No one Heard You. A Marketing Lament

From time to time, events happening around the OrangeTree offices cause a ripple of distraction amongst the team.

Such an event happened recently. A new business has launched locally. Not massively innovative, but useful, and relevant, and a business that might capture some of our cash.

This new business is a butty-wagon, with tempting morsels for our lunch. We salivated. We craved. We studied the menu. We remembered to bring actual cash in, anticipating they might not have a card machine.

After three days, our cash still in our pockets, we realised that the local increase in road rage indicative tooting was not, as we had wrongly concluded, a mood decline on the business park. As the butty-wagon moved around the estate, it parked in the car park and announced its arrival with a cheery beep or give on its horn.

A standard car horn. A tiny bit like Mr Toad showing off, but not distinguishable from any other horn. The same noise as Mr Blencard announcing he is about to cut you up as he exits the car park.

Our office is at the back of the building, like just over half the offices in this building. The one time you cannot hear the butty-wagon beep is when the vehicle is at the front of the offices.

Which is where I am going with this muse. At the point of actual relevance to us, we could hear nothing. Which made me think, despite three days with no lunch.

Your marketing. My marketing. Does it sound the same as all the other marketing noises? Does it happen at the right time for our potential customers? Does anyone actually even notice?

The other butty-wagon has one of those annoying tunes to announce it is in place. It doesn't annoy me any more. Now, I respect those tunes. I think the new butty-wagon should get one.

We have one of those interesting business non-encounters going on. Customers in need, with cash, and a supplier just half a building away, and yet they have never met.

Mr OrangeTree is a consulting director of Orangezone, OrangeTree-Online and Badmintonalpha. He provides consulting services to a range of businesses and has a reputation for blunt clarity.