for $5 kind of makes me think, “Hmm, maybe I should have held out and waited for the price to go down. Maybe I should let my membership expire and come back at the lower price.” That’s not a win for anybody involved and that’s how this kind of thing can backfire. When you offer lower prices to new folks, you gotta make sure the folks who have been paying the full price don’t get cheesed off :) That’s true for any kind of business out there, I do believe.

  • http://www.parmfarm.com Amy

    First, I’d buy yours wings.  I don’t drink… so I’m thinking 10 cents is a steal!  But, of course then I’d tell all my friends who do drink — so it’s a hit!!  I give away my ebook for free for anyone who subscribes to the ParmFarm.  I put a lot of sweat into the book so it was a hard decision — but it seems to be the right one.

    Great reminder Chris.  

    Amy Parmenter
    The ParmFarm

  • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

    Chris,

    I have a friend from Buffalo and he always says, “In Buffalo, they aren’t Buffalo Wings… They’re just Wings…” I always think of that when people call them Buffalo Wings…

    I have thought about this a lot as it applies to my business, but as an Insurance Broker I struggle with the Loss Leader.  We can’t give insurance away or at a discounted rate beyond what the person is due.

    More thought needed I guess.

    Ryan H.

    • Mick Thornton

      @Ryan and @Chris:  It’s so tough trying to figure out the “special” for the insurance industry or investments (securities).  The states set the pricing and are regulated.  When you are a local business, it can be more difficult than big national companies with promo dollars.  The biggest value add for the local guy is that they are the local guy.  There’s about 2000 agency businesses out there trying to answer this question.
      I guess the local agency could take existing customers out for 10¢ wings, as long as it doesn’t go over the $25 gift limit!
      Thoughts anyone?

      • http://www.ryanhanley.com/about Ryan Hanley

        That is what I’m doing from now on… Bringing my clients to 10 cent wings nights… Love it!

  • http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com/ Chuck Frey

    I’m experimenting with something like this for my Mind Mapping Insider membership program. The monthly fee is normally $19.95. What I’m trying now is $1 for the first 14 days, then $19.95 a month. So they have 2 weeks to evaluate what’s there before normal membership payments kick in. I’ve removed a barrier to entry, but also I only have to wait 2 weeks before getting paid (rather than wait a full 30 days for regular membership payments to kick in). So it’s the best of both worlds. My readers feel like they’re getting a great deal, and I get revenue sooner!

  • http://www.davekawalec.com/ Dave Kawalec

    I think this depends on what kind of bar or restaurant you want to own. If you’re opening an upscale bar in Manhattan, 10-cent wing night would be an awful idea. If you’re opening an Applebee’s/Friday’s-type generic food place where you’re competing primarily on price then loss leaders can help you.

    • http://linkedin.com/in/joesorge Joe Sorge

      Hi Dave, I have to disagree. The upscale bar in Manhattan would REALLY wow em with a  “10cent wings” of their own. Don’t you think?

      • Anonymous

        Isn’t that exactly how PBR made a come back?  In Rob Walker’s “Buying In” he talks about the reinvigoration of older brands becoming cool again because they were adopted by a subculture, often because they were cheap and affordable, like PBR.

        But you are always playing with “Pricing to indicate quality” and “Pricing as a loss leader” and you have to use both tools strategically.

  • http://matthewtbrowning.com/ Matthew T. Browning

     Loss leaders simply aren’t for every industry in every occasion.  Can funeral homes give loss leaders?  I hope not.

    But getting past that, there are definitely some pros and cons.  Yes, you will always get those who abuse it.  (See Extreme Couponers)  And yes, you will frequently upset a few who have been diligently paying full price for the product or service for years.  You have to weigh the good and the bad that will come with this promotion, whether it’s temporary or permanent.  Gasoline isn’t a loss leader per se, but it’s certainly used to get customers in the store to buy that $1.49 fountain drink or large coffee.  If you’re a business that has a deep set of offerings, it could potentially give you an avenue of account penetration that you didn’t have before.  If you’re only offering 1 or 2 products or services, maybe you need to think of packaging a watered down version as a product you can give away for el cheapo or free.  Loss leader is a phrase focusing on the negative side…  Forwarded Value would be a better term.  And to me, blogging is in this realm.  Give value, show you’re genuine, and hopefully you can make a little profit on the good stuff behind the counter.

