What Is Your Customers Sweet Spot?

I was in Melbourne recently to audition for the lead role in an animated film (that’s a different story) and I saw Mario the busker above. In fact, I originally thought someone was playing the Nintendo game with the volume really loud. Click here for a couple of minutes of Mario at work.

It was an amazing bit of busking that applied the same elements of success that a clever exhibiting booth would have.

Now I am not sure how good a guitar player the person was, but that didn’t matter. After a couple of minutes I realised that they were playing the same 5-7 minute piece and then just kept repeating it.

This is why it was so good:

• It was instantly recognisable – so many people stopped to listen, take photos, have their kids next to Mario while they took photos and one guy even danced along to the tune.
• It stood out – this wasn’t just a busker, it was Mario in full cartoon goodness.
• It was joyous – the song was the soundtrack of many peoples childhood (and a few peoples adulthood as well!)
• It was recognisable – immediately people would either recognise the song because they knew of the game or they would move on because it wasn’t part of their world.
• It was playful – when people put money in Mario’s hat, Mario played the “coin” sound. This made people laugh more.
• It was niched – The gamers loved it. More geeks were giving money to a busker than I had ever seen before.
• It was clever – Somehow Mario had triggered Nintendo sounds with the guitar. I tried to see if it was a backing track but it didn’t seem to be. Mario was too flexible in their play for it to be a backing track and while the song repeated, it was not an exact repeat.
• It was quick – straight away you saw what it was and could decide whether you wanted to give money or not. You didn’t need to stay for minutes or a huge performance. You could easily see Mario in the distance, get money out, throw it in the hat and keep walking to the train station without slowing down.
• It was simple – OK so the person is wearing the Mario costume, but apart from that, it is a simple performance without too much effort required – you only had to know ONE SONG
• It went for the Sweet Spot – Mario had worked out a short piece, a fun theme and some quirky play that went straight to the heart (and wallet) of Mario’s prospect and called them to action.

Next time you are setting up your Expo Booth, consider some of these principles and go for your Customers Sweet Spot.