Do You Apply the “Law of Location” to your Marketing Budget?

A few weeks ago, the Cat Haven, were holding a sausage sizzle outside my local Bunnings (the major hardware conglomerate in Australia).

I know because I bought two sausages (one for me and one for my 7  year-old son) while we were out doing “manly” things…

Anyway, I got to talking to one of the ladies from the Cat Haven about how their organization came to be selling sausages outside Bunnings on what no doubt is the busiest time of the week for the hardware outlet. It turns out that Bunnings allow non-profit groups to do this every Saturday, as a way of supporting the local community.

Anyway, as I took my first bite into my hot dog, I watched in amazement as about one in every nine or 10 people going into Bunnings seemed to stop and buy a sausage…

Which in business terms meant that the Cat Haven, this small community based organisation who specialise in rescuing abused and unwanted cats…were doing a “rip-roaring” trade.

And the more I watched, the more I began to wonder why this was the case.

I mean, the sausages were good…but certainly,  nothing out of the ordinary as far as hot dogs go.

Were the Cat Haven advertising?

No.

And were they selling?  You know,  PT Barnum style?

No again.

In fact, all the people working in the portable stand were so busy barbecuing, cutting buns or, collecting money, they didn’t have time to shout about how good their product was.

So why were these guys doing so well?

The answer lies in a timeless principle most commonly associated with real estate; namely…

Location, location, location.

You see, by “piggy-backing” off of Bunnings, the Cat Haven were able to capitalize on a phenomenal amount of passing trade.

And because there were so many people walking by…

They didn’t need to advertise; the smells wafting from the barbecue were doing the selling for them.

So what’s this got to do with marketing?

This…

In retail, location is absolutely critical to selling.

And (assuming you’re business is not the beneficiary of a good-will gesture like the Cat Haven were with Bunnings), you should consider how you are going to get people into your store.

Want to save on marketing?

Expect to pay more on rent.

By contrast, want to save on rent?

Expect to up the ante in terms of marketing.

Though such a trade would seem to be obvious, according to marketing maverick, Roy H Williams (of The Wizard of Ads fame), many business owners fail to join the dots.

In other words, they try to save on rent by setting up business in an out-of-the- way location, AND they are wary of spending money on marketing to compensate.

Ouch….

No wonder so many businesses go under in the first few years of operation.

Fortunately, in 2010, with the rise of social media, marketing does not always have to cost money.

What  marketing almost always costs however, is effort.

Which means, if you’re business is in an out-of-the-way location, expect to put in the “hard yards” in order to survive.

And what of the business in the great location?

Should they do a “Cat Haven Hot Dog Stand” and not worry about marketing at all?

Well they probably could.

But if they want to be really successful…

They’ll combine the edge that they have as a result of their location, with other forms of marketing…

And blow the competition out of the water.