Well-Done Promotion
If you plan on popping into one of Omaha Steaks’ grand opening galas for its new retail outlets, carry a big shopping bag.
With a $25 purchase you can stuff your tote with free burgers and chicken breasts, a boom box radio, a cookbook, free offers and…the company’s new retail catalog.
The 23-page book, unveiled last month at a grand opening in Houston, features Omaha Steaks’ full line of retail products including frozen steaks, meats and gourmet foods, soups, pastas, steak sauces, cooking utensils and outdoor barbecue grills.
“Everything you need for home dining,” says Mary Mayberger, the company’s director of stores.
At the same time, the company began an initial wave of catalog mailings to reach 150,000 of its top retail customers. The effort was intended to beef up mail order and gift buying sales and showcase the company’s product line, Mayberger says.
Each mail order purchase is accompanied by a free 44-page Good Life Guide & Cookbook, with discount coupons, recipes and cooking and storing instructions.
The company currently operates 37 retail locations in Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, “for customers who prefer to purchase meats at a store,” Mayberger says. Plans are under way to launch three more stores by summer’s end
To kick off the openings 50,000 invitations are delivered to households in the immediate shopping areas, in the hopes of attracting the typical Omaha Steaks customer-“a person who likes good food and is willing to pay more for the quality provided,” in Mayberger’s words. Usually, between 1,500 and 2,000 consumers accept the invitation.
Customers are shown the product line and introduced to the frequent buyer program: Those who collect 15 stamps-one for every $25 purchase-can redeem them for a free gift from a selected group of products.
Following the event, store managers personally telephone buyers to thank them and invite them back.
A thank-you note follows, featuring discount coupons to be used on a return trip to the store.
The retail catalog joins the already successful 46-year-old mail order catalog, which features a more extensive product line. The mail order book currently serves some 1.2 million customers.