    • http://rickmanelius.com Rick Manelius

      Funeral home loss leaders:

      - Open discussion forums for families still grieving and looking for additional support.
      - Lectures by doctors/psychologists in the area on the grieving process.
      - Sponsored local library collection of books for people wanting to learn more about the process.
      - Partnered services. Free cleaning of a loved one’s grave stone.

      It’s hard, yes, and has to be done tastefully given the subject matter, but it is possible!

      • http://matthewtbrowning.com/ Matthew T. Browning

        Most of those are post-event!  Regardless, maybe I could have put more thought into that example! 

        • http://rickmanelius.com Rick Manelius

          Post-event for one, but (pardon my tact) pre-event for everyone else in your family. If you’ve gone to a given funeral home for such services, you’re probably more likely to recommend and/or use them in the future.

          It has a longer lead time, of course, but it’s still a loss leader! Your original post definitely got me thinking… what exactly could a funeral home do? Not easy, but definitely go the brain juices flowing.

          And thanks for the reply, I appreciate it :)

  • Anonymous

    I think you’ve given me a lot to think about….

    In no particular order, I would think that movies I’ve already made, would be my ten cent wings, that I give away by virtue of keeping a free YouTube channel accessible to the public under the name SigersonLTD. 

    Cheap would be my consultant rate, which can also double as a speaking fee, if travel expenses are involved…..

    Expensive would probably be you hire me to make your next film, movie, video, short, industrial, or whatever you need. The problem with that is, as you have done most of these yourself,  you’ll probably not ever hire me for expensive.

    Of course, this is just off the top of my head. I’m’ sure I could expand this into a full sized blog post, if given time. 

    Thanks for the forum. And, thanks for the forum ;)

  • Anonymous

    I think you’ve given me a lot to think about….

    In no particular order, I would think that movies I’ve already made, would be my ten cent wings, that I give away by virtue of keeping a free YouTube channel accessible to the public under the name SigersonLTD. 

    Cheap would be my consultant rate, which can also double as a speaking fee, if travel expenses are involved…..

    Expensive would probably be you hire me to make your next film, movie, video, short, industrial, or whatever you need. The problem with that is, as you have done most of these yourself,  you’ll probably not ever hire me for expensive.

    Of course, this is just off the top of my head. I’m’ sure I could expand this into a full sized blog post, if given time. 

    Thanks for the forum. And, thanks for the forum ;)

  • http://twitter.com/BobInMotion Bob Wilson

    Great timing Chris.  I was just cooking up some 10 cent wings yesterday.  Now you’ve got me thinking about a 1/2 sandwich and maybe a bowl of soup add-on.

    Thanks!

  • http://ClimbingEveryMountain.com Mary E. Ulrich

    Delicious ideas!

    I once heard bars offer the free peanuts, pretzels/chips because they are salty causing  customers to buy more beer.

    Relating this “lead” into other businesses is brilliant.

  • http://markharai.com Mark Harai

    That’s one delicious picture Chris!

    • http://linkedin.com/in/joesorge Joe Sorge

      Mark, I know you’ve got an idea here, or six. Don’t you. :)

    • http://www.ricardobueno.com Ricardo Bueno

      Making me hungry… 

  • http://twitter.com/jay_zo Jay Acunzo

    At CampusLIVE, we’re offering 10 cent wings to all our brands. Okay, so we’re still experimenting with the sauce, but the idea is there: creative design, original ideas, building games and challenges for brands to influence students to perform an action…it’s all done for free and we just charge for engagement. 

    Since our platform just plain works, if we throw in the setup and design, our customers will renew with us and become lifers.It’s not perfected quite yet, but brands like Converse and Hotel Planner are loving it for now. 

  • http://www.djchuang.com djchuang

    This is a nice sentiment and maybe it’s not quite feasible, because I haven’t heard of 1 place that has 10 cent wings; have you? And maybe this is why you’re not in the restaurant business :) Now I do love wings, Buffalo wings, and the best I’ve found in a place that has 25 cent wings on Saturdays. I go religiously, almost.

