Best ideas: Low-cost sales aids

摘要

Mercedes-Benz of Larchmont (N.Y.) takes its ad vertisements straight to the customer. Each week, the local newspaper ad rep sends a JPEG file of the dealership's ad to the store, says its chief financial officer, Sue Silverman. The dealership then forwards the ad to its e-mail list, which has been growing in the wake of a push to acquire the e-mail addresses of customers from every department. "You can imagine how far this ad can go when it is forwarded to friends of friends looking for cars," she says. The low-cost promotion has seen a big payoff, as many customers print out the ad and bring it with them to the dealership.