Here's how to generate backyard buzz
Written by Shirley Lichti for The Record, September 21, 2005

Imagine if your marketing efforts generated as much buzz as the latest Harry Potter book.

The good news is that you don't need a magic wand, to be internationally recognized or have to spend a small fortune on advertising to get noticed. Even small companies can generate buzz.

It's not necessary to hit the national news to get people talking about your company, products or services. Besides, even if you did attract the attention of the national media, having the whole country learn about your company is not terribly useful if you've chosen to serve a relatively small geographic area.

Getting people to talk about your merits in your own market, or backyard buzz as I call it, is of far greater value.

Creating backyard buzz often boils down to simple marketing strategies and old-fashioned common sense.

For example, Vincenzo's Fine Foods in Kitchener spends very little money on advertising. Although it has a website (www.vincenzosonline.com), co-owners, Tony and Carmine Caccioppoli, say it's primarily there for the benefit of existing customers versus being a tool to attract new customers or generate buzz.

The brothers' marketing strategy focuses heavily on unique product offerings. Vincenzo's carries a wide variety of high quality Mediterranean specialties, some of which are difficult to find anywhere else.

Its homemade artichoke caponata is often taken to parties, prompting the question, "Where did you get it?" From there, Carmine explains, "it's a simple matter of one person tells two friends who tell two friends and so on."

As Victor Kiam, former chair of Remington once said, "The first rule of marketing is to have good products. The second rule of marketing is never to forget the first rule."

Backyard buzz happens when customers get excited about your offerings. And so the brothers are always looking for new products. According to Tony, customers often ask them to carry new items. Having built a reputation for selling unusual foods, they are regularly approached by suppliers.

By continually adding new products, they generate excitement and buzz. As an example, Vincenzo's was recently mentioned in LCBO's magazine, Food and Drink, because it carries Valhrona chocolate from France.

All of this could be for naught if the shopping experience proved to be less than positive, and so the brothers focus on customer service, training staff so they can answer customers' questions and serve people quickly.

Unique products and strong customer relationships are a focus at Loop Clothing and Lounge in Waterloo, as well. Owner Alnoor Keshvani says he works hard to get to know his customers and build more of a small-town retail shopping experience.

Keshvani says his goal is "to tap into a person's five senses within the first 10 steps of entering the store." He wants to make the visit an experience so that people who come into the store will tell their friends.

Although Loop Clothing has only been in business for nine months, it already has a reputation for being different. In addition to carrying several exclusive lines of funky clothing, the store also displays and sells original artwork from local and international artists and doubles as a lounge with live music on Thursday and Friday.

While Keshvani has spent no money on advertising, he realizes the value of publicity. Part of his strategy to create buzz revolves around sending out news releases and creating ongoing relationships with the media. These efforts have hit pay dirt, resulting in numerous articles and mentions in local newspapers, all helping to spread word of his store.

In an effort to create even more buzz, Keshvani has taken his marketing efforts to the street - literally. Armed with sidewalk chalk, he tells customers what's new by writing messages on King Street in uptown Waterloo, university campuses and other places where his target market hangs out.

But you don't have to resort to guerrilla marketing techniques to generate buzz.

Menno S. Martin Contractor Ltd. in St. Jacobs specializes in residential additions and renovations. According to Mark Bauman, one of the company's design and build managers, "generally we're still an old-fashioned company when it comes to advertising." In fact, most of its business comes from job signs and referrals, very inexpensive methods of creating buzz.

Although the company has a website (www.mennosmartin.com), Bauman feels that "sometimes people get too hung up in the electronic age. Traditional things - service and quality - keep us viable. It really doesn't cost a whole lot more if you do it right the first time."

The company steers away from work if it feels it can't do a good job. This is especially important because Menno S. Martin offers a five-year warranty on all work.

By specializing in what it does best, the company delivers on its promises. Customers become raving fans, creating buzz, not because Menno S. Martin does good work but because it does exceptional work. (As a past customer, I can attest to this.)

Very simple lessons - do quality work, get it right the first time and keep the customer happy. In business for over 60 years, Menno S. Martin has certainly earned a reputation for exceptional work, one that gets customers buzzing.

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