In the first couple years of Fox Marketing Group, I introduced a program giving local restaurants exposure in local hotels, updated weekly. I piloted the idea in two different communities, and then sold it after a couple years. Fun times.

The manager of a national steakhouse chain ran the same 10% or 15% discount coupon every week, never changing it. As I checked in from week to week, response from the front-line staff was encouraging: "We're seeing a lot of these." But to my dismay, the manager eventually dropped the program, saying he didn't think he was getting enough takers to justify the effort.

This came as a surprise not because of the feedback from the cashiers, but because of something that had happened only two weeks earlier. During my rounds to area hotels one afternoon, I pulled into the local Days Inn and saw a gold mine: A tour bus had just arrived, filled with tired and hungry travelers. In addition to leaving the "Local Flavor" in the usual places, I boarded the bus and asked if anyone wanted a deal on their meal that evening.

I was met with thunderous applause. 40 passengers, new to town, were ready to eat.

Just an hour or so later, I discovered where they had chosen. Cruising by the steakhouse, I saw the bus in the parking lot and a line extending outside the restaurant doors. This steakhouse was getting business!

But the manager didn't know it. The cashiers would see the coupons, push a standardized discount button, and pitch the sheets in the trash. The manager never saw them.

If you don't have a system for tracking where your customers are coming from, including feedback from your front-line staff, start now. Customers are precious. Find out how they got to you.

Labels: advertising, bad habits, marketing, messaging, research