What Makes Marketing Easier?

We’ve heard that the three businesses people dream about owning are a restaurant, a bookstore, and a B&B. There’s no way I’d ever want to run a restaurant, but I did own an online bookstore and I manage a church bookstore, and my husband and I had a farm with an extra house we rented out to visitors to the area. It wasn’t exactly a B&B but close, and it turned out to be our “cash cow.”

It was an interesting example of marketing in that we did very little, but had as much business as we

We’ve heard that the three businesses people dream about owning are a restaurant, a bookstore, and a B&B. There’s no way I’d ever want to run a restaurant, but I did own an online bookstore and I manage a church bookstore, and my husband and I had a farm with an extra house we rented out to visitors to the area. It wasn’t exactly a B&B but close, and it turned out to be our “cash cow.”

It was an interesting example of marketing in that we did very little, but had as much business as we could handle. Unlike the book business which is the reverse. A lot of marketing effort can produce a meager response.

I’m pondering this question because we just returned from a day trip to the small town of Oakland, Maryland, county seat of the westernmost Maryland county and neighbor to the resort area of Deep Creek Lake. It was supposed to be a two-day trip to visit the town and its museums, learn about its history, etc. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. and found the museums had closed at 3. Then we hunted for a motel for the night. The town had three, all “Mom and Pop” places, and none of them accepted dogs. We had brought our well-behaved, small corgi mix along. What to do? We decided to return home, so Oakland lost potential customers of its antique shops, museums, restaurants and motels. How many others does it lose? I imagine that the town counts on day visitors from Deep Creek Lake.

Our vacation rental was just outside Berkeley Springs, WV, famous for its springs and historic baths. Its visitors’ center and tourism group, called Travel Berkeley Springs, maintained an active website, which listed events, attractions, accommodations and other topics of interest to travelers. They planned events for most months of the year and promoted them in ads, on the website, and through newsletters. TBS kept a close watch on its website, monitoring its links and clicks, constantly honing it. Our only advertising was a website linked to the Berkeley Springs “Accommodations” website. It helped that we accepted pets.

That simple tie-in was enough to land us all the business we needed. But we were also selling a product that people knew they wanted: A comfortable, attractive place to stay on their vacation.

You can’t eat books or sleep in them. Not having one may only mean a bit of boredom. Why does a person buy a book? Why do you buy a book? Whimsy? Personal taste? Need to know? Anticipated enjoyment? Everyone is different, and that’s why books are a harder sell. Still, none of us would want to be without them. could handle. Unlike the book business which is the reverse. A lot of marketing effort can produce a meager response.

I’m pondering this question because we just returned from a day trip to the small town of Oakland, Maryland, county seat of the westernmost Maryland county and neighbor to the resort area of Deep Creek Lake. It was supposed to be a two-day trip to visit the town and its museums, learn about its history, etc. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. and found the museums had closed at 3. Then we hunted for a motel for the night. The town had three, all “Mom and Pop” places, and none of them accepted dogs. We had brought our well-behaved, small corgi mix along. What to do? We decided to return home, so Oakland lost potential customers of its antique shops, museums, restaurants and motels. How many others does it lose? I imagine that the town counts on day visitors from Deep Creek Lake.

Our vacation rental was just outside Berkeley Springs, WV, famous for its springs and historic baths. Its visitors’ center and tourism group, called Travel Berkeley Springs, maintained an active website, which listed events, attractions, accommodations and other topics of interest to travelers. They planned events for most months of the year and promoted them in ads, on the website, and through newsletters. TBS kept a close watch on its website, monitoring its links and clicks, constantly honing it. Our only advertising was a website linked to the Berkeley Springs “Accommodations” website. It helped that we accepted pets.

That simple tie-in was enough to land us all the business we needed. But we were also selling a product that people knew they wanted: A comfortable, attractive place to stay on their vacation.

You can’t eat books or sleep in them. Not having one may only mean a bit of boredom. Why does a person buy a book? Why do you buy a book? Whimsy? Personal taste? Need to know? Anticipated enjoyment? Everyone is different, and that’s why books are a harder sell. Still, none of us would want to be without them.