How Hype Can Help Your Business

It's officially fall so you know what that means...it's #PSL season!

Whether you love it, hate it, or are somewhere in between, you've heard about it and know it's kind of a big deal. It may seem like the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks has been around forever, but it only debuted across America in 2004. It's now the company's most popular seasonal beverage, and it's success has spurred on other companies to make a "pumpkin-spice" option for just about everything. 

It was created as a way to boost sales before their fourth quarter, which is the most profitable each year for the company. The PSL gives people a reason to frequent the chain and get excited about something during the lead up to those months. The firm Second Measure noticed this after a September 1st debut last year:

“In 2016, Sept. 2 was the 10th busiest of 2016 in terms of Starbucks customers.”

Not only has this seasonal specialty brought people in, it's also gotten them to spend more overall. According to NPD, a data-collection company for retailers:

“During fall and winter 2014, the average check for pumpkin latte buyers was $7.81, compared with $6.67 for non-buyers. Similarly, the average check for buyers of a white mocha, another popular seasonal beverage, was $8.37, compared with just $6.84 for non-buyers.”

Starbucks has not only created a drink that boosts their sales and gets people talking, but they've created so much hype that it's spilled over into other industries completely unrelated to food/beverages. You can actually purchase t-shirts with witty pumpkin-spice themed slogans on them now. Even the haters posts funny videos and memes on social media decrying how awful they find the drink. 

But hey...even the haters are still talking about it. In some ways the negative backlash makes the PSL lovers into an even more vivacious tribe of fans willing to share their passion for this fall treat.

So what could hype do for you? How could you incorporate it into your own business? How could you get more people talking about you?

Let me know in the comments below, or hop on over to my free private Facebook group, The Sell it, Sisterhood! 

You're in luck! I created a simple guide with some suggestions on how to do just that. Simply click below and get the guide sent right to your inbox.