Comment

Comment by Jason Dominy on December 2, 2008 at 11:08am

Man, wish I was closer! Sorry not many people were able to take advantage of this!

Comment by The Barista Formerly Known As JavaJ on November 30, 2008 at 4:03pm

Hi Mike,

Sorry to hear the event wasn't what you thought it would be. We learned a valuable lesson about marketing shortly after we first opened. We were having the first Clover demo in Northern California. We invited lots of local coffee shops, posted on CG, and handed out a few flyers. We didn't realize at the time that this wasn't nearly enough. Half the day was DEAD. Contrast that to our R. Miguel "Monkey Spit" tasting, which was featured in Barista Magazine. What a hit! The difference was simply one of promotion. We made postcards, sent out emails, posted online, and personally invited scores of local baristas. I would add, if a tree falls in the woods, who cares? If you are going to have a promotion, make sure the press knows about it. Get them to come. Finally, never, ever, give anything away for free! We used to have chocolate tastings. When they were $5, nobody came. When the were $15, we were full. When we did a high end special tasting for $25, not enough people were interested. Experiment to see what your own market will bear.

Best Wishes,

-J.

Comment by Brady on November 30, 2008 at 3:49pm

Sorry to hear this didn't work out. Hard to tell if an event like this will counteract a slow day or suffer because of it. It was a worthy effort though. I know I'd have been there if I were even close.