I’ve seen it happen too many times. Companies and business owners want more business. So they embark on a marketing/communications program BUT they aren’t prepared for what happens next. Customers!
Hopefully by now you’ve heard of Groupon. It’s a simple social media marketing idea that’s taken off. Business owners partner with Groupon. Groupon sends out a daily email with the business offer specific to your region. If so many people buy, “the deal is on!” Last week a local restaurant was featured on Groupon. A group of friends bought and went to dinner. The restaurant wasn’t ready. Bottom line, after sitting for an hour and a half… one of four couples got their dinner. The rest were left to their own hunger watching two people eat. Bad news for the restaurant because this group came to a party of about 50 to 60 people. They were hungry and frustrated. They shared the experience with everyone, including me. Now I’m sharing it with you. I will leave out the name of the restaurant hoping they fix the err of their ways.
Conversely, we worked with a client for about two years to market and brand his company. We used a host of tactics for his marketing campaign: internal communications, media relations, website, email marketing, direct communications for referral groups and more. The client business boomed once systems were in place and chugging along. We could see further growth and expansion. The client said “uncle.” We basically worked ourselves out of a job. Good and bad news for us. Bottom line … this client knew when and how he could fulfill customers generated by his marketing. He knew if we kept going customer satisfaction could become at risk.
If you’re thinking about a public relations or marketing/communications campaign, whether it’s through our firm or another, I encourage you to think about results and would-if scenarios. Would if you generate too many calls and appointments? There’s nothing worse than putting yourself out there, generating business traffic and then not being able to fulfill the customer’s expectation.
