I Had Lunch at a Car Dealership
Have you ever had lunch at a car dealership? I mean, pack up the family and go to the local dealer for a sandwich and soup? I now have and I’d like to say it was fantastic. Ivy Bake Shoppe & Cafe is located in the Shottenkirk car dealership in Burlington, Iowa. 
The food was great. The service was on par. The car dealership added some interest and energy to the experience. But this is part of a growing trend of business finding cross-selling synergies.
Walmart is finding that there is new value in their stores and online traffic. With more than 300 million shoppers visiting its stores each month, that audience is substantial. That kind of number means a lot of data. And data means dollars.
Forrester Research reports that between the month visits and the millions others on its website, Walmart can draw in more than Facebook or Amazon in the US. And does Walmart have a story about advertisers according to Bloomberg News: “Facebook might know what your customers like, and Google might know what they want, but only we (Walmart) know what they actually buy.”
The ad and data sales will ad a huge alternate revenue stream for Walmart and will help foster other innovations from the retail. It’s a little like ordering a sandwich at a dealership.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
