I am not a big NASCAR fan, but this past May I decide to take my oldest (four year old) son to a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS).  I was looking for a good father/son bonding event.  Like most of the kids in his generation, my son is really in to race cars because of cars the movie, matchbox cars, etc.  The race was a pretty family friendly event- a big carnival like atmosphere with interactive stuff outside the stadium before the race.  Tickets weren't especially cheap- mine was $60 but my son was free.  You can bring in food and drinks which all and all didn't make it too expensive for an all day event.  We had a good time, but I hadn't given much thought yet as to whether we would return to the race next year.  You have to wonder, why is this blog posts about Charlotte Motor Speedway?

I am writing about this because CMS is executing on their business like they should be.  This past Saturday, I received in the  an offer from Charlotte Motor Speedway to return to the same race next year.  They offered enticements, such as free pit passes, free food, free souvenirs,  and payment plans to encourage me to do so.  There are several things that we can learn from what they are doing at CMS.  First, it shows good business execution.  It is much more economical to retain existing clients than it is to attract new ones.  They are smart to try to get us to return as all it cost them was the printing and postage.  Another lesson is that you can think outside the box and be aggressive to lock-in customers and improve your business cash flow.    By setting up a no cost payment plan, they are potentially making it easier for the consumer (who may have difficulty saving for tickets if they have a large family) as well as improving their cash flow by receiving their revenue earlier than they would if I waited to purchase my tickets.  Finally, some people say that NASCAR is deteriorating and isn't what it once was.  CMS has shown that you don't have to accept what others say as to be true for your business.  Continue to innovate and improve and you can prove people wrong.  I love going through my days, looking at what other businesses are doing as takeaways for my business as well as those that we work with.