  • http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

    Do a search on Ryanair and look at their business model… pretty much everything you mentioned above on a larger scale

  • http://twitter.com/templetonre1 Ron Templeton

    So how would you incorporate this idea into a non-profit seeking to drive donations?  I mean, there are plenty of nick-naks you can offer, but people nowadays want more substance.  What could an internet based 501c3 offer that would be our “wings”

    • http://meltzer.tel Stephen Meltzer

      Good question — one I was just pondering.  I’m just brainstorming here.  Get some professionals (lawyers/accountants/marketing consultants etc.) to donate some time on a certain day.  ”Host” them at your location and have them offer one hour or 1/2 hour “strategy session” (like Rachel Rodgers in NYC) for a “suggested’ nominal donation of $XX.

      Does that count as wings?

  • @RunnerBliss (Claudene)

    It’s interesting to take it a step further and do a search for how restaurants design menus to get us to part with more of our money faster — and for the dishes with the highest profit margins. Like all great advertising, there’s a science to it…and a website is a lot like a menu.

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  • http://www.wrightcreativity.com Kirsten Wright

    We all know there are ways to get people in the door – and then hopefully get them to spend more. The problem is, when you offer a .10 wing option, there is always the chance that your entire restaurant will be filled with the people there for the wings. There are only so many chairs in a restaurant, and so many times you can turn those tables in a a night. If someone comes in for the Kobe beef burger but the wait is an hour because of the .10 wingers, they’ll go somewhere else. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have half full restaurant of people who are there for a full meal, dessert and drinks, than people who I am loss leader-ing into hopefully buying extra beer with cheap wings.

  • Sarah Mae

    I can’t even think about whatever question you asked because I’m drooling over that picture.

  • http://peterpaluska.com Peter Paluska

    When I saw the headline, I immediately remembered the sign in the background in your office when you shot your earlier videos. Great subliminal blog post topic suggestion there.

    And, yes, everybody needs to have a 10 cent wings up their sleeve because you need an incentive builder now and then, now matter how corny.

    Peter

  • http://judysoped.blogspot.com/ Judy Helfand

    Chris,
    I am sure you remember the telephone wars. In the mid 80s through the mid 90s NYNEX was competing with Sprint, etc.  I would see these NYNEX ads that would say something like this: “If you left us and want to come back we will give you two free months!” Imagine how I felt hearing those ads and knowing I had been a LOYAL customer. I finally called NYNEX, asked to speak to an executive. When I asked him how he rewards his loyal customers…he said “I have been waiting for this call.”  He did something for us, some kind of credit. He made me feel special.  Remember when APPLE did an iPhone price reduction and the customers who had already paid full price went crazy. Didn’t take APPLE long to find a solution.

    The loss leader psychology has been studied to death. I know it works. But I think sometimes with business it can be more subtle and focused on your repeat guests. For example, when I owned our inn, we would often surprise a repeat guest by giving them a free night. Or we would have a 2 for 3 night special offered to our repeat guests via our newsletter. So, in the restaurant business a smart owner/manager knows their clientele…the occasional “on the house” appetizer or dessert goes a long way.

    Have a good weekend. Remember you can have a free lunch or dinner every day of the week by wandering through COSTCO’s aisles.  Of course, they are not open on holidays, but otherwise a $50 membership can go a long way. Just don’t buy anything!

    Judy

  • http://www.kherize5.com Suzanne Vara

    There is the 10cent wing concept that can be applied across the board in every business. Think deeper, get away from the actual wings themselves, look at what you have to offer and see the cost vs time margin. If you are managing multiple social media accounts and spend your day on twitter adding a new client is not going to add all that much to your time on twitter. You are there already. The profit margin there is big. Think outside of the box and away from the narrow four corner confinement of the box that is being represented here of the wings.

