We were driving around the Madison area when I asked my husband to stop. I remembered visiting the World Famous Mustard Museum with my family as a child. My father was an excellent cook and this was his idea of a family outing.
What impressed me about the Mustard Museum was although the museum in the basement of the building was a recognized 501(c)3, the store itself was a prime example of a destination business. How can your business become a destination?
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- Terra with French’s
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- Bacon Frosting
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- Read This
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- World’s only Mustard Vending
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- Mustard Piece Theatre
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- Make Giving Easy
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- Gift Boxes
Becoming a Destination
The three keys to a successful business are: location, location, location. Or are they?
Shop Local campaigns have helped local and small businesses find more success in recent years, but business owners recognize that it is a challenge to become a destination in their own town. How can it be so great if it’s in Shawano (fill in name of your small town)? The other challenge is increasing the geographic range of your target market. How do you get people to drive more than a few miles to see you?
If you want to make your business more profitable, easier to market, and attract more customers- you need to differentiate from your competition.
The average American is subjected to as many as 5,000 commercial impressions each day. According to the Media Inter Center 245 of those impressions are ads. Television accounts for 108 ads, 34 we hear on the radio, and 112 we see in print.
Take a look at your current business/marketing strategy. If you’re doing and saying the same thing as everyone else, how are your potential customers going to remember you and go to you for products/services?
Every business owner wants to improve their bottom line. What many of them don’t realize is the potential to draw customers from miles outside of their immediate physical location. In fact it is easier to become a “destination” in the mind of consumers from distant locales than it is to hold that same place in the mind of your neighbors. Why is that?
How many of the “tourist traps” in your town do you visit? When something is ever-available and ever-present it is easily taken for granted. (It can’t be that great; it’s in my small town.)
When on vacation have you gone to see some of the unique attractions that I have? The Southernmost Point in Key West? Or the Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas? Have you visited the close to home destination businesses? In my area that would be Shawano County’s Doc’s Harley Davidson?
These locations are not easy to forget. When your company has a memorable association it’s talked about, it’s sought out, and it is SUCCESSFUL. Don’t believe me? Would anyone take a picture at your place of business and share it on Facebook or Twitter? Can you find your competitors on there? Create something worth talking about and you’ll become a destination.
If your customer can get it anywhere, why get it now and why get it from you? Consumers seek out specialized, exclusive, and hard-to-find items from people that know their stuff. Consumers will travel fifty, seventy-five, even hundreds of miles to find what they think they cannot find anywhere else.
Craft your unique selling proposition, cut out all clichés, be memorable, and not afraid to take a risk. With ease of travel and the Internet, location isn’t what it used to be. The real key to a successful business is becoming a destination in the mind of your customers.
Did the World Famous Mustard Museum cut the mustard? Well, I did buy a $10 jar of mustard and a wire whisk. I needed a new whisk and this one was mustard colored. The $10 jar of mustard? Seriously, who pays $10 for a jar of mustard? Well, I did.
Looking for suggestions on how your business can become a destination meet with Fletcher Consulting. Your first consultation is FREE.
715-584-6773 