Recently in Zoning out Category

Though we usually focus on lead generation topics, with the holiday season upon us, we thought it would be worth a fun diversion to share some of our holiday party do's and don'ts.

On our other blog, we've posted tips on how to make the most of your event without being the person that the whole company is talking about the next day. You know what we mean.

Enjoy!

[Updates: jokes are only good for so long. Sorry! We took these pages down.]

Here at BuyerZone we're always looking to add new products and services to our portfolio, and this time of year there's one that always pops up: zombie exterminators. As you can see from our home page, we're thrilled to be able to help consumers and businesses dealing with troublesome outbreaks of walking dead.

As always, we offer helpful advice for our readers, such as what to do when your mom turns into a zombie and the popular tips for surviving during the zombie apocalypse.

(Who says you can't have a little fun in lead gen?)

Shaquille O'Neal is about to start his first season with the Celtics, and he is going all out to win over the city's notoriously intense sports fans before he even steps on the court. The gargantuan center recently spent an hour posing as a statue in Harvard Square, giving hundreds of happy fans the chance to get pictures.

This on the heels of an August visit to Harvard Square when "The Big Shamrock" simply walked around for a while and chatted with the crowds, instantly endearing himself to fans who are more used to sports stars who avoid the limelight when they're not on the court.

He also crashed a wedding at a Boston hotel, becoming possibly the most welcomed uninvited guest in wedding history.

And now Boston subway riders will have to keep an eye out for Shaquita -- O'Neal's cross-dressing alter ego. Will he go through with it? Only Shaq knows - but we wouldn't put it past him.

Learn from Shaq: mix it up

There are several reminders here for marketers:

• A little creativity goes a long way.
• Even the simplest tactics can help you raise awareness if they're outside your usual bag of tricks.
• Don't be afraid to be a little goofy. Putting a smile on someone's face is a great way to introduce yourself to potential customers.
• Thanks to Twitter and texting, word of mouth is more powerful than ever: after he mentioned the idea of the statue stunt on the radio, Shaq's somewhat puzzling tweet was all it took to draw a crowd.
  

The Celtics kick of their season tonight -- and Shaq's creative antics have helped get Bostonians in the mood.

One of the fun things about generating over 60,000 leads per month is that we tend to get some requests that are hard to believe, and our storage containers requests have some of the best. Not content with using containers for, you know, storage, these buyers have come up with some unexpected applications.

These are all actual BuyerZone quote requests, edited only for clarity.

That entrepreneurial spirit
The costs of setting up shop can be a huge barrier to new businesses, so a little creativity goes a long way. These folks may have gone a little too far, though.

We are looking to construct a container hotel in New York. We are seeking quotes for empty containers that are from transatlantic freight ships. I believe these are the 40' x 8' variety.     

Because the cardboard box hotel is booked for months, this would be the next best thing.

Hope to use this as a glorified french fry/snack spot, with stove/oven/fridges, freezer, cap/esp machine, counters, cupboards, one double, and one regular sink, and storage space underneath. Any chance of a sliding glass door(to deck)?

Hard to imagine the word "glorified" being a good description of this little store.

I'm looking for a container to sell retail fireworks out of. Container must have double doors on one end and a single or double door on the other end. Container must have lights, electric, and phone connections.

Container must have prominent no smoking signs.