Attention grabbers: with a bit of effort and creativity, you can attract customers who never intended to buy an aboveground pool even during the off-season

Pool & Spa News, Feb 14, 2003 by AmyJo Brown

As soon as Rick Chandler saw the cars pouring into his parking lot, he knew he could chalk up another successful promo.

Moments earlier, a local radio station had announced “the secret location” where tickets would be given away to a sold-out Tricia Yearwood concert. The catch: You had to jump into one of Chandler’s aboveground pools–with all your clothes on–to get the tickets. And people were only too happy to do it.
“People were racing,” recalls Chandler, owner of Baja Spas in Tucson, Ariz. “People were parking their cars, running from their cars and running in line to be the first ones to jump in. They jumped with their dresses on, with stockings, cowboy boots. The place went crazy.”

Such stunts are not unusual at Baja Spas, one of the nation’s top aboveground-pool retailers. Chandler has set up pools in malls, high schools, parking lots–anywhere, really. He’s filled them with gooey nacho cheese, salsa and, once, mashed potatoes. He’s even set up a large pool at a local nightclub so dancers could party in a giant tub of foam. The effort has made his store very well known in the community, and very profitable.
“We own this market because of that stuff,” he says.

Chandler’s promotional efforts, combined with an aggressive advertising strategy, bring him more than $1 million annually in profit from aboveground-pool sales. But he doesn’t just make that money during the selling season. Like many successful aboveground-pool dealers, Chandler has found ways to promote and sell pools during the off-season, too.

Granted, it takes time and effort. A creative staff helps. And it might cost a little bit of money. But such obstacles shouldn’t discourage retailers if they are serious about growing their businesses and their pocketbooks.