Set Up a Fishbowl

The “fishbowl” technique is hardly new. For decades – maybe longer – retailers have put out a bowl with a sign attached asking customers to leave their business card in return for an opportunity to win some sort of prize. Why do they do this? The offer is not entirely altruistic.

The real idea is to collect patrons’ names and addresses. Aside from building a mailing list (known in direct mail circles as a “house” list), fishbowl card collections help retailers determine and map their trading areas. This insight provides many benefits, including the ability to refine promotional targeting when using “blind” mail drops or buying outdoor ad space.

There’s nothing difficult about setting up a fishbowl, and the technique doesn’t need to be costly. To drive response, you will need to offer a desirable incentive. Although some “fishbowl anglers” choose items completely out of the blue, the best incentives are something related to your business. This way, the pool of prospects you develop is more likely to be semi-qualified. Typically, only those with some level of interest in what you have offered will leave their cards. Once you’ve decided on your offer, simply set out a container for collecting the cards, and put up a sign asking visitors to leave their card in return for a chance to win the item you’ve promised.

To get things started, you may wish to drop in a couple of dozen “starter” cards. Mark these cards on the back with a distinguishing mark, so that you will know to remove them as you sort through the cards you have collected at the end of your collection period.

Fishbowls are often seen in non-retailing environments as well. For example, they can be used at public events or club functions such as trade shows, Chamber of Commerce events, or civic club meetings. While fishbowls used in this way tend not to be as useful for trade area mapping, they can still serve to generate a tidy mailing list of prospects.