    You will see this commonly with sports bars. Why? Cuz, people are looking for a cool place to go, hang with their friends, drink beer and watch the game. You are creating the atmosphere, the stools to place their butts on to watch the game. Get them to your place and make them feel welcomed; because the week after, they ALL will come back. If you are not having any specials and the 5 other places nearby are, where are they going to go? There is a certain demographic/psychographic that are attracted to the 10 cent wings. To them being out with friends screaming at the TV to cheer and jeer is much more fun with friends. The cost for the wings will not be that high when you weigh in that you are buying in bulk so the food distributor is lowering the cost for bulk (and let’s face it these wings are not the top of the line in wings) and you are selling them coupled with the knowledge that the 10cent wing folks are also drinking beer which has so much of a higher mark-up. And let’s face it, how many wings can you really eat when you are drinking pitchers of beer? 4 friends together will prob have what 3-4 pitchers and 20 wings if that each? They are getting the bulk people who are eating, drinking and having a good time. Get into the minds of the 10 wing folks and become them; I know, I am one of them. Although I cannot go and eat wings while watching a sporting event as I will choke while I am trying to yell at the tv and also I do not drink during the games – however the 40 or so others that are watching with me are! We go to be together and that is why there are 10cent wings. To bring that crew of 20-50 people each week to your place. 

    Think about your customers and become them. What matters most to them? A kickin twitter stream with lots of followers that they engage with or a rocking twitter home page? See the value of what you offer to them and then find your 10 cent wings.

  • http://www.eBizROI.com Rick Noel, eBiz ROI, Inc.

    I couldn’t agree more Chris. With a decent conversion rate to cover costs and get to pouring beer, it is a great way to give prospects some milk before making them buy the whole cow. Another great example of BIG hot wings was when the car companies began offering to let folks take home a new car for several weeks and then if they didn’t like it, they could return it no questions asked. That was some BIG A$$ wings!

    The sad part is I can remember when many bars and restaurants in the Albany NY where I have lived most of my adult life used to have lots of places offering .10 wings (for real, no analogy) and they always made a killing on the beer which people needed to cool off their palette after chowing down the super hot wings!

    Hot wings with a nice honey/wheat micro brew are my absolute favorites, even over lobster and/or prime rib. Strange, huh?

    Have an awesome weekend all!

  • http://In-The-Flow.com Jim Campbell

    How about 9.7cent wings?

  • http://RicNunez.com Ricardo Nuñez

    I noticed during my time living in Portugal. In all bars, if you buy a beer – they give you a plate with free salty peanuts. You will consume more beers and get the same effect.

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  • http://www.k9stud.com/viewalldogs.aspx Dogs

    Another great example of BIG hot wings was when the car companies began
    offering to let folks take home a new car for several weeks and then if
    they didn’t like it, they could return it no questions asked.

  • http://twitter.com/TerryMLC Terry Vermeylen

    I used to go to a place called O’Toole’s where they had on Tuesday 5 cent wings, so I would order 50 , for $2.50. it was awesome and yes we drank copious amounts of beer. So yes offering something  free is brilliant.      

  • http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Harbison

    Not a bad idea and the other flip side is that it gets people in the door even if they only eat the wings and have a glass of water. The key is making the wings so good that they keep coming back other times to try all the other amazing things on your menu. Serve crap wings and they’ll never be back even for 0.10 cents

  • http://theblakefirm.com Austin Business Lawyer

    To get around the problem of people just getting wings and a glass of water, perhaps you give away 3-5 free wings with each pint of beer.  Or maybe a dozen with a pitcher . . .

  • http://mymediainfo.com/ Renee

    There is no doubt in my mind that loss leaders such as 10 cent wings could work for essentially any business. The hard part is making sure that your 10 cent offering is still quality. Otherwise it might be the first and last product of yours that they ever try.

    There are a few other things that I have noticed are important to this type of deal:
    You also have to make sure that your 10 cent offering is desirable enough to drive in traffic, which means it might have to be one of your main offerings. To avoid losing profits you could limit the offering. For example at most places that offer 10 cent wings, only offer them two nights a week, generally Sunday and Monday nights. During most of the year these are typically some of the slower night, so this deal helps get people in the door. It wouldn’t really make sense to offer this deal on a Friday night when your store is already very busy.

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  • http://spirocks.com Spiro Pappadopoulos

    $1 Oysters on Monday. Boom.

  • http://www.annemariecross.com Annemarie Cross

    My 10c wings strategy is similar to yours Chris.

    I have a membership program (branding & business coaching related) which members can access for a full two months at $9.95. [I also offer free membership to clients for two months if they invest in any of our higher end  programs].

    Then, after the two months, the monthly membership fee kicks in (modestly priced at $97). During the two months after accessing all of the resources and participating in the monthly coaching/mentoring calls and seeing the results they achieved, the appreciate the value and therefore continue their memberships.

    It’s worked for us!

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