One of the main ideas behind developing a web presence is the ‘Heineken Effect’. In other words – to reach the customers other marketing efforts fail to reach.
It therefore seems slightly peculiar to be rung up by a guy less than 200 yards away after he found you via the internet. Especially when you consider he probably has to drive past us on a daily basis and we’re not exactly tucked away.
Then again, how exactly was he to know what we did?
It just goes to show that you can cast your net far and wide, but you still have to be a local job shop for local people. It’s all well and good getting thirteen emails a day from such places as China and the Sultanate of Oman, but those kinds of enquiries might only pay dividends once in a rare old blue moon – if ever.
So, can anybody claim a genuine enquiry closer than 200 yards?
Next door perhaps?
Comments
Paul Woodhouse
on 21/10/2005, 1:29 am
I presume by that comment, Jody, you’re not from round here.
Heineken used to run tv ads over here which had the slogan:’refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach.’
Aren’t you glad you asked?
Jody
on 20/10/2005, 12:09 am
what is the heineken effect?? tell me more
Paul Woodhouse
on 12/10/2005, 12:02 pm
Michael:
I know what you mean. We get quite a few funny quotes from far flung places and we always think hoax. But at least they’re asking you for stamping.
We have the Chinese restaurant next door come in to have their wok handles fettled, but they’re next door.
The thing about this particular guy is that he probably has to drive past us daily – twice.
Michael Wagner
on 12/10/2005, 5:06 am
I had the opposite happen at work today.
Considering how much work we’re losing to China these days, I was surprised to find someone in China asking us to make, of all things, a flat stamping! 2 million of them a year! I don’t know whether it’s a hoax or they really want us to quote on the parts. They write about how we have to produce 200,000 a month like it would be a difficult hardship. That’s 4 days for us.
But I do have one customer who is 1 block away, and another who is about a mile away. The mile away one found us on the internet. The 1 block away one is so long ago it probably pre-dates the internet.
Regards,
Michael
Paul Woodhouse
on 10/10/2005, 2:13 pm
Nick:
The luxury of racing a dragster between neighbouring houses is one not often afforded to us Brits.
But thank you for proving that it’s a smaller world than we sometimes give credit for.
Steve:
I’m kinda glad somebody got the reference.
Did you know they looked at filming LoG in Nelson, but found it too weird once they got here?
Steve Sawford
on 7/10/2005, 9:49 pm
Are you Local? there’s nothing for you here! this is a local shop for local people!
Nick
on 7/10/2005, 7:58 pm
I forgot to add, he looked me up on the web, found that I lived next door, and called me.
Nick
on 7/10/2005, 7:56 pm
Next Door.
Granted it may not meet the 200 yards definition as it’s a neighbor adjacent to the back of my property (3.8 acres). He needed a lathe and a co-worker suggested he call me, only to find that we lived next door. He bought a lathe and we’re great friends now. I had wondered at the loud engine noises eminating from that end of the property, turns out he races a nitromethane fueled front end dragster of his own construction. Man, I love rural Oregon.