Page 22 - 101 Ways to Market Your Business

GETTING STARTED

a sudden you know how much business you need to survive
and how much business you want to make a profit. Very
few businesses take the time to figure these targets out, but
successful ones always do.

The second point, generating too much business, brings
to mind the following stories. A friend of mine was
involved in building a large oceanarium. The launch of the
attraction was very big with hundreds of thousands of
dollars spent on enticing crowds for the opening day. Well
the crowds came—far more than the oceanarium had
allowed for—and the result was that the day was a disaster.
People were stuck in queues for hours, the crush of the
crowds was crazy, the restaurants ran out of food, children
were lost, people fainted and so on.

It took a long time for this attraction to rebuild its
reputation. The grand opening was a financial success but
a complete failure in terms of long-term marketing. The
crowds left after a disappointing experience and conse-
quently they told their family and friends not to bother
visiting the attraction because it was a shambles.

Another short story that I have found fascinating has
to do with smoking. A friend recently tried to stop smoking
following an intensive advertising campaign from the
QUIT line (a number people could call for advice and
support to quit smoking) on television. The graphic blood
and gore advertisements were too much and the QUIT line
seemed to be a fabulous support for anyone trying to give
up the dreaded nicotine. The advertisement worked and
my friend made the decision to quit on the spot.

After a week without cigarettes she had a moment of
weakness and decided that she needed help quickly—no
problems. A quick call to the QUIT line and everything
will be OK. She called the line, was put on hold for ten
minutes and then a rather rude lady said that she couldn’t
help now but someone would call back soon.

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