I was in a Chocolate boutique the other day and I began
talking to the owner as I shopped. I
mentioned that I had not noticed his shop before and asked how long he had been
in that location. He told me that they
had been there for over 2 years.
This is a neighborhood that I am in 4-5 times a month so I immediately
think that this guy might want to think about doing something to raise brand
awareness. One-track mind I guess.
He reads my mind and tells me, “Yeah we have
thought about doing some marketing, but we make handmade chocolate which have a
limited shelf life. So if we get a large
amount of business from advertising we won’t be able to service the new
customers.”
He says his fear is that instead of new customers you have
unhappy regular customers and disappointed newcomers that arrive for a
diminished or empty stock. I commiserated,
purchased my chocolates and took them home (making it home with minimal losses
to my purchase, I might add).
I kept turning the problem over in my head as I ate my chocolates
and then I arrived at the answer.
Instead of a big bang, this business needed a series of smaller
explosions. Like the way they take down
large structures. Yeah one huge blast
would take out the building (and be super cool) but the collateral damage is
unacceptable. Therefore, a series of
smaller explosions will collapse the building under control. The smaller planned explosions are social
media.
Instead of a huge dose of business that might be unmanageable,
there is smaller growth of the brand and business through building
relationships. Sure, they could not
handle 500 new customers in a day but 10 is doable without stretching the
resources to far. And with all the
demographic tools available through twitter or facebook this is a largely cash
light investment. This method also
allows targeting with a rifle vs. a “spray and pray” type of strategy.
Before social media, I think that a business like this would
not have a viable avenue for raising awareness and garnering new business. We
as business owners today, though have this tactic and the more arrows in our
quiver the better. Do you have questions about how to market your business in Fort Mill contact us for a FREE Marketing consultation.