Dear ,

Last week, my husband and I took a summer break to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

Despite the wealth of summer ballet, theater and music the area is known for, we wandered through the local shops.

As a marketer, I like observing how these stores target vacationing shoppers willing to splurge. (Read: High priced.) Although their curated selections tend to be limited, their pricing makes an experienced New Yorker shopper think twice.

Actionable Marketing Lessons:

• Understand your prospective customer. Storeowners understand that vacationers are in a “spending state of mind”. As a result they’re more likely to pay more than they would if they were home.
• Curate your products to make them appear special. Selection and presentation matter!

Inspired by Ann Handley’s praise for David Sedaris' latest book, Calypso, I checked out his older books. I wound up buying two because I couldn’t stop laughing over the random passages I read in the store.

We were lucky to snag a reservation at one of Nudel’s nine tables. The restaurant requires online registration via Yelp using your credit card. As a farm-to-table newcomer, its prix fixe menu changes daily based on ingredient availability. Even better it’s reasonably priced by New York standards.

The catch: You must confirm your reservation in advance and if you’re a no-show or more than 15 minutes late they charge you for dinner! 

It was well worth the risk.

Actionable Marketing Lesson:

• Increase allure with limited availability.
• Continually change your offering. Give regulars a reason to return frequently.

What we didn’t expect: We returned home to find our neighborhood closed down with police stopping people from entering our block.

In the interim, our block has been a staging zone as specialists repair the street and wash away any asbestos building by building. Further, restaurants and bars on the block are closed until further notice by the city's health department.  

Actionable Marketing Lesson:

• Have a plan in case your business is unexpectedly required to close down for one or more days. Specifically, what do you do to let patrons know and how do you handle loss of business?

Hopefully this week will be calmer.

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