Dear ,

This weekend, a friend of ours invited us out to his summer rental on the North Fork of Long Island across the Peconic Bay from the crowd magnetism of the Hamptons.

Getting off of the train was a step back to a simpler time. Even the station’s sign was small to the point of missability.

In our room there is a pile of old New Yorker magazines. The telltale sign of their age is how thick they are with ads. My husband and I laughed at the articles spotlighting Nixon’s troubled presidency. But it’s too close to our current reality to comment.

While we can hear neighbors, it’s not the constant avalanche of noise and traffic we have to actively block out in Manhattan. In fact, one neighbor brought over a bunch of bright sunflowers.

Yet in the midst of this quiet calm, the marketer in me can’t resist peeking out.

Despite the 1950s look of the houses and low-keyed vibe of a summer town, don't let this time warp veneer fool you. The town knows its market.

Behind the tidy small town facade, these merchants understand their customers. It’s not the locals who live out here 12 months a year. ​​​​​​​

It’s the summer folk like our friend. They like being out of the must-see-and-be-seen-crowd and they’re willing to pay a premium to meet their “special” needs.  

The local IGA super market brought back childhood memories. There were display racks of Drake’s cakes including Ring Dings, Devil Dogs and Yodels. Yet Hagen Daaz ice cream was less than $6 a pint compared to our Manhattan CVS where it’s $6.99. ​​​​​​​

What does this mean for your marketing?

• You have to KNOW your target customer. Not just a few demographics but really know them!

To ensure that you have large enough reach to attract consistent prime buyers, include the following among your readers and housefile:

• Potential buyers. Includes readers, social media followers, prospects, purchase influencers, and current and past customers.
• Employees. Includes sales, customer service, product, management, human resources and investors
• Influencers. Includes business partners, thought leaders, bloggers, journalists, competitors and others.

Among the information items you need to know are:

• Personal, family and business needs and wants
• Content preferences including format and preferred communications channels
• Content platforms visited regularly and why
• Devices used including when, where and for what purpose

Are you maximizing your product offering for your audience’s needs and willingness to pay?

For example, on Ravelry.com, I’ve noticed that the price for a knitting pattern has slowly increased about $1 dollar per pattern. The business savvy designers carefully increase their pricing across all of their patterns. More profit for minimal work. This approach works best for designers whose older patterns still sell.

Take advantage of the last month of summer.

Please let me know if there are any topics that you’d like me to cover in future newsletters.

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