Nostalgia sells.
While it seems like Pokémon GO was an instant success, that’s not the truth. Pokémon has been in our lives for over 20 years.
Grown men and women, who grew up watching the Pokémon cartoon and playing the Pokémon games on their original Nintendo Game Boys, are now playing Pokémon GO on their cell phones.
Why? Because Pokémon GO brings has re-ignited their memories of childhood. They’re captured by the excitement of trying to Catch ‘em all again.
Can your business benefit from nostalgia? What is something your customers remember that you could capitalize on?
Your business has given prior customers memories. Use it.
When I think of this, I think of our local Meijer store. They have a mechanical horse named Sandy. Whenever I see her, I flash back to my youthful days of riding her for a penny.
You can capture a big audience, quickly
Twitter started in March of 2006. Today, they have 65 million American users. In 7 days, Pokémon GO has exceeded that number.
I’ve always believed there was value in building an audience slowly and over time. Pokémon has done that. They’ve also captured a huge market in a short period of time.
In what took Twitter 10 years to build an application audience, Pokémon has done in a fraction of the time.
Don’t think you have to build a new audience slowly. You can use what you already have to rapidly increase your audience size.
People are social
Before Pokémon GO, those sucked into their cell phones where typically by themselves. Now you see roving packs of Pokémon trainers looking for the next Pokémon.
People want to be around others. People want to have a community.
Are you providing that within your business? Have you created an atmosphere where people desire to be around their coworkers?
Pokémon isn’t a new phenomenon. Neither is your business.
Look at what Pokémon GO has done to the online gaming world. Pick apart the strategies used by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. And apply the Pokémon GO strategy to your business.
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Photo:Shannon/Flicke
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